Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Media / Sports / Racism Wage: Tell Jeremy Lin 'Racism Is Incredibly Rare'
Posted by Jim Ridley on Tue, Feb 21, 2012 at 10:42 AM
Over at My Quiet Life, Pith contributor Chris Wage weighs in on the Jeremy Lin racial-slur debate:
Clay Travis responded to the Jeremy Lin controversy. I'll start with his conclusion, since it's the only part of his article I agree with:"Isn't it possible that a kid being raised today could never hear the term 'chink' as a slur and only associate the phrase 'chink in the armor' with the 16th century phrase's origination?"
Yes, it is. In fact, it's the only explanation I can bring myself to believe explains the situation: that the journalist in question was honestly too stupid or naive to know that "chink" is a racial slur. No one that did — even an avowed, card-carrying racist — would be so blatant on purpose (they have plenty of coded language). But I hate to be the bearer of bad news here: one astoundingly sheltered sports journalist does not mean that "racism is incredibly rare". The contention that no one under the age of 40 knows an "actual racist" is so hilariously laughable that I'm wondering (hoping?) that this is Clay the provocateur shining through, and not a serious contention.
Clay and I went to high school together at MLK. It was, actually, a remarkably well-integrated school, all things considered — this is what happens when you take a couple hundred smarter kids from relatively good (and relatively well-to-do) households and stick them together in a school. But let's not whitewash (no pun intended) the experience — black kids and white kids self-segregated in our lunchroom just like any other high school. And I think that if Clay were to actually ask around to some of his former classmates, he might start building a much different picture of the supposedly racism-free environment he seems to think we grew up in.
I respect the desire to think that we live in some sort of post-racism society, but I'm here to tell you: racism is still out there, dudes. I can tell you that with confidence, even as a white male. I've had too many awkward conversations about "them" and "those types" with expectant stares, where I slowly realized they were talking about black people, and were probing me for the level of racist discourse I'm willing to engage in. (I refer to this as the good ol' boy protocol — it's a very sophisticated dance of euphemism and suggestive body language.) Also, I read the news sometimes. I mean, come on.
Comments (30)
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I think there is a plausible alternative explanation of "Chink": the editor himself believed that we live in some sort of "post-racist" society, and that the use of such an epithet would be merely hiply postmodern rather than offensive. In some real entertainment contexts I think it would be regarded, rightly or wrongly, as exacty that. If this is in fact the explanation I would take it fully at face value and not regard it as a rationalization for meanness. A real racist would be more devious. Still, this was an egregiously stupid mistake.
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Yeah, I'm more with Pete on this one. The ESPN headline was in the context of the Knicks' first loss since Lin became their starting point guard, and given the circumstances of the loss (which did not reveal some previously unnoticed weakness in Lin's game), the phrase chink the armor made sense only a racial context. So I don't buy the idea that the writer was working for simple ignorance, though I find it credible that he somehow thought the term wouldn't offend anyone.
Since you are a former classmate of Clay's, tell him that he is being too clever by half, and share with him these two examples.
All of us have heard the phrase "brain-dead" used many times to criticize some knucklehead decision or behavior by someone else (or ourselves.) However, if a sportswriter wrote a column today criticizing the recent play-calling of a famous female basketball coach in our state by calling it "brain-dead", I would have a problem with that, regardless of how many times I had heard that phrase used in other contexts without taking offense. Likewise, if the same reporter wrote an article criticizing a new male basketball coach in our state by saying that his decision not to substitute many players in a recent loss was "niggardly", I would have some issues with the writer's sensitivity and/or motives. In Pete Wilson's words, both those journalistic decisions would be "egregiously stupid".
We all know what puns are and the cuteness of their purpose in journalism. Except perhaps Clay. Thanks for posting this article, because it frees me from having to talk to Clay on the air.
Two last things: suggest that Clay get a clue (even a small one) about ethnic sensitivity and advise him to use both hands in the future when he is searching for his own hindquarters.
To imply that "niggardly" is a racist word is beyond the bounds of idiocy. To imply that ignorant people would think the word is racist is true. A bureaucrat in Washington D.C. lost his job for innocently using the word in front of an ignorant audience, and at the time I thought the reaction to the word's use was ridiculous and an embarrassment for the black race. A man lost his job because of racial stupidity in high places. If niggardly is racist, than we ought to put it on a list that also includes vinegar, chigger, digger, rigger, etc.... Get the idea? Look the freakin' word up.
And to those who never heard of the word before, you haven't done enough reading.
The board has always been eagerly preoccupied with the subject of racism. Shouts of racism/bigotry are quite common and right here usually written by progressives in their own bigoted way.
My favorite was "bizpig" but I suspect word from above stopped that one. Anyway, have not seen it around. The problem with calling things/people racist is the assumption you know what the perp is thinking. This could be the case with the chink thing.
OTOH, you have some who object to a culture. group behavior, religion (Muslims). The SCENESTERS have no problem hating, despising fundamentalist Christians and jumping to the defence of Islam. The, "it's just a small group", thing.
I could go on.... but need to remind the posters being dismayed by black culture and thinking Islam is a danger; this is not racist or bigoted.
Gast,
I know the meaning of "niggardly", as should have been obvious to you by the context in which I put it. I have never seen the word used to refer to decisions by any Black coaches, particularly in a pun-like manner, and I hope I don't anytime soon. I also know the meaning of the words "brain-dead." If you don't, look in the mirror.
Having said that, what do you think of the term "chink" as applied to Jeremy Lin? Or the sensitivity of using "brain-dead" in any article about the UT women's basketball program?
John, you appear to be a relatively new poster so I won't jump de-fence to give you some Gilbo cheese to go with your self-servng Xtian whine. (Spell-check and public education can be your friends.)
I love when white people say that racism doesn't exist, or only exists on the margins. Either they are completely clueless, or just lying. It's astounding the number of times I've heard people casually say "nigger" in a conversation, or tell a racist joke, or just be blatantly racist, assuming that the other people in the conversation - obviously - share their views. It's not just a Southern American thing, it happens everywhere, all over the country, all over the world. It may be getting better, but racism, classism, sexism have existed since the beginning of the human race and will be with us until we kill ourselves off.
Was the usage of 'chink' in the context of a headline about Jeremy Lin stupid and meriting of a suspension? Absolutely. A firing offense? Only in a world where Free Speech is code for suppression of unpopular views.
One does not have to endorse bigotry to make the case that there is no constitutional right to not be offended. The reason that Free Speech is such a fundamental right is precisely that without it, there is no hope for reform {or progress to some}. That it will be misused by some people is the price we pay.
I cannot bear to watch 'Blazing Saddles' on regular tv anymore because it has been so butchered by political correctness. And now I suppose it will be re-edited again to remove the jokes about Chinese railroad workers.
Is this the sort of culture that you all want? One where bigotry is hidden and allowed to grow like mushrooms in a cave? Or would we be better off with a culture where bigots can speak out freely and see the opposition of the majority of people?
And does anyone really think that the ESPN editor was a bigot? It would be one thing if there were a pattern of behavior but that does not seem to be true. So efforts to classify this as one more example of bigotry seem to be more opportunism by the 'offended liberal' industry.
Small d demorat,
I have been on the board longer than you. Since I have had to correct you and your side kicks you may have just been in denial.
The last sentence in your post was nothing to be proud of... you must have just come upon such things and working to impress.
I want to voice that THE COMMENT WAS OFFENSIVE TO ME. And yes, I am Asian-American. I also find it very disturbing that so many Americans are reluctant to acknowledge that I am offended. Asian-Americans have a long history of being victims of racial hostility, dating back to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. (This law prevented Chinese men from marrying outside their race, or bringing over their wives from China -- effectively killing off a whole generation of Chinese men, leaving them to die alone.) Before people try to dismiss my feelings, consider what it means to be a target of raciam jokes, both in real life and in the media -- including being called a chink or gook as early as when I was 8 years old by other classmates. I have many other experiences of racism. For too long, the Asian-American voice was silenced -- and the racist attitudes permeated our country unnoticed -- and right now the Jeremy Lin story is shedding light on all these issues. It's time to grow up as a country and acknowledge that different people of different ethnicities have different experiences -- including the Asian-American experience, which has dealt with racism in a different way than Blacks. Jeremy Lin even said that Asian stereotypes held him back, and almost left him out of the NBA.
I think all these conversations that people are having is a GOOD thing, so we can finally hear the Asian-American voice.
So kudos to ESPN for shedding light on this issue.
Get over it Chou.
Now, study this link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/04/a…
Shawn,
I am sorry that you are offended. But it is not yet against the law to offend people. In this specific instance, firing the editor was too severe. In a larger sense, this is one more instance where well-intentioned people are threatening a greater value in pursuit of an important but lesser value. Free speech is more important than your or anyone else's feelings.
The conversation between gast and small "d" takes us back to the late 90s or early 2000s when a white Mayoral appointee in DC apologized to two black staffers for the niggardly budget he got for them. Despite the fact that the appointee had an exemplary record on racial issues, he was fired for using a word that has nothing to do with race.
Unless people take a stand in defense of Free Speech, even when it tolerates stupid comments like the one from ESPN, good intentions will result in a far freer society. That is too great a price for anyone's feelings.
MR, exactly, and it should be noted why, we do not know his intent. If it were chink (hole) in the armor, it is within the realm of posssibility he meant no more, no less. He did not recall the problem with chink in today's world. Not mine, but many on this board.
I recall the niggardly issue in DC. It was the blacks who immediately kicked out the reforming appointee and then followed up by getting rid of the outstanding Asian school director.
http://blog.angryasianman.com/2010/10/mich…
What is the new directors skin color of this new chancellor?
Chou, what do you think?
I respectfully disagree. I understand that you feel the punishment is too harsh, but you also haven't seen the world through our eyes.
Racism against Asians in America isn't so much casually dismissed, as it is implicitly encouraged. The good thing about the Jeremy Lin story is that he's shedding light on this issue. By taking a stand, ESPN is shedding light on the issue. If they dismissed it, we would only go backwards. I'm American and I love this country, and I'm hopeful that one day Asian-Americans would have a voice... and I am glad to see this change happening now.
Go Knicks!
Chou, I think you did not see my post. I believe you have every reason to believe bigotry against Asians exists. Now, I was pointing out black distaste for Asians or whites for that matter. I'm not doing it but go back (or you know) and google the uproar at UC Berkley when the Asians were taking over the school and the blacks gone. Now, your opinion on that? You need not answer I was just musing.
@Small "d": John may be from England. You never know. Not too long ago there was a rather long comment from a fellow who spelled every variable word the English way.
@John: Download Google Chrome and use it to access the Scene. It has spell-check built in.
@Shawn Chou: To be racist it would seem there would have to be at least an iota of bad intent involved. Clearly not the case here.
Shawn,
Racism against Asians is 'encouraged' in America? That must be why more and more parents are seeking to emulate the success of Asian students in American schools. And I suppose that all the images of Asians in popular culture are negative like the images of blacks back in the 20s.
But let me ask this:
Should 'Blazing Saddles' be edited to remove the negative stereotypes of Chinese railroad workers? Isn't Brooks doing what you object to with ESPN? And Brooks is doing it intentionally.
MARK ROGERS: To answer your question -- yes, racism exists. I would google Vincent Chin, Danny Chen, and read this article: http://www.8asians.com/2011/11/01/asian-am…
Blazing Saddles is a comedy. I have no problems with that. I also don't have a problem with these two popular video clips:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ga…
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-febr…
GAST: The point is that ESPN is setting an example. I'm letting you know, because I am Asian-American. There are lines you cannot cross. Kudos to ESPN for setting an example.
JOHN: Get over it. Study this article: http://www.thenation.com/blog/166382/jerem…
Shawn,
I never said that racism doesn't exist. Stupidity, malice, ignorance and other human failings are the guarantee of that. The question is what the level of racism is and how we will deal with it. This is not the America of 1870 for Asians any more than it is still Mississippi c. 1963 for blacks. Not that one would notice from the way that the South is treated in the media and popular culture.
How can you not have a problem with a comedy but then want someone fired for making a joke, even a really offensive one?
"Was the usage of 'chink' in the context of a headline about Jeremy Lin stupid and meriting of a suspension? Absolutely. A firing offense? Only in a world where Free Speech is code for suppression of unpopular views."
Firing someone for being stupid is not suppression of free speech, sorry.
"Firing someone for being stupid is not suppression of free speech, sorry."
This, exactly. The First Amendment states that the government won't make laws prohibiting speech. It doesn't state that their aren't social consequences for being a fucking idiot.
I don't think the guy should have been fired from ESPN, but if would've thought for maybe five milliseconds before writing the headline, he would still have a job.
I think it was John Wayne who said "Life is hard. It's even harder when you're stupid."
My apologies to john, gaps, Mark and the other regressives who frequent PITH. I keep forgetting that, in order to be understood by you folks, I must write at a sixth grade (home-schooled) level. Let me try again.
Since you failed to grasp the potentially insensitive use of "niggardly" as a pun when referring to the UT men's basketball coach, how would you feel if some sportscaster explained that the UT men were able to beat Florida recently (something they were not expected to do) because Coach Martin "nigger-rigged" a defense to stop them?
How would you feel if some sportscaster commented on Tim Tebow's hyper-charged religiosity by paraphrasing that old bumper-sticker thusly: "Honk(y) if you love Jesus"?
How about if Sports Illustrated were to do a cover story before some future Winter Olympics on the Puerto Rican speed-skating team using the title "Spics 'N Spandex"?
Are you home-schooled Neanderthals getting my drift? (I'm just being factual now, not racist, when I use that term. If I wanted to be racist, I'd call you "conservative cavemen".)
Finally, it was quite the freudian slip for Mark to refer to the Chinese immigrants used as railroad workers to build the transcontinental railroad. When one section of that railroad was completed in Wyoming, some of the White foremen decided to save some Chinese salaries (or, more likely, pocket those salaries for themselves) by simply killing the Chinese workers en masse. Of course, they probably called them "chinks" before pulling the trigger. (The Rock Springs, WY museum displays photographs of that massacre.)
I applaud Sports Illustrated for their actions and I hope the editor who was responsible for keeping such smarmy shit-for-brains comments out of that magazine will be censured also. For the regressives here and on Nashville sports radio who still don't get "it", might I suggest that you try living a while somewhere in this country where all the bread isn't white.
PS: John, gaps' suggestion re: uploading a spell-check feature is a good one. From here, you don't "sound" English. Just ignorant.
@Small"d": Counzo Martin's niggardly defenses at Missouri State were the key to his success. That and the fact that his players seem to love him should lead to much success at Tennessee.
I previously thought minor grammatical transgressions were overlooked here, but perhaps not. I do have a spell check but only use it when writng Haslam or Rush.
Anyway, Small d is a bit obsessional and writes too much.
"I applaud...."
Presumptuous ass.
Chris,
If this ESPN editor had come up with a headline on Tim Tebow that mocked Christians, all the following would happen:
1) The editor would not have been fired or even suspended.
2) Liberals in the media would be screaming that this was a dangerous restriction on free speech.
3) Pith would be going ballistic against Christians who can't take a joke.
If you believe in free speech, you have an obligation to defend unpopular speech too. I am sorry that Shawn and others feel offended by that headline but no where in the Constitution do I find a right to not be offended. And it takes someone so ideologically confused as Small "d" to equate it with the murder of Chinese laborers.
Bernie,
I like Counzo Martin more than any UT basketball coach in my lifetime. And I prefer his style of play to the thuggery of Coach Stallings at Vandy. It would shock me if any sportswriter actually knew what niggardly meant.
Apparently the word 'niggardly' comes from the Old Norse and has nothing to do with variations on the word 'nigger.' In the infamous DC case, the official used the word in the proper context and without any attempt at humor. Yet he was fired. Is that really the sort of country you want to live in? One where people take offense where none was intended or given?
As for your other examples, I would suggest that an editor writing the two not involving Christians would be punished.
My comment about the railroad workers was not a Freudian slip. Just because you have been in therapy for 40 years does not qualify you to teach psychiatry.
You can call me all the names you want but at the end of the day, I am defending the idea of free speech, even when it is unpopular, from well-meaning people who would give up that right little by little to prevent having to give up being one of the cool kids.
From reading the comments, I see people who understand that the "Chink" comment was wrong. They understand that ESPN is setting an example.
I also see people who justify using the word "Chink" or the "N" word. It saddens me that there are people who refuse to see their own racism.
I hope the younger generation will carry the torch, open their eyes, and see the world from all perspectives. The old folks might be stuck in their mindsets, but there is hope for the younger generation to be open minded.
My suggestion for the stubborn-minded people: Seek out friends outside your own ethnicity and really try to understand them. Really listen. You might learn something, and become a better human being in the process. I still have hope, even for you.
Shawn,
"Justify" is not just the wrong word but your point is actually dishonest. Defending the right to free speech is not the same thing as approving certain speech. It is also disturbing that you resort to accusations of racism, truly the last desperate bastion of the intellectually bankrupt liberal.
As for being 'open-minded,' you are the person who wants to suppress free speech and to determine who is or isn't a racist. Hardly open-minded behavior.
If we ever lose free speech in this nation, it won't be because of some evil despot but because of well-meaning people like you who think it is your duty to impose your view of the ideal society on the rest of us. And I am certain that one element of that effort will be to accuse anyone who disagrees with you as a racist.
Mark, there is a difference between free speech and hurtful speech. If you want to talk, I'll explain this to you personally.
Racism will always exist. whites, yellow, black , brown we are all different. The author makes a great point, look around at your school, or place of work and people of similiar ethnic backgrounds tend to socialize with each other the most. Its how you conduct yourself and understand others that truly defines who you are.
Firing someone for being stupid is not suppression of free speech, sorry!
