DavidS I agree, Shaq has not been saying it consistently. But if next season, he still says things like this. He has a serious problem.
believe it or not, i actually believe lott should not have been forced to step down. as for his beliefs, well i would guess a lot of people of his demographic group feel the same way he does about segregation, but i am not sure everyone should be characterized as "racist" in the sense of hatefulness or superiority. remember, a lot of people grew up indoctrinated on segregationist society and are now unable to change (not an excuse, simply a fact). anyway, i preferred that he remain in his position. it's better to have honesty that is visible, rather than an identical "racist" hidden behind false claims of "inclusion" or "diversity". not to act all well-read or anything, but malcom x made a point about preferring the stereotypical southern racist "conservative" to the stereotypical northern "liberal"--basically the same thing in terms of racial beliefs, except one is hidden and one is out in the open. this has nothing to do with basketball, though.
I think you understood me wrongly. Or was it my post? What I meant: "Don't say that, because Shaq is an African-American, so automatically Shaq is not a racist. " => That is a flawed logic.
The funny thing about Lott is that he'd still be the senate majority leader if it was not for a bit of an off-hand comment he made for Strom Thurmond's birthday party. After that, media outlets were able to find a consistent behavior of oppression. I don't know if the man was racist or just ignorant but he had shown his true colors long before all this. Maybe this is why we should make a big hoot when a dumb jock or dumber radio host makes stupid comments; so we will not become numb to when the truly powerful people of this nation echo the same words. BTW...if Shaq ever becomes Senate Majority Leader, I'm moving to Canada.
See, all Shaq has to do is say, "Oops, sorry if I insulted some people." It was just a misunderstanding. But, Lott can't say that. Even if he says "Sorry" it means nothing because of his history with the KKK. I just get mad when some people cry when Shaq imitates someone accent (in his GOOFFY way) and he is accused of being an Adolph Hitler, or something.
davids, not necessarily trying to bait you, but. what about jimmy the greek/al campanis' (don't remember, don't care) statement about black athletes being the product of "selective breeding" during times of slavery? i mean, was this "hurtful" or merely "one man's honest opinion" (misguided or not)? it didn't take any prior research to determine whether he was "racist", just one and done, and fired from his television media job. should he have been fired? (and no, not a sarcastic question) and i am comparing shaq to jimmy/al, merely trying to get a handle on your concept of free speech and its "checks and balances".
davids, no one is comparing shaq to hitler, obviously. but you are still not getting the point. if someone is offended, why act superior and say they have no right to even feel offended? i mean, don't you think that's the slightest bit condescending? i do, and that's the only reason i take exception to some of your posts here. it's not your views on free speech (i mean, it's not exactly going out on a limb to say you support free speech, it's like saying you are for human rights), its your insistence on dictating how others should "feel". after all, "crying" and "whining", as you would characterize it, is also a form of free speech in our country. or does that suddenly not count?
Just out of curiosity, do you remember Payne Stewart's remarks to ESPN shortly before his death in 1999. He was replying to some comments made earlier by British golf analyst Peter Alliss when he, in an attempt at humor, began speaking with a Chinese accent. He was roundly criticized for it, and subsequently issued a public apology. Do you agree or disagree with the criticism directed toward him? Do you think his public apology was appropriate and warranted?
yao may or may not dominate shaq on jan 17 2003 but i garuntee u that shaq will get embarressed one day by yao. one day soon.
Well, this is a discussion that I had with my friend in college. The balance between scientific research and discrimination. Information is POWER and it's when it gets into evil hands that we have a problem... But to answer you question about his job... Should have he been fired? No. But, let's say that he stayed on his job. His viership would have plummeted. So, he would have cut his own neck. The reason that CBS (?) fired him was because his viewer-ship would have protested the station, i.e. less money for CSB sponsors. Sure, it insulted people. But, is also insulted CBS's pocket book. And, he has the right to say that he wants. Now, I ask you this. What do you say to people that want to do scientific research on that "selective breeding" issue? That is the touchy issue, because there will always be evil people.
here is some more drivel. davids, the apologist nonsense about being just trying to be "funny" and not realizing they were offending certain people. okay--even if you are COMPLETELY IGNORANT, you know that saying "ching chong" is going to offend asians. come on dude, do you really thing any asian is going to find that funny? seriously. how is that a misunderstanding? now if shaq said "i'm not a racist, but sometimes i have insulting racist thoughts just like practically everyone else does, and i apologize", then that is all well and good. but to be an apologist and say "it was just a misunderstanding" is implying that there was another meaning to his "ching chong" slur--can you speculate on another meaning besides insult? if you can't, it basically negates your whole point. "misunderstanding" implies the audience was at fault in their comprehension of the slur--typical shifting of blame. shaq is an adult and he is obviously has the mind of an adult--don't be an apologist. it's okay to slip up and make insulting remarks, but you have to own up to it if confronted--don't pass it off as ignorance or misunderstanding--that is called "not taking responsibility". semantics, sure, but that's all we have.
No matter what you say, you will always offend *someone* in the world. No matter how careful you are with your words. Where do you draw the line? That's up for debate. The key is not to get too sensitive about everything, everyone says. Just to put it into perspective. Because you think that Shaq said it to hurt Yao or to put him down as an Asian. But it was more about stereotypes in basketball; trash talk.
Racism doesn't have to result in violence or theft... I'm not saying what Shaq did was Illegal!!! I'm saying what he did was mean-spirited, unsportsmanlike, and racist!!
i don't have a lot of opinion either way on current "selective breeding". regarding the jimmy/al comments, no i don't think he should have been fired. but i wouldn't have had a problem if blacks "cried" and "whined" about it in the form of protest or threats--you get what you deserve. and i don't think shaq should be formally reprimanded in any way, he should just expect "declining ratings" as well as "crying" from asians. and i agree that he was fired for the negative press the network would have received (as well as declining ratings)--just like trent lott/republican party, etc. but that's beside the point--most "censorship/free speech" decisions are made with different motives in mind. firstly, i'm not really big on the whole good vs. evil thing. as for how theories of the black athlete relate to current experiments in genetics, i really don't know what you are referring to. if someone wanted to research jimmy/al's/whoever's theories of racial superiority? go for it--"it's a free country". as for the evil and whatever, maybe you have some knowledge no one else does.
In the near future (I'm just speculating) but bare with me here... ...An Asian player might say something like, "Yo brah, watz zup! How's the crib?!" in his attempt at humor towards the hip-hop African-American culture of the NBA. And guess what? It will either be taken as a joke, or as an insult. Not sure yet...we'll have to wait and see... But if that happens, I will be an "apologist" for this Asian player just like I'm defending Shaq now. They might as well start burning those Budweiser (Watzup!?) commercials now. Because they will be considered racial insults in the future. Sigh...
strange. davids, you don't have to draw the line. say whatever you like in public, just be prepared for return insults. that's all i am saying. how is "ching chong" related to basketball trash talk? is that the same as bonzi wells and "soft white boys"? it doesn't matter what you think the reaction will be--whatever reaction you get, it's genuine. about sensitivity and poo-poo head, you were expanding this discussion to the real world, not just the nba. so again, not to bait you, but using your metaphor, if someone passed by you on the street, laughed, pointed, and said "******", would you just think "i'll prove to him i'm no ******!" and walk away proudly? without knowing you, i am guessing that you would do a bit more than that. to bring it back to the discussion, "ching chong" is one small step away from calling someone a "chink". no way of getting around it. like saying "hey man you no like taco bell burrito" is a precursor to "spic" and "yo i gotta aks you a question" is a precursor to "******".
