I've recently picked up a new nickname at my current assignment. Mr. Big, (short for Mr. Bigot), because I root for the Washington Redskins. One of my co-workers is married to a Native American woman so that apparently gives him the right to hand out his opinion on the matter.
Recently, here in Wisconsin...a State with a strong Native American history...a high school team was forced to change their name from the "Indians" to the "Timberwolves" because the term Indian is offensive.
Gone are the days of playing Cowboys and Indians, perhaps our children should be playing "Caucasians & Native Americans" with their little orange plastic guns.
Perhaps I need to throw away my grandmothers hand-made Kacina doll because I'm such a bigot? But I ask you this...when is enough, enough?
What if Packer fans had to stop wearing their "cheeseheads" because some Wisconsin residents are offended by the suggestion that we're all fat cheese-eaters? Or perhaps the Packers name itself is offending and we should root for the Green Bay Meat Distribution Engineers?
What about the Angels? Aren't we offending the atheists among us? Or the New Jersey Devils...that's gotta just hurt the Christians feelings we can't have any of that!
I'm told its easy to be in the majority but I just don't find myself getting ticked off at the first team that decides they want to be called the Whitey's or the Crackers. Perhaps I would be, but you know...we're coming to point in this country that you can't so much as think an independent thought without making some subset of people feel offended. As a country, we are becoming a bunch of whining wusses walking on eggshells so as to not offend anyone. Guess what, people get offended, its a fact of life. You can't please everyone, yet another fact of life. Know what else? In sports, there is always a losing team and not everyone wins...that is life, learn to live with it.
So feel free to call me Mr. Big...go ahead and assume its true...those that know _me_, know otherwise.
So I'm still going to cheer for the Redskins, and if they ever change their name I may stop, perhaps I'll wind up rooting for the Detroit African Large Cats, or even the Green Bay Meat Distribution Engineers...I'm gonna go play Caucasians & Native Americans now...
Another thing that should be mentioned here is that if I am a bigot, that would make this person in question a hypocrite on not one but two accounts:
- The person in questions watches the NFL. If he's so upset by the Redskins' name, he shouldn't be supporting very organization that is allowing them to have that name. Nor is he writing letters and organizing groups to boycott the NFL and its affiliations until the name is changed. So its easy to sit back and toss out a word like bigot, when your ignorant of your own hypocrisy. "Remove the plank from your own eye before trying to pluck the speck from your brother's."
- I have a differing opinion that he does. That makes me different. He is labeling me with an epithet which is the exact thing that he's persecuting me for, (and I didn't even name the damn team).
So far I've managed to take the high-road and will continue to do so in this little discussion. Am I offended that he's calling me a bigot, no...I'm upset by the fact that he took a friendly discussion/debate, one full of jest-like banter even, and turned it into a personal attack on my character.
He is entitled to his opinion and I won't deny him that, but trying to rally others to his cause by attempting to get them to call me "Mr. Big" without them knowing the full story is just uncalled for.
Don't want to hurt anyones feeeelings...
People are just waiting to be offended in this country and sue the "offender" (I use that term loosely). It is not, nor will it ever be, about being offended. It's about the opportunity factor. The opportunity to get rich at someone else's expense. As I said before the Redskins (Dang! I said that word! OH NO! ... bite me) are not facing anything new. A few years back PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or as I like to call them, just because it pisses them off, People Eating Tasty Animals) actually tried suing the Green Bay Packers! No comedian can make this crap up! This is in the public record, and I saved the newspaper clip that appeared in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune about this. PeTA actually attempted to threaten the Green Bay Packers with a law suit because their name implied violence toward animals. It would be about now you would need to start smoking crack for this to make any sense. This issue is the truth. They actually DEMANDED the Packers change their name to the Six-Packers or the Pickers. Why do you ask? According to this group of people, with the collective I.Q. of a ripe summer squash, Six-Packers would reflect the state's association with beer. Duh! There is already a team like that - anyone heard of the BREWERS?! My other favorite from this group, that apparently has squirrels living in their skulls, wanted the Packers to be called the Pickers. Why you ask? Their reasoning was, and nearly need to bang my head on the wall at this point, that Pickers imply picking vegetables which are healthy and less violent towards animals. This is so messed up. Why do all the morons have all this free time and money? DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE WITH YOUR TIME AND MONEY! Go live on an island somewhere and you politically correct lifestyles there. Our kids can no longer play on play grounds or play dodgeball in some states because "it is too violent". PLEASE follow Bob Barker's advice for our sakes. Have YOURSELF spayed or neutered.