Aunt Jemima brand to change name, remove image that Quaker says is 'based on a racial stereotype'

In an earlier post, there was a discussion about the names of sports teams. I mentioned that the term "Redskins" was prevalent in old cowboy and indian movies and shows. It just occurred to me that in those same shows, they called the caucasians "Palefaces." Will the day come when reruns will have both these terms bleeped out?

I tend to agree with Gennie's post: "I think people's "I'm offended" meter is set much too low and also set to give alarm about too many things that don't matter."

We can rewrite history (and it has been done many times), but I don't approve, as it will not change the sordid past. All we can do is work towards a more enlightened future. Let's address the BIG issues!
 

I think people’s I’m offended metre is set far too high.

Note: That’s not to say some things don’t need to change but where does this political correctness end? I’m even afraid to voice my comments for fear it will offend others. I agree we have bigger issues to deal with than product names.

People will be afraid to talk to others for fear of offending others accidentally.
 
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anymore you never know. you can offend someone at the drop of a hat now. over stupid crap. and God forbid you should say something they don't like. i find it easier to just not talk too much anymore which kinda ruins things for me. i want to converse and enjoy people but they make such a big deal out of piddly crap.
 

Keesha said:
I think people’s I’m offended metre is set far too high.
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In younger years I certainly dealt with plenty of sexist jokes, behaviors, presumptions and unequal treatment in the workplace. Was I offended sometimes? You betcha. Very glad those days are in the rear view mirror.

My father's Italian family came to the US in about 1890, during that great immigration wave. Although born in Brooklyn and perfectly fluent in English, he was subject to name calling (guinea, dago, wop), profiling and discrimination. As were his Jewish friends.

In order to find a job during this period of anti-Italian sentiment in this country, my father legally changed his first name and angicized the pronunciation of his last name, which he legally shortened. A not uncommon move by young men of that era.

The US has an ugly history of discrimination. It's only when people have been offended and discriminated against to the point where they scream "Enough!" that change occurs. If Native Americans repeatedly complain that "Redskins" offends them, why in the world would a team persist in using that team name?
 
StarSong said:
In younger years I certainly dealt with plenty of sexist jokes, behaviors, presumptions and unequal treatment in the workplace. Was I offended sometimes? You betcha. Very glad those days are in the rear view mirror.

My father's Italian family came to the US in about 1890, during that great immigration wave. Although born in Brooklyn and perfectly fluent in English, he was subject to name calling (guinea, dago, wop), profiling and discrimination. As were his Jewish friends.

In order to find a job during this period of anti-Italian sentiment in this country, my father legally changed his first name and angicized the pronunciation of his last name, which he legally shortened. A not uncommon move by young men of that era.

The US has an ugly history of discrimination. It's only when people have been offended and discriminated against to the point where they scream "Enough!" that change occurs. If Native Americans repeatedly complain that "Redskins" offends them, why in the world would a team persist in using that team name?
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So true. You make a really good point.
I definitely went through sexual harassment when I was younger. Quite a bit of it actually. One guy I almost knocked him off his chair and was incredibly close. What I should have done is reported him to the labour board or even police but I didn’t want to be hassled about it. It’s embarrassing enough as is.

Yeahhhh! Ok you just brought that all back home to me and yes sometimes some balls need rattling to get things changed and I will happily accept that change if it makes things more equal and fair to others. You bet. Some things are definitely worth fighting for. 👍❤
 
StarSong said:
In younger years I certainly dealt with plenty of sexist jokes, behaviors, presumptions and unequal treatment in the workplace. Was I offended sometimes? You betcha. Very glad those days are in the rear view mirror.

My father's Italian family came to the US in about 1890, during that great immigration wave. Although born in Brooklyn and perfectly fluent in English, he was subject to name calling (guinea, dago, wop), profiling and discrimination. As were his Jewish friends.

In order to find a job during this period of anti-Italian sentiment in this country, my father legally changed his first name and angicized the pronunciation of his last name, which he legally shortened. A not uncommon move by young men of that era.

The US has an ugly history of discrimination. It's only when people have been offended and discriminated against to the point where they scream "Enough!" that change occurs. If Native Americans repeatedly complain that "Redskins" offends them, why in the world would a team persist in using that team name?
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I still think the old-fashioned approach was more sensible: it's wrong to insult people- because any reasonable person knows what that word means. Those disgusting terms you said were thrown at your father are examples.

With this new approach, anybody can be 'offended' by anything they 'choose to be' or 'say they are' "offended" by- even if there's nothing wrong with what's said. In my opinion, it's just another modern manipulation.

And, re: the Native American subject you and others mentioned- I hate football, never paid attention to it, but consider the possibility that it's only a few individuals who've been making an issue of it.
The reason for this viewpoint: although it's also my high school mascot, but was removed and replaced with something ridiculous quite a few years ago, I've not known of any Native American alumni who considered the term to be objectionable or 'offensive.' So what it came to is 'the powers that be' decided to take a so-called PC approach by taking away our traditional mascot. I also checked with a couple of Native Americans not connected to my school- online friends- and they were in no way bothered by the term 'Redskins' either.
 
JaniceM said:
I still think the old-fashioned approach was more sensible: it's wrong to insult people- because any reasonable person knows what that word means. Those disgusting terms you said were thrown at your father are examples.

With this new approach, anybody can be 'offended' by anything they 'choose to be' or 'say they are' "offended" by- even if there's nothing wrong with what's said. In my opinion, it's just another modern manipulation.

And, re: the Native American subject you and others mentioned- I hate football, never paid attention to it, but consider the possibility that it's only a few individuals who've been making an issue of it.
The reason for this viewpoint: although it's also my high school mascot, but was removed and replaced with something ridiculous quite a few years ago, I've not known of any Native American alumni who considered the term to be objectionable or 'offensive.' So what it came to is 'the powers that be' decided to take a so-called PC approach by taking away our traditional mascot. I also checked with a couple of Native Americans not connected to my school- online friends- and they were in no way bothered by the term 'Redskins' either.
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I cannot imagine a Native American who doesn't take offense to the term Redskin but there were probably some outlier Italians who didn't object to the terms guinea, dago or wop.

I congratulate your school's powers that be on their collective wisdom in replacing a mascot they deemed offensive despite apparent pushback among its alumni.
 
StarSong said:
I cannot imagine a Native American who doesn't take offense to the term Redskin but there were probably some outlier Italians who didn't object to the terms guinea, dago or wop.

I congratulate your school's powers that be on their collective wisdom in replacing a mascot they deemed offensive despite apparent pushback among its alumni.
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I was married to an Italian-American and my late brother-in-law was Sicilian (not Italian, Sicilian - he would point that out.) There weren't any "outliers" - all Italians dealt with ugly prejudice and stereotyping, and found those terms extremely offensive.
 
JimBob1952 said:
I was married to an Italian-American and my late brother-in-law was Sicilian (not Italian, Sicilian - he would point that out.) There weren't any "outliers" - all Italians dealt with ugly prejudice and stereotyping, and found those terms extremely offensive.
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I didn't want to call BS on the poster. It's possible she found a couple of Native Americans who don't find the term "Redskin" offensive. It's also possible that a rare Italian-American professed to not find guinea, dago or wop offensive. Possible. Undoubtedly uncommon but possible.

By the time I was born in the 50s most Italian prejudice had diminished considerably or moved far enough underground in my neighborhood that it was barely noticeable. High profile post-war entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sophia Loren sure helped.

Not so for many of my Jewish, Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ friends, who still deal with this ignorance. :cry:

Truly, I see a disheartening amount of thinly veiled racism on this very forum.
 
StarSong said:
I didn't want to call BS on the poster. It's possible she found a couple of Native Americans who don't find the term "Redskin" offensive. It's also possible that a rare Italian-American professed to not find guinea, dago or wop offensive. Possible. Undoubtedly uncommon but possible.

By the time I was born in the 50s most Italian prejudice had diminished considerably or moved far enough underground in my neighborhood that it was barely noticeable. High profile post-war entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sophia Loren sure helped.

Not so for many of my Jewish, Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ friends, who still deal with this ignorance. :cry:

Truly, I see a disheartening amount of thinly veiled racism on this very forum.
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You are right in that anti-Italian prejudice is older and faded out earlier. The stereotypes were amazing; I remember reading about a newspaper interview with a young Joe DiMaggio where the writer complimented him on combing his hair with plain water rather than "bear grease" (presumably that was what Italians were supposed to use.)

Most white people I know would do anything not to be thought of as racist. They would bend over backward to avoid giving offense. What they feel or think in their heart of hearts I can't say.
 
Chicago just had it's deadliest weekend (6/20-6/21) with 85 people being shot and 24 killed, including a 3 year-old little boy who was shot while sitting in a car and four teenagers were also included in the killings. And, I'm supposed to give a damn about renaming a football team because a few native Americans are offended being called a "Redskin." Let them speak for themselves. Why do we have to get involved? Don't we have bigger fish to fry? Those native Americans are alive and will continue to live. Being called a Redskin is not lethal.

We should be more concerned about the killings than the renaming of a football team, which no one gives a crap about. A life has been taken of a three year-old little boy. This really has me upset. That 3 year-old little boy will never get to live his life or have any experiences. It's a damn shame. Each of us only gets one life and this little boy's life has been snuffed out.
 
JimBob1952 said:
Most white people I know would do anything not to be thought of as racist. They would bend over backward to avoid giving offense. What they feel or think in their heart of hearts I can't say.
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That's why I referred to the comments as thinly veiled racism. Lots of dog whistles being sounded here and elsewhere in our country.
 
Been There said:
Chicago just had it's deadliest weekend (6/20-6/21) with 85 people being shot and 24 killed, including a 3 year-old little boy who was shot while sitting in a car and four teenagers were also included in the killings. And, I'm supposed to give a damn about renaming a football team because a few native Americans are offended being called a "Redskin." Let them speak for themselves. Why do we have to get involved? Don't we have bigger fish to fry? Those native Americans are alive and will continue to live. Being called a Redskin is not lethal.

We should be more concerned about the killings than the renaming of a football team, which no one gives a crap about. A life has been taken of a three year-old little boy. This really has me upset. That 3 year-old little boy will never get to live his life or have any experiences. It's a damn shame. Each of us only gets one life and this little boy's life has been snuffed out.
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These are unrelated issues. Fixing one thing does not take away from fixing another. The gun violence in Chicago is indeed horrific. That doesn't change the fact that there are other problems that need addressing.

Edited to correct a serious error.
 
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StarSong said:
These are unrelated issues. Fixing one thing does not take away from fixing another. The gun violence in Chicago is indeed horrific. That doesn't change the fact that there are other problems that need addressing.

Your attitude surprises me, particularly after the empathetic remarks you made above about the ugly anti-Italian prejudice, stereotyping and offensive words used to hurt your former wife and brother-in-law. Do you not see that to many Native Americans the term "Redskins" is as offensive as a team called "The Dagos" (with a stereotypical profile image) would be to Italian-Americans?
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You're mixing my post up with someone else's (BeenThere, I think).

I grew up with the Redskins but switched over to the Giants many years ago. The Redskins name is outdated and there is no reason not to change it, other than the modest one-time cost of switching over.
 
JimBob1952 said:
You're mixing my post up with someone else's (BeenThere, I think).

I grew up with the Redskins but switched over to the Giants many years ago. The Redskins name is outdated and there is no reason not to change it, other than the modest one-time cost of switching over.
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You are so right. I did confuse the posts. My sincere apologies. I will edit it now.
 
StarSong said:
These are unrelated issues. Fixing one thing does not take away from fixing another. The gun violence in Chicago is indeed horrific. That doesn't change the fact that there are other problems that need addressing.

Edited to correct a serious error.
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Oh, I get it. Because you are part of the SF clique, you get to deem what we discuss and what we dismiss.
Good-bye!
 
Been There, since you said good-bye, you probably won't see this, but I've got to ask anyway: What in tarnation is the "SF clique?"

About the Redskin name and the violence in Chicago, both are worthy of discussion, though not comparable. Apples and oranges.
 
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