So why now?
In short, because the tape went viral. The NBA HAD to act. There were talks of a playoff boycot. And they were under intense pressure from the mob mentality media to act as well. I mean, can you imagine what could have happened if Silver didn’t act? Silver is getting a bunch of praise, but a lot of folks think he just did what had to be done – an easy decision.
I don’t know why Sterling was allowed to hang around as long as he did. As closely as I follow sports, I had no idea about his past. I knew he was one of, if not the, worst owner in sports –but I didn’t know he was a racist. Apparently, the league and the media let this slide. I have no idea why. But the tape, and it going viral, was the smoking gun to put this guy in his rightful place.
What concerns me is that as a society we are placing more importance on words than we are actions and that we are only increasing the racial divide when some racism is deemed more damaging than others.
I find myself thinking about this idea a lot. It is an important point, though I’m not sure I fully grasp it. The thing about racism, though, is that it is rarely overt. Here it was, though he didn’t know his voice was going to go viral. Even still, in listening to his remarks, he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) elaborate on his thoughts. There’s a disconnect in a racist. Basically, what he said, was don’t hang out with minorities “just because”. You fill in the blanks. That’s where the hate comes in. He even stated that he knows Magic and finds him to be a good guy, but… he’s black. It’s this underhanded deep rooted thought that (thankfully) makes little sense to the majority of us, and if you aren’t looking for it, you can easily miss it. I’ve missed it before and then later figured it out (makes you feel stupid).
I’ve lived in NC my entire life. Several relatives in my extended family harbor racist thoughts. What has been scary to me is the way it just comes out of their mouths at family gatherings, like they can’t control it, as if they feel others around them feel the same way. They know how I feel (I’ve confronted them several times), and I’m sure think little of me. And that’s the way I would have it – I really don’t care to associate with them outside of these mandatory gatherings every so often. But it’s like an impulse where there is no filter. It’s part of who they are, and they will go to their grave that way. It’s really sad as some of my most cherished relationships in life have been with people that happen to have a different color skin than I. Perhaps they were never fortunate enough to have the same opportunties, or perhaps they were completely closed to the idea. I don’t know, but it is their loss. What a terrible way to go through life. I mean, I have enough baggage in my life. Thank the good Lord I don’t have that kind of hate in my heart as I am certain I’d be miserable if I did.
And lastly, there is a big difference between racism and stereotypes. There is a power element to racism – it’s about superiority. A stereotype is simply acknowledging differences in groups of people, and sort of lumping them together. There is no power element there, you are just over generalizing. Racism is all about trying to keep others down based purely on ethnicity.
