In an all too frequent occurrence in our society, it has been reported that students from a predominantly white high school –– Lake Oswego –– engaged in racial taunting of a black student-athlete during a basketball game this past weekend. As Lincoln High School senior Omar Leary prepared to attempt two free throws, chants of “"You can’'t read"” and “"Sixth-year senior"” were heard from the partisan crowd.
It is certainly not surprising that, in a society still deeply divided along racial lines, racism would play a role in high school sports. Though we might like to think that the days of Jackie Robinson are far behind us, it is more than evident that the vestiges of that era still remain intact.
One telling comment came from a Lake Oswego senior. While he felt the chants were “"thoughtless [and] classless"”, he didn'’t consider them racist. Obviously, to people like this young man, a racist slur needs to be more explicit, like referring to this black high school student-athlete as a "“spear chucker" or “"nigger"”.
Yet, as this example illustrates, it is the implicit comments that can prove to be most insulting. Comments like these show extreme –– and possibly unconscious –– prejudice. Without explicitly mentioning the player’'s name or race, these chants underscored to many in the crowd the belief that blacks, as a race, are not very bright.
What could be more racist than that?
That is absolutely crazy. If the people in the crowd were chanting that he was ugly, would the cries of racism have been heard? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Why? Because it is clearly not true that black people are ugly by default, and likewise, it would be silly to assume that calling someone ugly has anything to do with their race. So why get so sensitive about the claims on his intelligence? I'll tell you why - to insinuate that ANY particular comment is racist is to admit to the truth in the stereotype. If the black community wasn't insecure about their peoples' intellectual underpinnings, they would not have perceived the comments as racism. Has anyone even bothered to find out if he really WAS a sixth year high school student, by the way?
ReplyDeleteTrey Smith Responds:
ReplyDeleteOmar Leary is an 18 year old student, a very typical age for a high school senior.
If the students at a predominantly white upperclass school called a black student-athlete "ugly", then I would still believe it may well be racially motivated.
For me, the way to defend their actions would be to show that these students treat ANY opposing team or player in the same manner as Leary or his team was treated. However, if the students would never offer chants impugning a white student-athelete's intelligence or appearance, then I certainly don't think it's a leap to suggest there are racial overtones involved.
I think you can rest assured that the kids at Lake Oswego High School (and many, many other places) yell and chant insulting things at opposing players of all kinds.
ReplyDeleteLOHS has a long history of using the now-banned "That's all right. That's OK. You'll all work for us some day!" and yelling that at lots of kids from Clackamas to Lakeridge (just across the lake from LOHS.)
But that's just it - you DON'T know what they say to white students, nor what they say to OTHER BLACK STUDENTS! And as I stated before, the guy may well BE a sixth year senior, and may NOT read well! We DON'T know the facts!! Yet our speculation-driven and controversy-hungry media (of which you appear to be a disciple) loves to run print that BLASTS these very normal sports fans for heckling an opposing team member, and brands it RACISM. It may have been racist, I don't know - but neither do you, and neither do the jerk-offs that wrote all the newspaper articles on the subject.
ReplyDeleteThe fact remains that when people ASSUME a bigot's edge is present in a comment that is not clearly and blatently racist, it tightens racism's grip on our society by acknowledging and validating stereotypes. These students were calling out insults to a person. Insults that could be applied to any person. We may never know their true intent, or if they were racially motivated. But regardless, it wasn't made known, and anyone who perceives the statements as racially motivated is the real racist. They are the ones who are perpetuating the stereotype that blacks are somehow inferior intellectually. They are drawing a conclusion about the hecklers' intent based on their own prejudice about the person being insulted.
Why can't people SEE that?! It's mildly philosophical, but it's not rocket science!! Racism will never go away as long as garbage like this gets spun out of control and printed for all to see.