Ethnic sports team names...

So the Atlanta Braves are planning to bring back the screaming Indian logo, which frankly looks pretty cool, doesn't it? But still, I winced at the same time.

Ethnic named sports teams, whether Braves, Indians, Redskins, tend to be about Native Americans. Why is that? Because we as a race of people killed them off to the point of being mystical about them. This song ("Cheyenne Anthem") from the American progressive rock group, Kansas, captures the majesty we clothed these people after we killed them, to take one cultural example (Great song, by the way).

So the question I've always had for those who love keeping those names is should we just go one step beyond and have more teams with ethnic names, and really get racy like with "Redskins"?

I think of the Lenny Bruce bit about making fun of ethnic slurs...

And then I think...

How about the New York Heebs? "The Heebs are comin' to town, folks. They lead the league in steals...livin' up to their proud name!"

Or the Philadelphia Coons? The Arizona Spics? The Milwaukee Svennes? The Cleveland Polacks? The Boston Micks? And think of the logos for each team...

And yet, I wince at all of it. My sensitivities tell me this is all wrong, but unless we go through the exercise, we hear the all too familiar "It's traditional!" or "Hey! Nobody's bothered by this, so what's the fuss?" Well, maybe there is something wrong with names like Redskins at least, and probably Braves, Indians, Seminoles, and the like.

And for those who think what's the harm in ethnic names, get a load of this current soccer team in the Netherlands which has a nickname of "Jews," and where rival fans scream about sending the Jews to the gas chambers...Ah, the European disease of anti-Semitism lives on...