Judge Sides With Redskins in Team Name Suit

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by itvnetop

Thanks for the responses, Schneed. You make some good points.

Regarding the "educated" vs. "non-educated" opinion, I don't discount either viewpoint- one is equal to the other. I should have expounded on these statistics a bit further. The comparison wasn't meant to say that the opinions of college kids hold more weight than the non-college NAs. The example merely shows the wide gap of the thinking between these two groups.

The only difference between the them is the access to information. Not saying those on the reservation don't have the same means to read and research... It's just that a campus environment is constructed around learning and research. While NAs on the reservations have to worry about finding employment or feeding their families, a college student has the leeway/time (or at least more time, depending on their financial situation) to focus on reading, analyzing and evaluating whatever they choose to learn. It's a good bet many of these students walk onto campus not really being offended by certain things; after a few years of study, they leave with another viewpoint.

The ones left behind aren't stupid just because they don't get to attend (they'd probably be able to school most of us in basic survival techniques)... they just aren't able to drop their obligations to spend a few years reading books, writing essays and taking exams. It's just unfortunate that enrollment numbers reflect a seemingly insurmountable task for NAs when it comes to leaving the reservation for college.

I can certainly understand that the more you read about certain things, the more outraged you get. The more I read about Bush and company's handling of the events leading up to the Iraq war, the more I regret voting for him. But that's another discussion...

The Iraq war though, is something that you need to read about to truly understand. However, a term referring to your ethnicity? I'm not sure you need to read and study that much for that one. I guess some people do (there is undoubtedly some historical context involved) as evidenced by your stats which I am not ignoring. But for most I think, a racial slur produces a visceral emotional reaction, thus someone becomes "offended" or finds it "offensive". I don't think it's an intellectual response for most people, I don't think you need much study on it. Most folks either feel offended by a characterization, or feel ambivalent towards it.

This has been a fruitful discussion and I have enjoyed it. I apologize for taking the condescending tone I did earlier in the thread.