OK Fine. But Sterling was talking about MAGIC JOHNSON.
Racism is bad enough, but using a discussion of it to grab a few headlines, is disgusting. Cuban is only a slightly better looking Sterling with Kardashian sensibilities.
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Letās not forget that the racist comments were merely the straw that broke the camelās back and forced the league to finally address his racism. He wasnāt just thinking and saying things that were racist, heās also had to pay millions in because of his discriminatory housing practices.
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Me too. For example, I fucking hate teabaggers and routinely discriminate them and mistreat them if the opportunity presents itself.
Very thoughtful comment.
In 1993 Jesse Jackson famously acknowledged fears similar to those expressed by Cuban. http://www.nytimes.com/1993/12/12/opinion/in-america-a-sea-change-on-crime.html
But Sterling wasnāt ācaughtā saying " When Iām walking down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about robbery. Then look around and see somebody white and feel relievedā¦ "
We all do indeed live in glass houses, but no one would ever be able to record me saying anything remotely similar to the vile racism expressed by Sterling because those are not views I share, or even thoughts I have. Sterling was expressing very base racism not wanting someone associated with him to appear publicly with non-whites. This is very different than the honest remarks of Mark Cuban.
I hope so too. I had trouble sleeping last night after reading itā¦it was a tour de force piece.
Including the white guy was his justification (subconsciously or not). As you say, we all have biases and prejudices, by including the white guy heās implying that itās normal, which it is, but it misses the point. Some people will get the impression that, since itās normal, it doesnāt need to be confronted and overcome.
After starting it last night, I just finished Coatesā āThe Case for Reparationsā article that JJ linked to above. It goes directly to the heart of this matter and should be required reading for everyone in America.
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Hey, me too! Itās one of the most thought provoking articles Iāve ever read. Itās really the same theme TNC has been writing for years but I think he knew that title would garner lots of attention so he put it all in there. I wonder if Dylan Byers will find it āintellectualā?
I donāt think itās the same thing. I donāt think Sterling has engaged his brain or made an effort to understand humanity. I think thatās the problem.
What Cuban is referring to is not racism. Iād go so far as to say itās not even classism. If someone is trying to look a part (gangster or tattooed thug) and they have provoked fear in someone, isnāt that what they were going for? For me not to react would be unnatural.
Now, the fact that urban style and parlance is only a reflection of true gangsterism (or tattoos and shaved heads reflect white supremacists) muddies the water, but if you donāt want people to think you are a nazi, take off the Waffen SS uniform.
I donāt think so. I donāt think thatās what Cuban is talking about either. There is nothing scary about anyone sitting in a business meeting. The setting is benign. Itās not the same as passing people on the street. Perhaps this is the way someone like Sterling feels about it, but I donāt think itās generally true. Saying this about āwhite folksā is a pretty broad brush.
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According to Mark Cubanās logic then, anyone that explicitly and financially benefits from the bigotry they espouse should be let off the hook because somehow everybody does it, even though in Sterlingsā case, it involves his business practices, profit motives and quirky adulterous affairs. I think Cuban is essentially saying Sterling should get a pass because heās already gotten his public shaming and slap on the wrist, and that seems to be sufficient enough for him.
BTW, heās talking about prejudice, which I agree we all have about some things and some people at times in our livesā¦but outright bigotry, which indicts an entire group of people for the actions of one, expressed openly or even quietly in āpolite companyā but acted upon nonetheless, should never be accepted or tolerated. Sterlingās management of his players, akin to a plantation ownerā¦ āWho makes the game?ā he said, along with his long known discriminatory housing practices as a slum lord, completely raises the specter of what could be considered beyond simple prejudice, to a whole different level of antagonism and hate. Heās acting on his prejudices against all the African-Americans he seems to have problems withā¦and that is nothing less than outright bigotry. If Cuban wants to put himself on the same level as Sterling, then maybe he should go tooā¦
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Now I think about it, Iām a bigot too. Iāll talk to a fireman all day, but I avoid cops like the plague. Me and my stereotypes.
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I wasnāt sure what he was saying there. He went to the other side of the street because of the black folks, then he goes ābackā when he sees shaved and tatted white folks. That struck me as odd.
Cuban should have added that he also supports the republican party, the party that welcomes racists and bigots with open arms.
2 points for honesty. Technical foul for crossing street.
You might recall that Illinois State Senator Obama was once approached at a party in New York in 2003 by another guest who asked him to bring him a drink. What a success story, from a waiter to the White House in just a few short years.
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One of the first comments I read last night was Jonathan Chait pulling out the #WellActually card. Up to our chins in dudebro denial sometimesā¦
Byers is still busy trying to convince people Jill Abramson wasnāt paid less money nor was her dismissal in any way based on perceived gender bias. He has his not quite so intellectual hands full.
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National Bigot-Ball Association.
Itās a shame the Redskins canāt join.
Reminds me of the statement by Geraldo Rivera when he complained about black teenagers in hoodies, or Juan Williams talking about avoiding people in Muslim dress at the airportā¦
Minimizing bigotry, which is beyond hurtful, is what allows it to continue without putting too much thought into it, and it excuses the people that use stereotypes to justify their own prejudices. Frankly, its how institutional racism and bigotry persists in most fields of endeavor in this country. Its how we have still have a long way to go with work-place discrimination, how funding summer food programs for white Appalachian poor kids but not poor minority kids from urban centers gets put into bills in Congress, and even voter suppression initiatives around the country, now as in the past.
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