Dumb Dynasty, OP/ED

[stromboli]

I would never ban a kid for wearing a duck Dynasty t shirt. More likely shoot his stupid parents. And the merits or lack of the name Redskin on a football team is being debated by an Abba loving football fan. We have veered into the weird. Redneck? Who the fuck cares?

I think the name of the team will be changed about the time Dan Snider determines it will be a good PR move or make him some money, not before. Personally I think we should ban tea cozies. Just because.

[Brian37]

"Redskins" was not invented by native Americans. I don't where you get your information but it's obvious that where you get it is a bad source.
In any event a kid wearing a T-shirt and saying a word is completely different. When you speak a word your intended context is known by how you say it. A t-shirt leaves interpritation virtually open. Take the word "Redneck" You say that it can be a slur and a term of endearment. Well the endearment comes in the form of "My fellow redneck" meaning "My fellow racist hillbilly asshole". Yeah it's endearment to those who love being racist assholes, but it is offensive to most people as is the Stars and Bars. So don't hand me this duality of terms and interpitation crap.

Just to get this out of the way at first: Most people who call themselves "redneck" do not mean it AT ALL to connotate "racist hillbilly asshole", or anything racist for that matter. It's meant to connotate rural living and the lifestyle associated with such. Get the fuck off your high horse.


Now, for the Redskins thing:

Let's say I had this team I really loved. The only problem is that their name happens to be "The Oakland Niggers".

I may not have a problem with their name, but a few people do for some odd reason. I just can't understand it, I mean....It's a name that's been with the team for decades now, it's tradition dammit!

And who could hate their lovable mascot?

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I begged to differ. "Redneck" first meant someone(white) that toiled in the sun working bent over exposing their white neck to the sun all day burnimg it turning it red. But it came to be known as people that were not only uneducated but glorified the lack of education as in a rural version of "street smart" instead of that "evil book learnin'. " The group that call themselves "redneck" and glorify everything that is redneck are decidedly racist and that is a hallmark of that subculture. Just like a rapper wants street creds or to be reveared as a gangster. It doesn't actually mean that he sells drugs, but it is what he glorifies and the culture that he promotes. A redneck glorifies and promotes a culture that at it's very core is racist, uneducated, rowdy, violent, pseudo-macho, false-patriotic. There are sects and subsects of the culture but essentially it is racist based.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/Sociology-topic/redneck red?neck [countable] American English informal
SS a person who lives in a country area of the US, is uneducated, and has strong unreasonable opinions.

Bullshit!

I grew up using the term "Redneck" as a slur myself. Hillbilly can tell you our conversations about my bigotry towards "the south", and at the time, back then when I used it it was a slur. I hated country music and anything that had to do with rural areas and monster trucks and cammies. "Redneck" back then to me was the same as "nigger", to me.

And even political party labels are seen as slurs. Do not tell me that fans of Rush don't think that "Democrat" is a dirty word. I have as a democrat certainly agreed with criticism of the right in the use of the word "Rethuglican".

[mykcob4]

Brian what the hell are you talking about?!

[stromboli]

Like I said, veered into the weird. I'm curious, Bri. Ever been diagnosed with OCD?  :shock:

(edit) which means either Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or else occasionally crazy douche. You decide.

[billhilly]

So to see if I got this,

Black people may refer to themselves as and call each other niggers as a term of endearment while the word remains a racial slur otherwise.

Rural white people may refer to themselves as and call each other rednecks as a term of endearment while it remains an insult otherwise.

FWIW, no Indian/native American I've ever known refers to themselves or their friends as redskins.

Duck Dynasty and all other reality TV makes me weep for the human race.

Does that sound about right?

[mykcob4]

So to see if I got this,

Black people may refer to themselves as and call each other niggers as a term of endearment while the word remains a racial slur otherwise.

Rural white people may refer to themselves as and call each other rednecks as a term of endearment while it remains an insult otherwise.

FWIW, no Indian/native American I've ever known refers to themselves or their friends as redskins.

Duck Dynasty and all other reality TV makes me weep for the human race.

Does that sound about right?

I'm 1/2 Cherokee and I don't know anyone in the tribe that wants to be called a redskin. Apparently the entire Oneda nation doesn't like it either.
Most of the black parents I know punish their kids when they use the "N" word.
The rednecks that I know, and there are a great number of them here in Dallas, love to be called redneck. They all happen to be racist as well and proud of that fact.

[Brian37]

True, we only enslaved Africans. We never commited genocide against them and then used caricatures of them for sports teams.

The main point is that it doesn't matter if YOU don't find it not offensive, it matters that THEY (meaning Native Americans) find it offensive. If you think it's not an offensive term, I encourage you to go up to a Native American and start calling him a redskin.

Again, that is their baggage, not mine. Why do they get to decide for me what that word means to me?

THINK about it, it cuts both ways. If we are always going to project our own desires on others then WE as atheists SHOULD NOT call ourselves atheists because that word is seen as evil, maybe not by all, but far too many.

Remember the stupidity of this argument the next time a theist equates you to Stalin.

Now if I were using it as a slur, then they would have a case, but since I am not they do not have a case, anymore than when you or I call each other atheists we are seeing the word as evil.

CONTEXT, it is not my baggage that they chose to take the usage out of context.

Same with the word "Jew" and the word "gay".

If Natives want to go after something worthwhile they should work on getting Andrew Jackson off of the $20 bill.

This is PC crap, nothing more.

[Brian37]

Not the same thing and you know it.

You're right, it's actually worse. We may have enslaved blacks and suppressed their civil liberties, but at least our racial slur for them wasn't derived from the practice of scalping their dead. :-|

UM BULLSHIT. "Redskin" was created BY NATIVES,  before the expansion to the west when Europeans and Natives were not divided. It was created long before it was adapted in this manor. You are picking an arbitrary point in history.

"Atheos" is where the word "atheist" comes from. The Greek term was not a moral judgment, merely a statement of position. But Abrahamic monotheism, especially Christianity for 2000 years has treated "atheist" as evil.

Now be consistent if you are going to insist on "never" as a tactic. DON'T CALL YOURSELF AN ATHEIST.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Brian, the Redskins debate isn't about you or your feelings about a football team, but you seem to be wanting it to be so.
The Washington Redskins aren't the first sports team to come under fire for this and won't be the last, but damned, don't try to make it about your personal feelings toward a football team. It's not.

[Brian37]

Brian, the Redskins debate isn't about you or your feelings about a football team, but you seem to be wanting it to be so.
The Washington Redskins aren't the first sports team to come under fire for this and won't be the last, but damned, don't try to make it about your personal feelings toward a football team. It's not.

Don't try to emotionally blackmail me out of the conversation. This isn't just about me, this is about the CONTEXT of how any word is used. And since words have more than one definition and more than one context, you don't simply sweep that aside.

Again, anyone here that wants to slap "never" as a rule DONT CALL YOURSELF ATHEISTS, because we are seen as evil.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Whatever Brian.. Ok.. quit being a douch.. feel better?

[Brian37]

Whatever Brian.. Ok.. quit being a douch.. feel better?

I'm a "douche" because I disagree? I'll take that under advisement atheist. Just remember you are an atheist. You have no morals atheist. You love Stalin too.

[Jason78]

ALL WORDS have more than one meaning and can be used in different contexts to mean different things.

I'm surprised that faggot didn't get a mention.

[Brian37]

ALL WORDS have more than one meaning and can be used in different contexts to mean different things.

I'm surprised that faggot didn't get a mention.

"faggot" originally meant "bundle of sticks" and also means "cigarette". And in gay community it is used as a term of endearment. AGAIN, CONTEXT MATTERS.

Sane people know the difference. And I really don't want people claiming I have no right to talk having grown up sensitive and bullied as a kid.

[Brian37]

JEFF FOXWORTHY IS A SELF LOATHING REDNECK.

[youtube:1jge4p9v]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7E-isbgwpk[/youtube:1jge4p9v]