|
DesideriScuri -> RE: 8 Things That Won't Get You Banned by the NBA (5/5/2014 10:35:09 AM)
|
quote:
ORIGINAL: tweakabelle
quote:
ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/04/29/8-Things-That-Wont-Get-You-Banned-by-the-NBA
1. Discriminating against black people in housing.
2. Strangling somebody.
3. Being a publicly vicious racist while black.
4. Using anti-gay slurs.
5. Attacking patrons of your sport.
6. Pushing your girlfriend to have an abortion, then harassing her about it.
7. Drawing your gun on a fellow player.
8. Reckless driving resulting in a passenger’s death.
All 8 happened. All 8 didn't get someone banned for life.
Though some won't believe it, this was in my Yahoo! feed. I didn't know it was Breitbart until linking it here.
It seems to me that you have quite a point DS. It's pretty clear that there is an awful lot of grandstanding on this issue. A lot of people who in the past might have let things slip, have realised that it is now unacceptable to be openly racist and all falling over themselves trying to project an anti-racist image to the public. It's correct to draw attention to that and question whether they are sincere. As well as the NBA, we might include the entire Right of politics, all those who opposed racial equality in the past and all those who still drag their feet on this issue in that group.
For many of those people who were on the wrong side of this issue in the past, there has been a genuine change of heart, a realisation that their old attitudes were wrong and a sincere desire to put things right. There is no question that many conservatives and right wingers are now committed to opposing racism. For others it's just a case of making the right noises and keeping their real feelings to themselves. Others on the right are still openly hostile to racial integration and equality.
We should also recognise that across society generally there has been a massive shift over the past half century or so. It is this shift in public opinion that is driving the changes referred to above. What is publicly acceptable is constantly changing on this and other issues. Personally I feel that the NBA has handled this issue rather well, despite the question marks that linger over its past. It's difficult to think of what more they could reasonably be expected to do.
However those sections of society that continue to drag their feet, to oppose legislative changes and policies designed to redress past wrongs are leaving themselves open to ongoing questioning and criticism on this issue.
An interesting take from a guy that might know a little something about Sterling, the NBA, racism, etc.:quote:
And now the poor guy’s girlfriend (undoubtedly ex-girlfriend now) is on tape cajoling him into revealing his racism. Man, what a winding road she led him down to get all of that out. She was like a sexy nanny playing “pin the fried chicken on the Sambo.” She blindfolded him and spun him around until he was just blathering all sorts of incoherent racist sound bites that had the news media peeing themselves with glee.
They caught big game on a slow news day, so they put his head on a pike, dubbed him Lord of the Flies, and danced around him whooping.
I don’t blame them. I’m doing some whooping right now. Racists deserve to be paraded around the modern town square of the television screen so that the rest of us who believe in the American ideals of equality can be reminded that racism is still a disease that we haven’t yet licked.
What bothers me about this whole Donald Sterling affair isn’t just his racism. I’m bothered that everyone acts as if it’s a huge surprise. Now there’s all this dramatic and very public rending of clothing about whether they should keep their expensive Clippers season tickets. Really? All this other stuff I listed above has been going on for years and this ridiculous conversation with his girlfriend is what puts you over the edge? That’s the smoking gun?
He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing. It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?
Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way? Although the impact is similar to Mitt Romney’s comments that were secretly taped, the difference is that Romney was giving a public speech. The making and release of this tape is so sleazy that just listening to it makes me feel like an accomplice to the crime. We didn’t steal the cake but we’re all gorging ourselves on it.
Make no mistake: Donald Sterling is the villain of this story. But he’s just a handmaiden to the bigger evil. In our quest for social justice, we shouldn’t lose sight that racism is the true enemy. He’s just another jerk with more money than brains.
So, if we’re all going to be outraged, let’s be outraged that we weren’t more outraged when his racism was first evident. Let’s be outraged that private conversations between people in an intimate relationship are recorded and publicly played. Let’s be outraged that whoever did the betraying will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.
The big question is “What should be done next?” I hope Sterling loses his franchise. I hope whoever made this illegal tape is sent to prison. I hope the Clippers continue to be unconditionally supported by their fans. I hope the Clippers realize that the ramblings of an 80-year-old man jealous of his young girlfriend don’t define who they are as individual players or as a team. They aren’t playing for Sterling—they’re playing for themselves, for the fans, for showing the world that neither basketball, nor our American ideals, are defined by a few pathetic men or women.
Let’s use this tawdry incident to remind ourselves of the old saying: “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom.” Instead of being content to punish Sterling and go back to sleep, we need to be inspired to vigilantly seek out, expose, and eliminate racism at its first signs.
The head of the LA NAACP is stepping down because of the furor. Interesting to note is that Sterling was about to be awarded a lifetime achievement award by that chapter.quote:
The Donald Sterling scandal has claimed collateral damage: the president of the NAACP's Los Angeles chapter.
Leon Jenkins resigned Thursday, after the civil rights group came under fire for its plans to present a lifetime achievement award to the Los Angeles Clippers owner.
Really? Collateral damage?!?
quote:
The lifetime achievement award is the NAACP's highest honor.
The L.A. chapter presented Sterling with the award in 2009, and was planning to do so again this month. Sterling had donated a substantial amount of money to the chapter in the last few years. Some reports put it around $45,000.
Sterling was investigated and sued in 2006 for discrimination and ended up paying a fine (essentially, paying off) for his crimes. Three years later, he's awarded the highest honor by the local NAACP chapter?!? The Lifetime achievement award? The details of the scandal make it sound more like the KKK should have been giving Sterling the award, not the NAACP.
***Please note: Apparently, the local chapters make decisions apart from the National group, so the LA Chapter giving a racist this honor does not reflect on anyone but those that made the decision for the LA NAACP.***
Sterling was banned from the NBA because he didn't want his girlfriend (who, according to the second link, is only a platonic friend [8|]) to bring any black guys with her (or post a selfie with Magic Johnson on Instagram). That's really what can get an owner banned? The guy has black players on his team. I'm willing to bet he lets blacks in his building to watch the game. Is his racist comment really that big of a deal that he should be banned from the NBA and lose ownership of his team?
Marge Schott lost her ability to manage the team in the late 1990's over her racist comments. She sold out her controlling interests, but remained a minority owner.
Those that oppose legislative changes and policies to redress past wrongs aren't necessarily racists. You're just assuming that the legislative changes and policies are right and will effectively redress past wrongs, though.
My ancestors didn't come to America until the early 1900's. How is it that any of my family should be punished for the slavery that happened prior to our even being here? Italian immigrants weren't exactly welcomed with open arms, and my Grandfather (first generation Italian-American) was discriminated against (by his Irish foreman) and sent to WWII.
Therein lies the problem. No one is debating whether or not slavery happened. No one is debating that it wasn't a bad thing. But, you can't really atone for the suffering of people who are dead when those that perpetrated the wrongs are also dead. There are still people who faced racial discrimination after slavery was ended, but who did it? How do you determine who is going to receive benefits and who is going to pay for those benefits? Did every black person face racism to an extent that it's made a large impact on their current lives? No. Not all of them have. Did every non-black person perpetrate racism against blacks? No. No, they didn't. How is it okay to take from all non-blacks and give to all blacks, then? Should all Japanese-Americans be given something because of the WWII internment camps? I wonder if I should just feel lucky my German/Italian-American forebears weren't put in internment camps during WWI and WWII.
Does racism happen today? Of course it does. Does it happen to every race? Of course it does. Does it happen to one or two races more than the others? Yes. Should it be stopped? Yes. Will that require government action? Sadly, yes. Shouldn't everyone be treated equally? Yes.
Should everyone be punished, or just those that discriminate, though?
Should someone who isn't a racist be punished because someone in the past was?
|
|
|
|
