Motion Slanted
“The disparagement clause violates the First Amendment’s Free Speech Clause.” So wrote Justice Samuel Alito as the Supreme Court ruled that an Asian-American rock band has the right to call itself The Slants. This case could have a wider impact, and play a role in the long-running dispute over the name used by the Washington Redskins; although the motivation of the band makes it clear the cases are not the same. From the band’s frontman Simon Tam: “We grew up and the notion of having slanted eyes was always considered a negative thing. Kids would pull their eyes back in a slant-eyed gesture to make fun of us … I wanted to change it to something that was powerful, something that was considered beautiful or a point of pride instead.”