The Washington Redskins' beloved fight song, "Hail to the Redskins," will be replaced on Sunday by a Spanish-language version of the song.
"Viva Los Redskins," written and produced by three fans, will be introduced during the Redskins' game against the Arizona Cardinals as part of Redskins Hispanic Heritage Week.
The new fight song is a loosely translated, upbeat Hispanic version of the original tune written by Corinne Griffith, the wife of former Redskins owner George Preston Marshall.
I think we need to have an AMERICAN HERITAGE WEEK because the people of this once great nation are forgetting who we are! If people want to take pride in who their ancestors were then that's perfectly fine with me, but why do they feel the need to force it upon everybody else? Create a group, have a club, meet in candlelit libraries...I don't care! But don't force it upon the rest of the nation!
Our ancestors and immigrants came here to get the hell out of "there" so why do we have to pay homage to where they came from if they didn't want to be there in the first place?! To me, "hyphenated" Americans are BS; You're either American or not!
I was once asked "What's your heritage?" I simply said, "American." He said, "no, I mean where did your ancestors hail from?" I said, "that was them, this is me. They apparently came to America to lead a better life. I was born in the USA, I live in the USA, I fight for the USA...I AM AMERICAN!"
So Spanish Heritage Week? Nah, I'll pass. At the Skins game this weekend I will being yelling HAIL in English and reciting our fight song in English!
11:40 LOL, ok so were you saying this during the days (and still goes on) of folks referring to german-, italian-, polish-, hungarian- americans or did this just pop up when hispanics and blacks started to hyphenate. I bet I can guess the answer.
Considering that Hispanic immigrants have a higher participation in the workforce than do the native born population, I think they are "making their own way," 12:32.
To 11:40 -- no one is forcing the Redskins to do this. They are doing it of their own free will. If they want to have a Spanish song, so what? They are free to do it. What's it matter if people speak Spanish? It would do you good to learn a second language. Bilingual people have much broader job prospects than do monolingual people.
Anon 11:58AM, if your are trying to indicate that I am racist, you are wrong. In fact, I am more tolerant of hyphenating African-Americans because they didn't necessarily voluntarily come here; they were taken. I can see how my statement can sound bad, but we share that commonality of American freedom and rights and we only celebrate that one day a year-July 4th. To me, forcing these "heritage weeks" on folks is kind of like forcing religion on people. Is it right? Not really. Is it wrong? Not really.
I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to live in is a unified nation of equal people regardless of race, ethnicity, color, ect. But what I truly get sick of is folks living in the past, especially those who hold the grudge of their ancestors against their counterparts of today. Obviously the easiest example of that would be the feud between blacks and white. I do not know if my ancestors had slaves, but I'm not them so I should not be held accountable for their actions even if they did. We're equal now (if anything blacks have the edge) so lets just move forward.
To 1:09 -- yes, it's bad when people hold grudges based on what the actions of past generations. What it seems like you are doing, though, is holding grudges against people in the current generation. How does a Hispanic person speaking Spanish, singing a Spanish song, or celebrating his heritage threaten you? You can still be an American and speak Spanish, watch futbol, and eat enchiladas.
And no one is forcing any heritage weeks on you. It's not like the government comes to your house and makes you celebrate. The Redskins, a private organization, decided to do something for their Hispanic fans. You are free to stay home. No one is forcing you to go.
I think we need to have an AMERICAN HERITAGE WEEK because the people of this once great nation are forgetting who we are! If people want to take pride in who their ancestors were then that's perfectly fine with me, but why do they feel the need to force it upon everybody else? Create a group, have a club, meet in candlelit libraries...I don't care! But don't force it upon the rest of the nation!
ReplyDeleteOur ancestors and immigrants came here to get the hell out of "there" so why do we have to pay homage to where they came from if they didn't want to be there in the first place?! To me, "hyphenated" Americans are BS; You're either American or not!
I was once asked "What's your heritage?" I simply said, "American." He said, "no, I mean where did your ancestors hail from?" I said, "that was them, this is me. They apparently came to America to lead a better life. I was born in the USA, I live in the USA, I fight for the USA...I AM AMERICAN!"
So Spanish Heritage Week? Nah, I'll pass. At the Skins game this weekend I will being yelling HAIL in English and reciting our fight song in English!
11:40 LOL, ok so were you saying this during the days (and still goes on) of folks referring to german-, italian-, polish-, hungarian- americans or did this just pop up when hispanics and blacks started to hyphenate. I bet I can guess the answer.
ReplyDeleteAt least the German, Italian, Polish and Hungarian legal immigrants didn't show up with their hand out, They made their own way.
ReplyDeletethats fine with me. the hispanic chicks i've seen at fed ex field have been smokin' hot !!!
ReplyDeleteConsidering that Hispanic immigrants have a higher participation in the workforce than do the native born population, I think they are "making their own way," 12:32.
ReplyDeleteTo 11:40 -- no one is forcing the Redskins to do this. They are doing it of their own free will. If they want to have a Spanish song, so what? They are free to do it. What's it matter if people speak Spanish? It would do you good to learn a second language. Bilingual people have much broader job prospects than do monolingual people.
Anon 11:58AM, if your are trying to indicate that I am racist, you are wrong. In fact, I am more tolerant of hyphenating African-Americans because they didn't necessarily voluntarily come here; they were taken. I can see how my statement can sound bad, but we share that commonality of American freedom and rights and we only celebrate that one day a year-July 4th. To me, forcing these "heritage weeks" on folks is kind of like forcing religion on people. Is it right? Not really. Is it wrong? Not really.
ReplyDeleteI guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to live in is a unified nation of equal people regardless of race, ethnicity, color, ect. But what I truly get sick of is folks living in the past, especially those who hold the grudge of their ancestors against their counterparts of today. Obviously the easiest example of that would be the feud between blacks and white. I do not know if my ancestors had slaves, but I'm not them so I should not be held accountable for their actions even if they did. We're equal now (if anything blacks have the edge) so lets just move forward.
To 1:09 -- yes, it's bad when people hold grudges based on what the actions of past generations. What it seems like you are doing, though, is holding grudges against people in the current generation. How does a Hispanic person speaking Spanish, singing a Spanish song, or celebrating his heritage threaten you? You can still be an American and speak Spanish, watch futbol, and eat enchiladas.
ReplyDeleteAnd no one is forcing any heritage weeks on you. It's not like the government comes to your house and makes you celebrate. The Redskins, a private organization, decided to do something for their Hispanic fans. You are free to stay home. No one is forcing you to go.