"Flea?" They actually called me flea -- a tiny black jumping bug -- and I never felt prouder! My neighbor Jim Whitley invited me to play on his team in a back-yard football game because they needed one more player. I was three years younger than Jim and his buddies, and I was the only one they could find to make the teams even. I also was a head shorter than the other guys. Needless to say, they didn't expect much from me. The first time they threw me the ball, not only did I catch it, but the other team couldn't catch me. An older guy on my team said, "Look at that little flea go?" This rather derogatory slur caught on, and Jim and his pals forever regarded me as "The Flea." I know, it's a terrible name for a height-challenged little guy, but I loved it. Growing up I was called a lot of negative names: My mom called me "Itty Bitty Buddy", my sisters called me "Chrissy", my 6th grade football coach called me, "Little S---", and my friends would spell my last name "Weak instead of Weeks." I once really got steaming mad when 4 of my siblings laughed at me after calling me Chrissy and my dad said, "Chris, remember, sticks & stones may break your bones but names will never hurt you." He was a man of deep, sound, ancient wisdom. And after awhile, I learned to let this wisdom sink-in; where soon the mockery of others rolled right off my back. I even began to see that oftentimes a person's negative name was really a backhanded compliment. "Flea" can be a taken to mean an unwanted, irritating bug; or when understood in context, it can be used to mean a surprisingly quick runner. Negatives often hide positives, and a person who gains some thick skin will often find the silver lining behind the derogatory cloud. This is no longer the case. Yesterday the Supreme Court overturned the request by the Washington Redskins to trademark their mascot the Redskins. They sadly were not allowed to license the picture of the Indian face with feathers because, "The government says the law 'simply reflects Congress’ judgment that the State should not affirmatively promote the use of racial slurs and other disparaging terms by granting the benefits of registration.'" Well, for over 60 years now, Washington fans have cheered on their Redskins, proudly displaying their well known logo. But some people were offended. (I'm not even sure it was true Native Americans that first raised the stink as much as liberal progressives who thought they needed to take the self-congratulatory lead for mascot reform.) The idol of tolerance struck again; and the owner of the Redskins, oops, I mean of the Washington football team is being forced to bow his knee to that all-powerful idol. No longer are we to fear Sticks & Stones, tolerance now teaches us it is "words" that are the true bone breakers. In the book "The Joy of Hate", author Greg Gutfield writes, "The idea of tolerance - a seemingly innocuous concept - has now become something else entirely: a way to bludgeon people into shutting up, piping down, and apologizing, when the attacked are often the ones who hold the key to common sense. They speak an unspeakable truth, and they get clobbered by the Truncheon of Tolerance. Tolerance has turned people into sheep/parrot hybrids, followers in word and deed - bloating and squawking at everyone in a psychological torment not experienced since Dave Matthews picked up the guitar." I love the phrase, "they hold the key to common sense." But when tolerance takes over, that key gets lost. Why can't Washington fans just relax under the traditional banner of a majestic Indian chief? After all, it's a football game? At least that is what we have been told when we try to discuss the importance of honoring the national anthem, "Dude, it's just a game." Or take it step further: Why can't people see the underlying compliment in the word Redskins? Don't the champions for tolerance know a mascot is meant to be a positive thing? So ironically, that means Washington fans actually are pro-Native American. Who ever heard of picking a mascot you hate? You don't see them naming Washington the "Scum-Buckets", "Weaklings", or "Brown-Nosers", do you? Why not the "Itty Bitty Buddies?" But the idol of tolerance demands for us to bow to their authority regardless if they are using common sense or not. Remember, if they are offended, the unforgivable sin against the tolerance idol has been committed. Someone needs to pay! Gutfield goes on to write, "Right now, we live in a world where if someone perceives you as 'offensive,' they win. Meanwhile, the real offenders get a walk. They can wield the weapon of 'tolerance' to protect real scummy behavior. Like any act committed by a radical Islamist or past member of Menudo.... "We have now made it a rule to respect those who refuse to respect us." So if someone is offended by a name they can bypass federal law to punish the offender, as in the case of the Washington Redskin legal battle. They can incite riots on college campuses because someone looked at a black man the wrong way. Christians are even labeled as haters when we use the gospel for saying God wants to set you free from sexual sin. What if someone loves sinning? If I don't tolerate their sin - even though it may biblically offend God - I become the true offender. We are told everywhere that it is "Words that really hurt," so all we are left with are Sticks & Stones. And they are perfectly OK to use when they are being used to shut up the person who wielded those hurtful words. The idol of tolerance wins again! I know, lets make a compromise? I say the name should be the Washington Fleas. That will make everybody happy! Especially every short, fast neighborhood kid who one day dreams of playing for Washington!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2018
|