Re: Re: Dictionary time...
 

Yeah, it's sports.

I don't think athletes should be role models, but to many, they are. What are the implications of something said so carelessly, if there are people--children--who might look up to this person? Besides, public figures shouldn't spout off stupid--not necessarily racist--but stupid things.

THANK YOU.

The fact that Shaq is black does not excuse him from making comments that are so politically incorrect, they border on racist. Furthermore, I've been reading with dismay other posts on here which seem to excuse Shaq for his comment due to the fact that he's obviously not the brightest crayon in the box.

Making fun of another person's language is ridiculous, ignorant, and downright racist. Maybe Shaq needs to take a look at the fact that this man is leaving his native country, his family, his friends, to a whole new land in which he's made fun of by his other basketball players. He's not even able to keep 100% of his income from basketball.


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Originally posted by DeltAlum

In the case of Shaq and his alleged remarks...who cares? This is sports.

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Okay, DeltAlum... so if another basketball player were to stand up in public, in the media spotlight and call Shaq a n*gger, is that okay? Because you know, its "just sports."

No, its not okay. What also is NOT okay is the double-standard. Nobody can say anything negative about African-American culture (and WOW, does Shaq represent his race well!) but its okay to poke fun at other cultures?

I'm amazed at people's insensitivity, and in DeltAlum's case, downright condonement of racism. You make me so proud to be an American, DeltAlum.

XOXO,
Annie.

THANK YOU.

The fact that Shaq is black does not excuse him from making comments that are so politically incorrect, they border on racist. Furthermore, I've been reading with dismay other posts on here which seem to excuse Shaq for his comment due to the fact that he's obviously not the brightest crayon in the box.

Making fun of another person's language is ridiculous, ignorant, and downright racist. Maybe Shaq needs to take a look at the fact that this man is leaving his native country, his family, his friends, to a whole new land in which he's made fun of by his other basketball players. He's not even able to keep 100% of his income from basketball.


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Originally posted by DeltAlum

In the case of Shaq and his alleged remarks...who cares? This is sports.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, DeltAlum... so if another basketball player were to stand up in public, in the media spotlight and call Shaq a n*gger, is that okay? Because you know, its "just sports."

No, its not okay. What also is NOT okay is the double-standard. Nobody can say anything negative about African-American culture (and WOW, does Shaq represent his race well!) but its okay to poke fun at other cultures?

I'm amazed at people's insensitivity, and in DeltAlum's case, downright condonement of racism. You make me so proud to be an American, DeltAlum.

XOXO,
Annie.

noo, I haven't heard anyone say he's dumb cause he's black, just that he's a dumbass. Dumbassness knows no race, creed or sexual preference...anyone can be one.

Shark -

I don't think anyone here is trying to excuse Shaq or to say he made an intelligent, open-minded comment. What they are saying is that there's a difference between a comment made in ignorance and one made in hate - and between dumb comments and actual action. I don't think anyone here thinks it's great that Shaq isn't "the sharpest crayon in the box"; most people have suggested he rethink his idea of a good joke. It's just that all bad things aren't equal. What he did calls for an apology and perhaps some sensitivity training, but not for an international trial a la Milosevic or the Nazis.

If we throw the book at someone for minor offenses, we're left with no way to punish the major offenses.

I'm going to apologize for my, rather, umm... rash comments. I don't regret them, but I do apologize if I offend anyone!

And I don't want to "throw the book" at him or anyone for racist commetns. I just want them to be idenified as racist!

XOXO,
Annie.

Blacks can't be racist, duh

I was offended, but I'll live and accept the appology for rashness with the understand that you aren't retracting the ideals or changing your mind. Does that sentence make sense?

Anyway, I do not condone racism in any way, but we probably disagree as to whether the comments and context in which they were made are racist. (See earlier posts vis-a-vis definitions, etc.) I see a pretty distinct difference between calling someone a clearly racist name, and making a poor attempt at humor using stereotyping.

I doubt that either of us will change our minds on that. So be it.

I'm a lot more concerned about a Trent Lott kind of situation than Shaq -- and that's really the crux of the matter to me.

As for the role model consideration mentioned by Champ -- it's a good point. My family doesn't consider (and never has) athletes as role models to begin with, so it didn't really occur to me at the time I was posting.

I don't think his comments prove Shaq is racist. (On the other hand, that doesn't mean he isn't, either.) Sports has a long history of trash-talking your opponents. Whether it's a high school pre-football game pep assembly, or professional athletes sniping at each other, it's a form of showmanship. Now I'm not saying it's mature or even a good idea! I'm just saying it has a whole lot of precedent.

But if you're going to put your opponent down, what are you going to use? Probably not a thoughtful analysis of strategy - athletes leave that to the sports reporters. And even if you know them well it probably won't be some detail of their life - after all, the point of trash talk is for the public to understand it, too. You're going to use whatever is blatantly and publicly distinctive about that person. If you wanted to put down Dennis Rodman, it would be some smartass comment about weird hair. If it's the Jamaican bobsled team, it's the fact that there isn't any snow in Jamaica. And in this case, since statistically Asian players are a rarity in the NBA, it's race. What else does your average basketball fan even know about the guy?

To my mind, it's a good reason to turn off the ESPN. I personally admire the athlete who succeeds without the bluster.

I just think that Shaq's comment probably falls into the column of Idiotic Macho Sports Talk rather than racism. It's more like "We're going to smack the Polytechnic Engineers with their own slide rules!" than anything. It doesn't mean you actually hate engineers; it means you want your football team to defeat theirs. (And with a lame phrase like that, you can see why I never wrote school assembly skits.)

Trent Lott said he was just kidding to.

ugh, please.:rolleyes:

every white person who dares to say anything demeaning to someone non-white is IMMEDIATELY labeled as a racist and there is a huge media write up about it and al sharpton somehow manages to get involved.

it makes me laugh how this "article" immediately plays devils advocate and says "yeah he said it but these are the reasons why he's not racist".

whatever. :rolleyes:

You know, I've been bothered by comments like Shaq's that I've heard on local radio stations here. There's this hip hop song called "React" that features a sample of what I'm pretty sure is Indian singing and then the guy says "Whatever she said then I'm that." I swear that whenever I hear that song on the radio, the DJs talk over the end and sing weird pretend Chinese stuff like "ooo ching ah oh" or "ching chang mah po" and whatever other Chinese sounding words they can think of at the time, not unlike what Shaq said. It's always bothered me, but it got me wondering why *some* people in the black community find it funny or acceptable to do that. Of course, the other thing that really gets me is that the sample isn't even Chinese!!!

I do, however, think that this type of thing qualifies as ignorant rather than racist. As far as kids looking up to people like Shaq -- I think that if kids hear Shaq (or anyone) talking like that, it gives parents a perfect opportunity to educate them about respecting other cultures and people.

Actually, as the one who started this thread, the "article" I posted was just a column about Shaq's comment. So the "article" was based on the columnist's opinion. FYI, the media has chosen to turn the other way and not make a big deal out of this because a reporter called the Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, the Associated Press, and other media outlets offering them this information, and they were not interested in doing the story.

Everyone is going to have his/her opinion on whether Shaq's comment was racist, but nonetheless, it shows his ignorance and downright lack of respect for Yao. Shaq is a public figure who is always in the spotlight, and yes, to many people he is definitely seen as a role model. If children saw what Shaq said, who's to say that they are not going to imitate their role model? Sports figure or not, he is in the public eye and people look up to him.

As someone had mentioned earlier, I am also disappointed at some people's views about excusing him because he may not be the brightest in the bunch. I guess until you have faced racism, like I have, you do not know how it feels and could never really understand how hurtful one comment against your ethnicity could be....no matter how big or small.

In my case it is opposite. The reason why I am not that sensitive to so-called or even real racist remarks is not because I haven't faced racism...it's because I have faced LOADS of it as a kid. I've been called every racist name and told every racist comment out of the book day in and day out. Silly comments like this is nothing compared to what i've witnessed or been told in the past. Perhaps I've just developed thick skin.

Perhaps you're just retarded.

Anyhow, I hung around with mostly black guys in high school and we called eachother every name in the book. I dropped the N-bomb, slavery, ashy, whatever else I could use to make a joke on them and they returned the favor about hispanics with picking grapes in the field, outrunning the boarder patrol and making burritos

It was all jokin and I'm sure Shaq was just joking.

Anyhow, I don't think any WHITE person should ever make a fuss about double standards or being treated unfairly because blacks are still at a disadvantage, even in this day.