Confusing "red" and "redskin"

In "Redskins" All Over the Continent? another anonymous reader too afraid to sign his name defended Redskin magazine again. This self-proclaimed "redskin" claimed the word "redskin" is used all over the continent--in the names of "streets and cities," among other things.

Now that I've finally stopped laughing, I can post a reply. Hey redskin...do you live on Redskin Road in Redskin City? In a little red-brick house? With Little Red Riding Hood, perhaps?

Is your neighboring town called Yellowface City, Greenhair City, or Bluefoot City? Is your country called Oz or Neverland or Narnia, perhaps? Or are you imagining all these streets and cities named "redskin" in a colorful daydream, somewhere over the rainbow, in a nice padded room?

Ahem. Moving on...here's the latest semi-coherent nonsense from our "yellow" red man:you twat .. schmidty schmidty schmidt ass .. you bleeding schmidty twat .. as much as its a yawn for you to hear your name dragged through schmidt and i know i know sticks and stones may break my bones and all that jazz .. i can't help but be amused .. but before you get bent out of shape i want to let you knowBent out of shape by these childish insults, Anonymous? I think it's hysterical that you can't provide any sort of intelligent rebuttal to my arguments. You can't even capitalize or punctuate your sentences correctly. I hope you're not on the writing staff of Redskin magazine, because you're not much of a writer.

You claimed "redskin" is used all over the continent. The only example you gave was a Redskin hose, which has no connection to the Native ethnic slur. In other words, you made a ridiculous claim and I challenged you on it. Not surprisingly, you couldn't back up your claim with anything resembling a fact.your right I am not absolutely sure this wasn't a post-contact decision that the four colours red white yellow and black were some kind of crazy scheme to identify racesI'm sure it was a post-contact decision. No one has ever offered a shred of evidence that Indians knew about blacks, Asians, or whites before Columbus. (Except for the few Indians who met Vikings, that is.)

Anonymous unclear on the issuered skin .. its what i've been told all my life schmidt .. why can't you accept thatAccept that your people identify yourself with the color red? Since that's commonplace throughout Indian country, I accept it.

Accept that your people label yourself with the pejorative word "redskin," a different matter? No, I don't accept that. Go ahead and prove it, or admit you can't.its whats still being taughtWhat, that you're "red" or that you're "redskins"? Do you even understand that we're talking about two different things? Judging by your vain attempts to obscure the issue, I'm guessing not.i also identify myself by clan Ratiniahton or turtle clan .. and yes even onenkwentara the color red .. look at others that use red to identify: Redwire Magazine - Red Nation -Red X magazineReally? Wow. In my two decades of writing about Natives, I never knew that they often use the word "red." Thanks for that stunning news.

Duh.

I've explained several times that "red" isn't the same as "redskin." If you were too dense to get the point before, maybe you'll get it now.

Similarly, "bitch," "cock," and many other words can be innocent or insulting in different contexts. Let's hope you're not as clueless as you seem about how language works.its ridiculous that redskin is frowned uponIt's ridiculous that you don't know most Indians oppose "redskin."

Try to get this through your thick skull, genius. I'm not protesting the Native use of the word "red." I frequently post items with the word "red" in them--for instance, Arigon Starr in Red Ink. I don't criticize the use of "red" because Natives don't criticize it.

What I'm criticizing is the specific combination of seven letters known as "redskin." I'm doing this not because I have strong feelings about the word, but because many Natives consider it an ethnic slur. I'm not telling them what to think, I'm telling you what they think.

Natives love Redskin magazine?when pushing the issue in albuquerque during one of the biggest pow wows .. everyone we spoke with LOVED it .. absolutely LOVED itPeople can love the magazine's content without loving its title. If you think they love the word "redskin," go ahead and take the challenge I've outlined several times. Find a room full of elders and start calling them "redskins." Tell us how they react.

If you're unwilling to do this test, then you're implicitly admitting I'm right. So go ahead and do it. Prove to us that you're not yellow, red man.

As for "pushing" the issue, you don't know much about marketing if you trust people's reactions when you thrust the magazine in their faces. The better question is how many issues you've sold. In fact, where is the magazine being distributed for sale? I haven't seen or heard of it anywhere except in these postings, which tells me it isn't reaching the masses.maybe you should look past the negative .. instead of trying to find why its wrong and even worse convincing others why its wrong .. which by the way makes you a schmidty bleeding twat .. try and find why its right .. educate yourselfI've asked you to "educate" me about your made-up origin of the word "redskin" several times. So far you've failed to do it. You can blame yourself for being a poor educator as well as a poor writer.yeah so twat eat a dick cuz thats what twats do .. you and your indians can fuck off .. me and my redskin'd onkwehon:we will be over here doing what we do .. what else .. you use I believe, and i think alot .. you don't know .. and you can't admit itBlah, blah, blah. Whine, whine, whine. Yawn, yawn, yawn.

You "think alot"? I guess your brain isn't connected to your fingers, because your so-called thinking isn't evident in your writing.

Let's compare your magazine to my website. BlueCornComics.com has been online more than 10 years. In 2008 it received 4,312,559 pageviews. That's an average of 11,815 pageviews per day.

Meanwhile, your magazine is what...a year old? While Blue Corn Comics was entertaining and informing readers in 2008, how many issues did you sell? Have you reached four digits yet?

If you've managed to gain even 4,313 readers--which is one-thousandth of the number of readers I got last year--I'll be impressed. So tell us your sales figures and prove how popular you are, mouth. Put up or shut up.

In short, it's easy to talk the talk--to boast about your little publication. But I've been publishing my views 10 times longer than you have. Until you've proved your staying power, color me unimpressed with your startup efforts.

Origin of white people?the good twin made the deal that if the bad twin let him give life to his creation that he would control half his mind .. the deal was agreed and that was the creation of white peopleThanks for your post-contact origin of the races.

Here's one claim for how Indians came to be known as "red" people.

Beothuks:  The Red People of CanadaHave you ever wondered why people from Europe called the natives of North America "Red Indians"? First Nations people don't have red skin, so why were they called that? The name came because of the Beothuks.

The Beothuks were a native people who lived in Newfoundland. They loved to use a red ochre paint all over themselves. It was this red which made such an impression on the explorers. The name "red Indian" carried over to refer to all other First Nations.I believe the Vikings encountered the Beothuks, so the "red" appellation could've predated Columbus. But it wouldn't have predated the Vikings.the white people were giving a sense of exploration .. to ask why?Great...white people as curious explorers. Other people as uncurious homebodies. Thanks for reinforcing the notion of Western civilization's superiority to Native civilizations, bright boy.

Are you claiming your description of white people as explorers is also pre-contact? That the "red" people not only knew about white people but knew they were exploring the whole world?

If so, I'm guessing you're wrong. I'd say this story is almost certainly post-contact.

Anyway, I'm glad you approve of white people like me asking why. Therefore, I'll continue to ask why you've titled your magazine with an ethnic slur. Why?

Below:  A resident of Redskin Road in Redskin City.

"me rite like this .. with funny dots .. because me am primitive redskin. Brave and squaw in teepee .. no teach good English .. like smart white man. Too busy count wampum .. smoke peace pipe .. pray to Great Spirit. Me very angry .. can't rite good .. me so ignorant."