U.S. patent office cancels Redskins trademark registration, says name is disparaging

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I'll try and do better, Dr. Phil.

#LeftOutBecauseDoesn'tGetInvitedToWeeklyMeetings

Are you on the mailing list?

For the people who believe "those people" are just being sensitive, nitpicky, and this is only about political correctness, if that was true this wouldn't be the case:
http://time.com/2894357/redskins-tra...n-interactive/

Most of the above companies and organizations are not headed by people who identify as American Indian or Native American.

The trademark is a separate issue. I am more interested in the larger issue and the audacity of comments from people like Kevin.

[DubaiSis]

I can't imagine any scenario where this naming situation is acceptable. Once upon a time? MAYBE. But to me there isn't even room for discussion on the subject. The football team in our nation's capital shouldn't be named a racial slur. It doesn't matter if 1 person 1% or 100% think it's important, find it offensive, find it historical, whatever. It's wrong and should be changed.

And there is a marketing bonanza there so I really don't understand the hold up. If they change the name, the logo, the colors, etc., all of their loyal fans (and there are a lot of them) will have to go out and buy all new lavender jerseys, coffee cups, bumper stickers, and everything else. Why lavender? Lavender - lily - lily livered - Congress.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

I can't imagine any scenario where this naming situation is acceptable. Once upon a time? MAYBE. But to me there isn't even room for discussion on the subject. The football team in our nation's capital shouldn't be named a racial slur. It doesn't matter if 1 person 1% or 100% think it's important, find it offensive, find it historical, whatever. It's wrong and should be changed.

And there is a marketing bonanza there so I really don't understand the hold up. If they change the name, the logo, the colors, etc., all of their loyal fans (and there are a lot of them) will have to go out and buy all new lavender jerseys, coffee cups, bumper stickers, and everything else. Why lavender? Lavender - lily - lily livered - Congress.

Acceptable and legal are two different things.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

In simplest terms, the argument is "I wanna be a dick because I can make more money than by not being a dick." There's just no way you can morally justify this.

(Remember the time U of Illinois got rid of its mascot and it's whole image was destroy and students stopped applying to go there and alumni donations came to a screeching halt? Me neither.)

[Kevin]

How about "I'm not being a dick just because someone comes out of the blue and says I'm being a dick."

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

How about "I'm not being a dick just because someone comes out of the blue and says I'm being a dick."

Underline mine, I repeat....

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Kevin, you are clearly learning new things about this topic as you go along. That's wonderful for you but your new knowledge doesn't translate to everyone else's ignorance.

[33girl]

Do the Kansas City Chiefs need to change too?

[DubaiSis]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Do the Kansas City Chiefs need to change too?

I think this question actually has pros and cons, whereas the Redskins does not. Chiefs are actual people and not necessarily disparaging. It COULD be considered a nod of respect.

Because of sensitivity on this issue, I think it probably should be but it's not black and white like a racial slur is. My opinion of course.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

As MysticCat said, read that article again.

And, yes, the government doesn't need polls and require certain percentages before acting as deemed necessary. Or did you not know that?

Exactly.

And let's not pretend that this is in regard to anything important like gay marriage, or abortion, or sending more troops to Iraq; it's a flippin' sports team mascot. If 10% of the American Indian population is offended (a number that is probably skewed, but let's just go with it), just shut up and change it already.

Originally Posted by Kevin

How about "I'm not being a dick just because someone comes out of the blue and says I'm being a dick."

Out of the blue? Wasn't it you who pointed out on page 1 of this thread that a case has already been heard about the team's name, and that this has been an ongoing issue for 2 decades?

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Out of the blue?

The team was founded in 1933. The first documented protest was in 1988 and the first legal action was in 1992. I would have to say leaving something undisturbed for 55 years with little to no action from any organized force is "out of the blue."

Wasn't it you who pointed out on page 1 of this thread that a case has already been heard about the team's name, and that this has been an ongoing issue for 2 decades?

In an effort to point out that the decision of this Board is almost certainly going to be overturned either at the District Court level or beyond.

Because a small minority of a minority is offended by something is not a good enough reason to deny this NFL Franchise equal protection under the law.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Kevin

The team was founded in 1933. The first documented protest was in 1988 and the first legal action was in 1992. I would have to say leaving something undisturbed for 55 years with little to no action from any organized force is "out of the blue."

I wish your flawed logic could be used for other protests:

Women didn't file a formal grievance for centuries, why should we combat patriarchy, sexism, and violence against women over the past 100 years?! That's "out of the blue"!

Black people? I shall hear no complaints from you. I saw you picking that cotton, going to the back of the bus, doing the Jim Crow, and responding to "colored, negro, and nigger" for years. Why didn't you at least call the local paper and get your voices heard?

Various Asian and Hispanic cultures and ethnicities? Scoff. I remember the different waves of immigrants. You seemed anxious to get to the USA many generations ago. We had no idea you were facing unfair treatment. You didn't tellll anyone.

Let us not even mention LGBTQ. The way these grievances have received attention over the past years, you would think this is a brand new group of people. Who would've thought people with varying sex and gender identities have existed and been marginalized for centuries. I can't find any old complaints on Google.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I wish your flawed logic could be used for other protests:

Women didn't file a formal grievance for centuries, why should we combat patriarchy, sexism, and violence against women over the past 100 years?! That's "out of the blue"!

Black people? I shall hear no complaints from you. I saw you picking that cotton, going to the back of the bus, doing the Jim Crow, and responding to "colored" for years. Why didn't you at least call the local paper and get your voices heard?

Various Asian and Hispanic cultures and ethnicities? Scoff. I remember the different waves of immigrants. You seemed anxious to get to the USA many generations ago. We had no idea you were facing unfair treatment. You didn't tellll anyone.

Let us not even mention LGBTQ. The way these grievances have received attention over the past years, you would think this is a brand new group of people. Who would've thought people with varying sex and gender identities have existed and been marginalized for centuries. I can't find any old complaints on Google.

Beat me to it. But Kevin's use of "equal protection under the law" was a nice touch, I thought.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Because a small minority of a minority . . . .

Again, your basis for asserting it's only a "small minority" is . . . ?

Originally Posted by DrPhil

This is a team that was established in 1932 and there have always been people who deemed their use of "redskins". Always. If GCers know what was happening with American Indian populations in 1932 and the difficulty faced by populations in the 1930s-2010s we understand why there weren't massive protests and media speak outs until the 1980s-2010s.

And again, I would suggest that understanding the history behind the team name—which was originally the Boston Braves and was connected to the Boston/Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves baseball team—is instructive.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I wish your flawed logic could be used for other protests:

Women didn't file a formal grievance for centuries, why should we combat patriarchy, sexism, and violence against women over the past 100 years?! That's "out of the blue"!

Black people? I shall hear no complaints from you. I saw you picking that cotton, going to the back of the bus, doing the Jim Crow, and responding to "colored, negro, and nigger" for years. Why didn't you at least call the local paper and get your voices heard?

Various Asian and Hispanic cultures and ethnicities? Scoff. I remember the different waves of immigrants. You seemed anxious to get to the USA many generations ago. We had no idea you were facing unfair treatment. You didn't tellll anyone.

Let us not even mention LGBTQ. The way these grievances have received attention over the past years, you would think this is a brand new group of people. Who would've thought people with varying sex and gender identities have existed and been marginalized for centuries. I can't find any old complaints on Google.

The bolded portion is mine. Would you take issue with the NAACP trademark being denied? The "C" stands for colored, which would also be considered disparaging, correct?

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I wish your flawed logic could be used for other protests:

Women didn't file a formal grievance for centuries, why should we combat patriarchy, sexism, and violence against women over the past 100 years?! That's "out of the blue"!

Black people? I shall hear no complaints from you. I saw you picking that cotton, going to the back of the bus, doing the Jim Crow, and responding to "colored" for years. Why didn't you at least call the local paper and get your voices heard?

Various Asian and Hispanic cultures and ethnicities? Scoff. I remember the different waves of immigrants. You seemed anxious to get to the USA many generations ago. We had no idea you were facing unfair treatment. You didn't tellll anyone.

Let us not even mention LGBTQ. The way these grievances have received attention over the past years, you would think this is a brand new group of people. Who would've thought people with varying sex and gender identities have existed and been marginalized for centuries. I can't find any old complaints on Google.

Exactly.

And Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. To claim that this is "out of the blue" is laughable. He knew (or at least he should have known) what he was potentially getting into.

Kevin, you're claiming that everyone is suddenly being too politically correct, when in fact, this has been going on for nearly 25 years. But now with social media and a 24 hour news cycle, we're hearing more about it. These groups are getting louder, as they should if they find the team's name offensive. I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of the legality of the decision regarding the patent, but to claim that a) the objections to the team name are "out of the blue", 2) that people aren't allowed to be offended, and 3) the percentage of people who are offended should determine whether or not the name is changed is ridiculous.