I never cared about sports. When I was young, I didn’t see the point in them and I really didn’t feel like running all over the place. I’m not coordinated enough to catch a ball or out-think a guy charging at me. I’m not cool minded enough to shoot a basket with tons of people barreling towards me. And, to be honest, I have other stuff I’d like to do. I think the proper term for me is that I’m a “pussy” but I could give a shit really.

Due to my complete lack of interest in sports, I probably shouldn’t talk about the Washington Redskins and why the name is offensive. I probably shouldn’t, but I am anyway. I’m going to do it because the fact that there is even a conversation about whether the name is offensive makes my head explode. It’s absurd that it’s 2014 and we still have to have a long, spirited debate about whether a name that is offensive really is offensive, if the offensive name is a problem for us as a society and if we should make actual efforts to not only change the name but, in the process, ourselves. It’s absurd because the answer is obviously yes. Ultimately, this has less to do with sports and more to do with common sense and decency, two core values that are lacking for some weird reason.

First, let’s establish something real quick. The Europeans that came to America, Spanish, English and French, did a lot of fucked up shit. We could talk about it all day. The United States was carved out of the heart of a lot of brown people, both Native Americans and African slaves. That’s not news and we don’t have to dig too deep into it. What we should think on, heavily and deeply and all the time, is that it was wrong. Like, those Europeans? Back in the day? They shouldn’t have done all the horrible atrocities and evils that they did to create what we have now. They shouldn’t have. But they did. Because they shouldn’t have done it, we should, as a people, feel real, real bad about it. And that’s normal. Not only is it normal, it signifies that you are a decent human being. He’s a sample conversation.

“Man, you know. What those early Europeans did? That was fucked up.”

“It was. I wish they didn’t do it.”

“Me neither. It was horrible.”

“Really bad. Want to get some lunch?”

“Sure.”

See? It’s easy. Yes, what happened all those years ago was horrible and you should say it, understand it, and then reflect on it every so often. You can’t build a time machine and change it, but you should educate yourself and know it and then live your life the best you can. When you talk about Native Americans, but say Indians by mistake, you should correct yourself because you sound stupid. The very idea that Native Americans were Indians is part of the whole fucked up history. So don’t say it. And, hey, while we’re on the subject, how about you don’t say anything bad about those people because, I mean, they were completely screwed over. I mean totally. So, be respectful. It is the bare-bone least you could do.

Oh, wait. There’s something else you can do. You can not, I don’t know, maybe call your sports team “The Redskins.”

This is where we establish that “The Redskins” is racist. Let’s try it. If you were at a Native American reservation, would you call the people living there “Redskins?” Or, if you were dating a Native American, would you call them “Redskinned” around your friends? Let’s try it in dialogue.

“Hey, who’s that guy you came to the party with?”

“Oh, that’s Dave. He’s a redskin.”

“Uh. I didn’t ask what race he was.”

“I know but, I mean, he is.”

“Why didn’t you just call him Native American?”

“Eh. I’m racist. Whatever.”

See? That’ s how it works. “Redskins” is as racist as any number of racist euphemisms we have in our language and you shouldn’t say it because it’s racist. Words are real things that create meaning. When you say a word, you are telling your brain to picture something. And, just to be clear, if you call Native Americans “Redskins” then you might as well call Asians “Yellowskins” and Black people “Blackskins” and Latinos “Sort of a mixture of Yellow and Black skin.” You are “Othering” Native Americans when you call them something like that. You are making them seem as if they are a creature other than you, a race that must be pointed out and signified because they aren’t your race and so they don’t deserve to be respected. Even with the pretty complicated history of the word, it doesn’t make it right to say it and it sure as hell doesn’t make it ok for a National Football team to be called that. Washington Post’s Clinton Yates said it better than I can.

As a D.C. native and a lifelong fan of the team, I’ve lost friends over the issue. Supporters of the team name often tell you that tradition trumps a history of genocide. After all, the argument goes, we’re already desensitized to the name, why change now? Those people are idiots. The fact is that not only is the team’s mascot a highly insensitive insult, but the ardent defiance of those in support of it is disgusting.

He goes on to say:

This isn’t just a matter of football. Or uniforms. Or logos. Or fight songs. Or really anything related to game day. It’s also not a matter of singling out Dan Snyder’s team among a slew of others with similar monikers. It’s a matter of acknowledging that as a country, we are not going to accept the continued parodying of cultures for the entertainment of the masses and the profits of a few.

So, is the “Redskins” name racist? Yes. Should we call Native Americans “Redskins?” No. Cool. Ok, now, why hasn’t the name been changed?

There are two reasons why the name hasn’t been changed. First, it would cost billions of dollars. Second, because there are a ton of people who watch sports that don’t give a shit.

Changing the name would cost a ton of money because the franchise would lose all the money in merchandise that already has the “Redskins” logo and name, not to mention all the money spent to make a new logo, market it and produce it. It would cost billions of dollars and take years. Even if the name was changed right now, it wouldn’t go into full effect for two years at least.

That’s boring and simple. The other part, the raw apathy of most sports fans, that’s the really interesting stuff. If you’re a Washington Redskins fan, you might have thought about the name a few times, but has it bothered you enough to not be a fan anymore? If you say yes, congrats and thank you for being a good person. If you say no, then you don’t give a fuck if the name is changed or not. And, because fans buy merchandise and tickets to the games, as long as fans don’t care about the name, the name probably won’t go anywhere. Even if the name is changed because of lawsuits or a change of heart by Dan Snyder (which will happen right after Hell freezes over), a name change will just seem like another big government liberal mandate from a Black President and the silly, safety net liberal blah blah blah.

My point is this: The only people who should force the Washington Redskins name change are the fans. The only way they can do this is not buy merchandise and not buy game tickets. A full boycott will get the name changed in one season. But that will never happen because if the fans cared that much, they would have boycotted already. They haven’t and won’t and the name probably isn’t going anywhere.

I don’t believe in the human heart. I think people do good, righteous things when it’s convenient to do so. The Washington Redskins is a legacy of the horrid, disgusting events and actions that were taken to make this country “great.” Maybe keeping the name as a reminder of how terrible we are is worth the degradation the name does to Native Americans. I don’t think so, but I’m trying my best to see a bright side.