OPINION:
God bless Mr. Dan Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins, a team hundreds of thousands of us are proud of. Yes, I said it — God bless him for standing up for the name of the team he loves.
Mr. Snyder has been called many unflattering names by people claiming to be sensitive. Yet, he has remained a gentleman throughout, and a true American, taking the heat of undeserved criticism.
I typed “pejorative terms for people” into Google and opened Wikipedia’s list of 268 such names. I didn’t see “Redskin,” but I did see “Harry” (as in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid). According to Wikipedia, “A person who is “harry” is often perceived as unsophisticated, vulgar or with bad taste.” It is a term most often used by snobbish Swedes against “common” Norwegians coming across their border.
I’m not Norwegian, nor am I unsophisticated or vulgar, and I don’t have bad taste, but I intend to stand up for all those who do, and I demand that Mr. Reid drop the use of his first name. As long as he continues to use it, he is publicly slurring vast numbers of people across the world. It is time for Sen. “H-word” Reid to legally change his name. Starting today, I’ll only refer to him as the “H-word” until he comes up with a more politically correct name.
People like Sen. “H-word” Reid, who struggle with name-calling, should probably not use the name Redskins, either. For the rest of us, who harbor no ill wishes, this is not an issue. Why don’t we save the outrage for people who do intend to offend? And frankly it’s for the best if Sen. “H-word” Reid doesn’t attend our games, either.
ROLAND BISER
Springfield
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