‘R’ word (redskins) is a racial slur, period

From Hutchinson News(KS):

Maybe we should give Kyle McCaskey credit for his Hutchinson News piece “What’s in a Name” for bothering to ask the questions and by at least interviewing two Native American persons, but this article is actually very poorly done. It is spun with bias and filled with inaccuracies and outright omissions of important facts. Though the article was intended to be news, it appeared as the opinions of a sports writer and school officials. Period.

A response from Otto’s War Room (毛派)- សតិវ​ អតុ:

This blog does not follow the guidelines of mainstream news. Sometimes the articles are news- editorials or both. While it is noble to follow all the guidelines of a “mainstream news media” they rarely live up to their claim of impartiality and I feel McCaskey has not done much better (If he has done better?) than the following opinion piece. This is Gonzo journalism where we are making opinions and providing an alternative to the bourgeois and always slanted news media that we have to digest here in the US. The real point of this issue is that the name “redskin” goes far back before almost all of these schools. They are about Native American Indians and it is THEY who should be making this decision—not a bunch of white bourgeois liberals.

Again from Hutchinson News:

By Joni Taylor Tucker-Nisbeth

McCaskey himself had no problem using the “R” word. It was peppered all through his article. He is proud of using his “R” word. Just fine in his world and, evidently, to the Hutchinson News editorial board’s world as well. Despite that the Native persons he interviewed told McCaskey the harm it causes, the “R” word is still used in the article over and over.

So is this sports reporter and The Hutchinson News editorial board perpetuating a position as bigots? I say yes, the article validates the perspective of anyone who thinks it OK to use racial slurs, or maybe they just think it is OK using a racial slur and dehumanizing an entire race, as long as it is only Native peoples.

The subject matter of the piece, that Kansas schools have had “little outcry” over their school’s teams using the “R” word is erroneous and outlandish. The facts are that Kansas schools that use the “R” word, namely Liberal, Little River and Wichita North High, over several years have been confronted by Native and non-Native citizens and activists who attempted to engage through education and awareness every one of these schools to eliminate their racist names and demeaning images. It comes down to this: Either the school personnel interviewed for the article have been living in a cave, are in denial that they are racial bigots or are just plain liars.

McCaskey himself obviously did not do a simple Google search to find the truth of this issue. Nor did he seek information through social media. Had he bothered seeking valid and broader sources, not only would he have discovered that specific schools that use the “R” word were directly approached on many occasions, he would have also learned that a school district in Hiawatha did change their team name that depicted Native American names, symbols and other forms of cultural misappropriation.

To see the rest click here.