MaxBuck
SoCal, Baby!
Lots of discussion on the basketball forum regarding "playing the race card" by Marcus Smart following his confrontation with an ill-behaved Texas Tech fan. (Smart is serving a three-game suspension, which I believe is warranted, for his actions.)
A lot of commentary appears on that thread about Smart "playing the race card" when he said that the fan used a racial slur toward him.
I'd assume that Smart was either A. telling the truth or B. mistaken about where the racial slur(s) originated in the Texas Tech fan base. (I'd bet Benjamins to doughnuts that the n-word was used more than once against opposing players by Tech fans in that game.) But others are suggesting that Smart is "lying" about the situation, and using racism as an excuse for his overreaction.
It's clear to me that many whites, even today, are quick to tag black folks with this accusation in situations when the blacks have suffered from true racism, just as it's clear to me that many blacks inappropriately tag whites with a racism charge when they feel slighted in any way, or when they're trying to deflect attention from their own faults.
Just a shame that both sides feel the need to resort to cheap-shot accusations, IMO. Not every interpersonal conflict between persons of different races results from racism, but racism remains the root cause of many such conflicts.
A lot of commentary appears on that thread about Smart "playing the race card" when he said that the fan used a racial slur toward him.
I'd assume that Smart was either A. telling the truth or B. mistaken about where the racial slur(s) originated in the Texas Tech fan base. (I'd bet Benjamins to doughnuts that the n-word was used more than once against opposing players by Tech fans in that game.) But others are suggesting that Smart is "lying" about the situation, and using racism as an excuse for his overreaction.
It's clear to me that many whites, even today, are quick to tag black folks with this accusation in situations when the blacks have suffered from true racism, just as it's clear to me that many blacks inappropriately tag whites with a racism charge when they feel slighted in any way, or when they're trying to deflect attention from their own faults.
Just a shame that both sides feel the need to resort to cheap-shot accusations, IMO. Not every interpersonal conflict between persons of different races results from racism, but racism remains the root cause of many such conflicts.