“Anti-Woke” is just drivel

You hear the term "Anti-Woke" bandied around frequently. It's the counter to being in any way fair minded, or inclusive. 

And yet, no one can define "woke."  It's an ideal as much as anything. I don't like it. That's woke!

Anyway, the Washington professional football team had been called "Redskins" since their inception.  

Over the last 30 or so years, that name (and others like it) started to come under some scrutiny for being derogatory toward Native Americans.

And then a few years ago, they elected to change the name to "Football Team" (such an awesome generic name!) and later to "Commanders."

But of course some saw the decision as woke. Because they gave in and changed the name! The horror! 

The team was sold and the new owner was asked if he'd bring the old name back. "Unlikely" was his answer. 

And then this year, as our political landscape heated up, it became a thing again (I would assume mostly because the team is located close to DC, so it gets noticed). "They need to change the name back!"

One senator made the circuit, talking about how he had been in discussions with the owner and the tribes and he believes they can work it out and undo this wokedness!

And that is a sound bite. But does it have any merit?

I would argue, No. it does not. 

Because, it's actually about money. 

What gets lost is that before the name change, a federal judge ruled that the use of the word, and the Native American head used on the helmets were not protected under copyright, because the word was pejorative and the image was actually owned by the tribe. 

So in effect, all of the teams logos and merchandise were in the public domain and anyone could produce and sell it. Cutting off a huge revenue source for the team and the league. 

It doesn't matter what anyone thinks about how woke it might be to lose the name. What matters is the ability to make money on selling merchandise. 

No billionaire owner is going to let just anyone profit on the team name and imagery. That just wouldn't be right. 

It's all about the dolla dolla bills y'all.