So, with no hysteria, name-calling or yelling, I'm going to try to explain why the chop and chant are racist and fans should not continue it. My hope is to have just ONE Atlanta fan in the comments go, "You know, if you put it that way..." 1/8
....The chop and chant are insensitive because they perpetuate stereotypes that most of us and our parents and grandparents all saw depicted in TV and in the movies, depicting Native Americans as war-mongering heathens who speak English in a stilted way and just want to ... 2/8
.... scalp us. The chop perpetuates the violent part of that, and folks need to understand that Native Americans have a rich history of music-making that includes chants, some of which are rooted in prayer, many in historical story-telling. In part, the #braves chant mocks... 3/8
... religion. In concert with the team name and the tomahawk and ugly stereotypical depiction of a Native American man that once comprised their logo, the chant and chop represent one more way that we treat ... 4/8
.... Native Americans as something less than we are. It's no different than depicting Mexicans in a "Mel Blanc" way, sitting on the ground, having a siesta, head hidden in an oversized sombrero; or African Americans as submissive "yes'm" characters. I had one person today .. 5/8
... tell me that the chop is no different than idealizing Spartans and Pirates and the like, who also were warlike. There's a huge difference. The United States was not built on the subjugation of ancient Sparta and Jean Lafitte. But our history is a history of killing ... 6/8
.... Native Americans, taking their land, breaking countless treaties and every other awful thing we Europeans did to overtake their homeland. Here's what I wish: I wish the team and the players would take a stand. Have key players take the field before next year's ... 7/8
... season opener and ask the fans -- not order them -- to stop the chop. Then play the video before every home game. Some people will never get it. But I actually believe over time most will, even in a place like Georgia.
8/8
8/8
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