Guest Editorial
BY LARRY KLAYMAN | JUNE 25, 2014
Hail to the Redskins!
In this age of so-called political correctness comes yet a new outrage. This week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, succumbing to pressure from the likes of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, invalidated the Washington Redskins’ trademark on the grounds that it is offensive to Native Americans. The absurdity of all of this is self-evident.
Where does the madness stop? For years Indian activists have been trying to get the Cleveland Indians to cease using a bucktoothed red-faced logo, “Chief Wahoo,” on their hats and uniforms. Should we white people complain when trademarks and logos depict someone who is a pale face? Should black people complain similarly because the Cleveland NFL football franchise has been for decades named the Browns? And, should Peter Sellers’ “Pink Panther” movies be banned because in them Inspector Clouseau refers to his Asian sidekick Cato as “my little yellow friend.” The hard fact is that American Indians do have a rosy complexion, and in fact it is quite appealing aesthetically.
And now our “Mullah in Chief” has once again decided to chime in. Last Saturday, Obama, instead of handling the impending crisis in Iraq, decided to handle what is clearly a more important matter by opening his big mouth and stating, “If I were the owner of the team and I knew that there was a name of my team – even if it had a storied history – that was offending a sizable group of people, I’d think about changing it.” Obama surely knows best about offending a sizable group of people. Maybe he should change his middle name, Hussein, since it dredges up memories of Saddam Hussein, among other thoughts.
The irony is that now that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder no longer can claim federal trademark protection, the name Redskins will be used even more by sports teams in the same trademark classification. Good job, Harry Reid and company. You have now just unleashed a deluge of what you and your leftist comrades see as racism toward Native Americans.
What happened to the country that forbade “abridging the freedom of speech” in the first of its constitutional amendments? The leftists only believe in free speech when it serves their political agenda. Anything even considered remotely offensive, to anybody, is now decried as “racism.” And now a group led by a former Federal Communications Commission chairman is working to persuade broadcasters to stop saying the name Redskins on the airwaves.
We’re now truly living in an Orwellian age. Not only is all of our communication being monitored by the NSA, but now the government is attempting to control how we talk and what words we use, similar to the “Newspeak” Orwell wrote about in his book “1984.”
The New Yorker and other “lame stream media,” as my friend Sarah Palin would say, have already applauded the PTO’s decision, when ironically, these media outlets similarly depend on the text of the First Amendment for their own protection.
Where will this PC madness stop? Pretty soon we won’t be able to wear green for St. Patrick’s Day because we might offend leprechauns, or red on Valentine’s Day because we might offend Cupid. Maybe I’ll put together a campaign and file a lawsuit against the Chicago White Sox because the name is offensive to my lilly white feet.
It’s time we take a stand against the PC police. I applaud Daniel Snyder for his refusal to back down to the pressure. We should not be afraid of speaking what is on our minds. This country was founded on the principle of a marketplace of ideas, no matter how right or wrong they may be, and we must continue to stand up for this ideal and for the First Amendment’s command that the government shall not abridge the freedom of speech.
Help Larry Klayman with his class-action suit against Obama’s use of the NSA to violate Americans’ rights.
