Friday, July 23, 2021

the Cleveland Guardians

 


 The Aunt Jemima brand was launched in 1888 by the Pearl Milling Company, but has been owned by the Quaker Oats Company since 1926.

About a year ago, the image of Aunt Jemima started disappearing from come of the syrup bottles, and in the near future, the name itself will disappear, and be replaced by “Pearl Milling Company”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aunt_Jemima




Uncle Ben’s was founded in 1943, and was the best-selling rice in America for more than 40 years. Last year, the company announced that it was changing the brand’s name to “Ben’s Original”.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben%27s_Original

The Washington Redskins football team was founded in 1932 as the Boston Braves, but it changed its name to the Redskins the following year. The franchise moved to Washington, D.C., in 1937. The team won the 1937 and 1942 NFL championship games and Super Bowls XVIIXXII, and XXVI. Washington has finished a season as league runner-up six times, losing the 193619401943, and 1945 title games and Super Bowls VII and XVIII. With 14 division titles and 24 postseason appearances, they have an overall postseason record of 23–18. Their three Super Bowl wins are tied with the Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders, behind the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots (six each), San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys (five each), and the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants (four each).

Washington's former Redskins name and logo generated controversy over its history, with many criticizing the term "redskin" as racially insensitive to Native Americans. Despite years of refusal from the team to change it, pressure from several NFL and team sponsors eventually led it to be retired in 2020 as part of a wave of name changes in the wake of the George Floyd protests. The team temporarily rebranded as the Washington Football Team and will adopt a permanent name in 2022. The team is valued at about US$3.5 billion according to Forbes, making it the eight-most valuable team in the NFL and the 19th-most valuable sports franchise globally

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Football_Team

The Kansas City Chiefs were founded in 1960 by Lamar Hunt, but the original name of the team was the Dallas Texans. In 1963, the team moved to Kansas City, and the name was changed to the Kansas City Chiefs. There are no plans to change the name of the team – for now.

The Atlanta Braves started out as the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869, but changed to the Boston Red Stockings in 1871. In 1911, the name changed to the Boston Braves. In 1953, the team moved to Milwaukee, where they had their top farm team, the Brewers. In 1962, the team was sold to a Chicago based investment firm, which started shopping for a larger market. In 1966, the team moved to Atlanta.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Braves

The tomahawk chop was adopted by fans of the Atlanta Braves in 1991. Carolyn King, the Braves organist, had played the "tomahawk song" during most at bats for a few seasons, but it finally caught on with Braves fans when the team started winning. The usage of foam tomahawks led to criticism from Native American groups that it was "demeaning" to them and called for them to be banned. In response, the Braves' public relations director said that it was "a proud expression of unification and family". King who did not understand the political ramifications, approached one of the Native American chiefs who were protesting. The chief told her that leaving her job as an organist would not change anything and that if she left "they'll find someone else to play."

The controversy has persisted since and became national news again during the 2019 National League Division Series. During the series, St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher and Cherokee Nation member, Ryan Helsley was asked about the chop and chant. Helsley said he found the fans' chanting and arm-motions insulting and that the chop depicts natives "in this kind of caveman-type people way who aren't intellectual." The relief pitcher's comments prompted the Braves to stop handing out foam tomahawks, playing the chop music or showing the chop graphic when the series returned to Atlanta for Game 5. The Braves released a statement saying they would "continue to evaluate how we activate elements of our brand, as well as the overall in-game experience" and that they would continue a "dialogue with those in the Native American community after the postseason concludes." The heads of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and Cherokee Nation both condemned the chop and chant.

During the off-season, the Braves met with the National Congress of American Indians to start discussing a path forward. Subsequently, the Braves released a statement announcing that discussions were still ongoing about the chop, but the team name would not be changed.

 We need to talk about the Cleveland Indians. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland_Indians

The team was founded in 1894, and was originally known as the Grand Rapids Rustlers. When the team moved to Cleveland in 1900, the name was changed to the Cleveland Lake Shores. In 1914, the team was re-named the Indians, in order to honor former player Louis Sockalexis, a native American. At the end of the 2021 baseball season, the team name will change to the Cleveland Guardians, and Chief Wahoo will be retired as the team mascot. The team's new name references the "Guardians of Traffic", four Art Deco sculptures gracing the city's Hope Memorial Bridge.





https://nypost.com/2021/07/23/cleveland-indians-change-nickname-to-the-guardians/

 For some of our fellow citizens, all this political correctness may be unsettling, but it is the right thing to do. One of the songs in “Fiddler on the Roof” is a song titled “tradition”. The singer is proud of the fact that his fellow citizens adhere to traditions, but readily admits that he has no idea how they started. Changing the names of sports teams and consumer products is just another way of demonstrating that acknowledging or traditions is fine, but we don’t need to be bound to them forever.

Fiddler on the roof - Tradition ( with subtitles ) - Bing video






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