Redskins Name Change, Insurgency, and The Art of Peace

Foundations are everything.

Unless The Lord Builds the house
Those who build it labor in vain
Unless The Lord watches over the city
The watchmen stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
And go late to rest,
Eating the bread of anxious toil;
For he gives to his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are a heritage from The Lord.

Psalm 127:1-3



Naught’s had, all’s spent,
Where our desire is got without content.
'Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.

Shakespeare, Macbeth

Build on a foundation of sand or an idea that lacks virtue at your own peril.

I write this frowning because I am talking about the name of a team I've loved all my life, the Washington Redskins.

What do you do if the name of your team is founded on sand?

Originally, redskins were once people that were feared.

Whether it was the settler that survived an attack or the city dweller reading about it, scalping was some savage shit.

Anyway, redskin was not said with honor.

Maybe we revere what we fear but for some reason redskin became a mascot.

The Washington Redskins owner at the time was a racist SOB named George Preston Marshall.

Marshall fought integrating the team until 1962 making the Skins the last team to do so.

During that time the team stunk and a year later Marshall was removed as the boss.

So here we are a buncha years and 3 Superbowls later.

To Millions,
Redskin means:

Warrior
Honor
Tradition
Courage

We are a feared,
proud,
team,
with players and fans that live and breath burgundy and gold.

How do you explain to someone
who never for one moment
thought her team name meant something bad
that what she loves
is a derogatory slur?


There are millions like her.

What to do?

What I think Snyder should do is take a page out of the Art of Peace and blend with the force opposing him.

It's early now and Snyder might think that he has the power but as every soldier who has ever fought an insurgency will tell you, almost anything you do to oppose an insurgency makes it stronger.

Snyder already made this mistake when he said without hesitation that the Skins would never change their name.

To blend with the situation Snyder should create a dialog with the Oneida Indian Nation. That dialog should be centered around the creation of a ceremony that would be conducted at Redskins stadium. The ceremony should lay to rest the Redskin name and herald a new beginning for a team that means no disrespect and wants to do the right thing.

This completely changes the narrative surrounding the issue.

Foundations are everything.



Wise man say
As wave grows don't build a wall, learn to surf.