Letter to the editor: About respect

He asks if Caucasians would be angry if the Washington D.C. football team changed its name to the the Pale Faces. He then mentions ‘’thin skinned’’ and political correctness. I’m not sure why he did not write Washington Redskins.

It makes no difference if Caucasians would be angry if a team was called the Pale Faces. Mr. Davis asks a hypothetical question when the real issue is the name Redskins which many people, including numerous tribes and organization, consider offensive, insulting and a racial slur.

Let’s look at recent historical references. During the 20th century movies always stereotyped the ‘’Redskins’’ as the bad guys. Now that’s ironic considering how Native Americans were treated horribly by Caucasians. The Washington team chose the name Redskins in 1933. At that time Native Americans were discriminated against and encouraged to give up their culture. The name ‘’Redskins’’ has not been used commonly since the 60’s except by athletic teams.

Some people believe those that want the Washington Redskins to change their name are thin skinned and just want to be politically correct. I don’t think so. The term is derogatory and has a negative context which is much more common historically. I believe that changing the name is respectful and has nothing to do with political correctness.

Mike Wacker

The Dalles