Kareem Abdul-Jabar On America's Faux Indignation Regarding Donald Sterling
“He was discriminating against black and Hispanic families for years, preventing them from getting housing. It was public record. We did nothing. Suddenly he says he doesn’t want his girlfriend posing with Magic Johnson on Instagram and we bring out the torches and rope. Shouldn’t we have all called for his resignation back then?
Shouldn’t we be equally angered by the fact that his private, intimate conversation was taped and then leaked to the media? Didn’t we just call to task the NSA for intruding into American citizen’s privacy in such an un-American way? Although the impact is similar to Mitt Romney’s comments that were secretly taped, the difference is that Romney was giving a public speech. The making and release of this tape is so sleazy that just listening to it makes me feel like an accomplice to the crime. We didn’t steal the cake but we’re all gorging ourselves on it.
Make no mistake: Donald Sterling is the villain of this story. But he’s just a handmaiden to the bigger evil. In our quest for social justice, we shouldn’t lose sight that racism is the true enemy. He’s just another jerk with more money than brains.
So, if we’re all going to be outraged, let’s be outraged that we weren’t more outraged when his racism was first evident. Let’s be outraged that private conversations between people in an intimate relationship are recorded and publicly played. Let’s be outraged that whoever did the betraying will probably get a book deal, a sitcom, trade recipes with Hoda and Kathie Lee, and soon appear on Celebrity Apprentice and Dancing with the Stars.”
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Now, I know I'm probably going to get a lot of shit for posting, this (or maybe, not, because, seriously, who the fuck reads this blog?) but I think Mr. Jabar has a point. The outrage over Sterling's comments seems pretty manufactured and phony. Now make no mistake, this isn't me defending Sterling. Fuck Him. He's a racist, anti-semitic, self-hating piece of shit. But, nothing he has done, is new or noteworthy. As Abdul-Jabar points out, he actively worked to discriminate against African-Americans over a period of years. But why the outrage now? And of all the things to be outraged over, you huff and puff over a conversation regarding instagram photos?
So the message here is: It's ok to be a slumlord and actively discriminate against entire minorities, even when you are being investigated by the DOJ. That's not a problem. But Instagram? Now, you've crossed the line! How dare you. Look at how much better than you we are, Donald Sterling!
But let me also add: Fuck his girlfriend. Yes. Fuck her. She's no better than him. First off, how much self-hate do you have to have to stay with such a racist piece of shit? Like he hates everyone. He probably hates you too. Serious issues lady. But also, entrapment? Really? I'm sorry but coaxing someone into revealing their racism so you can partake in some sort of revenge character assassination is pretty scummy, no matter how well intentioned it may be. Perhaps you two miscreants are indeed perfect for each other after all.
And honestly, shame on the American people. The only reason people gave a shit about this story is because of the way the media handled it. Honestly, this could have read like an Onion article: Racist Asshole says Racist shit. OK, I get it, if it bleeds it leads. And this is definitely worthy in the Infotainment era, but its no more pressing than hearing about Miley Cyrus's dead dog (Which also seemed to have made the fucking headlines for whatever reason).
So in the end, the only real winners of this whole debacle are Kareem Abdul-Jabar who comes out as an objective voice of reason in this whole situation, and the LA Clippers who can finally move on from this (hopefully).