In the words of a National Review writer, "No one picks a team name as a means of disparagement." Similarly, Human Events columnist John Hayward claimed that "[n]obody names their football team the Losers or the Wimps." Again and again, Republicans in the media sound this chord, effectively saying that if there is no intent to harm, then there's no foul.
Blinder 2: The Messengers
A big reason why conservatives don't like change is the people who push for it. Just look at who's complaining about the Redskins name.
There are Native Americans protesting the name, like the Oneida Tribe's "Change the Mascot" campaign. To a Republican, that means this is, ipso facto, the usual, tedious, "race-card" stuff and another instance of the obsession with identity and victimization. In my Republican days, I would have asked, "Can't you Indians or Native Americans or whatever you want to be called these days see that making your group identity the most important part of your existence denies your individuality? You sink or swim on your own in our meritocracy. How can you thrive if your mind's on the reservation?" (Not that I knew any Native Americans to ask, of course.)
Then there are the cadres of academics (liberals!), foaming at the mouth about "narratives" and "oppression," glorifying relativism, preaching white guilt and feel-bad history, and denying Objective Truth. The American Psychological Association says that such team names promote negative stereotypes, making little Indian kids feel bad about themselves. Boo hoo!
There are also the activists, those unwashed Occupy longhairs who get off on feeling offended for other people, "fabricat[ing] outrage," creating a "manufactured controversy."
There's the feared "Liberal Media." A handful of newspapers, the alternative rag Washington City Paper, and several liberal outlets like Slate, the New Republic, and Mother Jones now refuse to use the Redskins name, instead inelegantly referring to "Washington's football team." Most don't even cover sports, but they can't miss a chance to pontificate!
Singled out for the most angst was sportscaster Bob Costas -- for speaking out against the name during a Sunday Night Football broadcast. Glenn Beck's response was to call him "senile" and a "sanctimonious piece of crap."
And then there are the politicians. Guess which team's jersey they're wearing? There's the Washington city council (no Republicans there, of course!) getting all righteous with a unanimous resolution urging that the team be renamed something non-offensive. There are Democrats in Congress lining up to do their bit by pushing a bill to strip the very right of a team to trademark its name if it's offensive to Indians!
Worst of all is the "Trinity of Evil," the "Socialist Trifecta": Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and above all President Obama. They've all come out against the Redskins name.
See a common thread here? Democrats. Liberals. Progressives. Minorities. The Left.
The other team.
These messengers could say that the sky is blue, and the natural Republican inclination would be to think that they were lying for partisan gain. The Enemy is relentless, implacable, and vast. It must be stopped.
Blinder 3: The First Amendment Right to Offend
No need to think about why a name or epithet might offend, when you can spring straight to the defense of the "right to offend." Poke around Republican media and you will see many articles defending this "sacred" right.
Here's the rhetorical formula: Sure, some people offend others on purpose, and yes they're jerks, but most people don't. It's too bad if you're offended, but what's important is to protect the constitutional right to offend -- because isn't that what the First Amendment is actually all about? The real danger in this: letting some thin-skinned crowd destroy our collective liberties through intimidation. (Optional: insert comment about PC or liberal "fascism" here, or the slippery slope to Nazi Germany.) So toughen up. Sticks and stones, etc...
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