#RealTalkWithRaze - The Big Clipp
Yeah...you can't escape it. It's EVERYWHERE. Every radio and television station you tune into is talking about it and every celebrity and semi-celebrity in America is weighing in on it....
RACISM.
Yeah, I'll be talking about Donald Sterling, owner of The Los Angeles Clippers, but not directly. And no, I won't be talking about his "girlfriend" V. Stiviano, because quite frankly while she's the reason we're having this discussion, she's ultimately irrelevant outside of that fact. I won't even be talking about the players and coaches and staff of The Clippers organization that have chosen to work for this man IN SPITE of already knowing that he's a racist (known on public record by the multiple cases of race discrimination against him in not only The Clippers organization but also in his real estate branches of business as well). See, Mr. Sterling is merely the muse of the dialog that everyone for the moment is so enthralled by. For some reason an absurd amount of the American people have been under the false belief that not only is racism a thing of the past, but that somehow a racist 81yr old owner of a professional sports franchise, successful primarily off the labor of so many minorities, is surprising.
Look, nothing about Don Sterling being racist surprises me. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised were it the other way around. If you've listened to his "mixtape", you should also have been able to put together his story. He said it himself; in his "culture" races don't mix or mingle. That is, unless you're a white man in a position of power and fiscal ability to either rape or buy the integrity of whatever woman you choose, with little to no repercussion. I mean, let's be real here people...unless you've NEVER read a book or seen a movie about slavery, NONE of this story should come as a surprise or shock to you. This is fundamentally status quo in the grande scheme of American culture, since well before it's united inception. So, while I could draw the lines of comparison between Mr. Sterling's racist and classist outlook on society and the business models of historic slave trading, I'd rather focus on something far more important than a history that quite frankly, EVERY adult in the country, should be aware of by now. And that is....
What the fuck should we do about it?
Notice, I did NOT specify what black people should do. I did NOT specify what people of color should do about it. I said WE....as in humans, specifically Americans, that do not share the same beliefs as Mr. Sterling...do about this situation. The way I see it, it's been a VERY long time since people of color in this country have shown any TRUE solidarity. I'm not talking about posting memes, changing default pics and clicking like/share a whole bunch on posts. I mean what are you going to DO about it. See, in the REAL WORLD, likes don't mean SHIT. Default profile pics mean even LESS. Why? Because just as quickly as they can change to "show support" for the current cause de jour, they're impact is felt exponentially shorter. So, whether you're a person of color or a non-person of color, that feels racism should die off more and more with every passing generation (if not suddenly and painfully for all that adhere to such nonsense), I'll tell you what you SHOULD do.
Boycott. And I mean REAL boycott...like our grandparents and great grandparents and great-great grandparents used to. If you're a Clippers fan AND if you're a fan of a team the Clippers are playing, you should boycott. EVERYTHING. No game attendance. No tuning in on television. No NBA.com video feeds/visits/site hits. Literally, IGNORE IT ALL. Make the powers that be...you know, those filthy rich, socially & legally omnipotent people (racist and not racist)...feel the result of their thoughts and actions realized.....IN THE BOTTOM LINE. Nothing brings these people to full attention like the loss of the thing they covet most....THEIR MONEY. And it can't be for one game, or one day...it must be diligent and disciplined in execution. There must be a lasting effect. It must be strong and piercing. Why? Because they don't currently have a reason to FEAR the repercussions of pretty much anything that they do or say. A lot of the time us current folk feel strongly about things, but don't speak or act on them out of fear. Fear of losing our jobs...fear of what may happen to someone we love....etc. These people have lived arguably for most or all of their lives living by a completely separate set of rules, only governed by the almighty dollar.
Advertising and sponsor money will dwindle. Direct income from their products will fall. But most importantly, these results will make their way around their closed group (or "culture") that it CAN happen to THEM TOO if they make the same mistakes. We, Americans, must show unity of the financial sort to EVER change anything that we collectively feel is wrong. Money truly makes the world go round, and as the consumers and vast majority of the populace, we have far more power than we realize; the problem is there are so many of us that it's far more difficult to band us all together.
Either way....
This is all just a waste of my finger strokes. Yeah, it's fundamentally correct and makes sense and sounds/feels good but ultimately, totally unrealistic. Not because it's such a sprawling exhibition to execute...but because people are selfish. Not even the big picture or the positive long-run outcome is enough for 98% of us to sacrifice our comfort, convenience and entertainment in order to truly make a change that we all as a society so desperately need. Which is essentially why THEY are the 2%.
So, I guess....fuck it. Forget you ever read any of this. Just like you're all going to do in less than a month's time about Donald Sterling's beliefs about race relations and the proper place for people of color in America and the world.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled bigotry.
-R
RACISM.
Yeah, I'll be talking about Donald Sterling, owner of The Los Angeles Clippers, but not directly. And no, I won't be talking about his "girlfriend" V. Stiviano, because quite frankly while she's the reason we're having this discussion, she's ultimately irrelevant outside of that fact. I won't even be talking about the players and coaches and staff of The Clippers organization that have chosen to work for this man IN SPITE of already knowing that he's a racist (known on public record by the multiple cases of race discrimination against him in not only The Clippers organization but also in his real estate branches of business as well). See, Mr. Sterling is merely the muse of the dialog that everyone for the moment is so enthralled by. For some reason an absurd amount of the American people have been under the false belief that not only is racism a thing of the past, but that somehow a racist 81yr old owner of a professional sports franchise, successful primarily off the labor of so many minorities, is surprising.
Look, nothing about Don Sterling being racist surprises me. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised were it the other way around. If you've listened to his "mixtape", you should also have been able to put together his story. He said it himself; in his "culture" races don't mix or mingle. That is, unless you're a white man in a position of power and fiscal ability to either rape or buy the integrity of whatever woman you choose, with little to no repercussion. I mean, let's be real here people...unless you've NEVER read a book or seen a movie about slavery, NONE of this story should come as a surprise or shock to you. This is fundamentally status quo in the grande scheme of American culture, since well before it's united inception. So, while I could draw the lines of comparison between Mr. Sterling's racist and classist outlook on society and the business models of historic slave trading, I'd rather focus on something far more important than a history that quite frankly, EVERY adult in the country, should be aware of by now. And that is....
What the fuck should we do about it?
Notice, I did NOT specify what black people should do. I did NOT specify what people of color should do about it. I said WE....as in humans, specifically Americans, that do not share the same beliefs as Mr. Sterling...do about this situation. The way I see it, it's been a VERY long time since people of color in this country have shown any TRUE solidarity. I'm not talking about posting memes, changing default pics and clicking like/share a whole bunch on posts. I mean what are you going to DO about it. See, in the REAL WORLD, likes don't mean SHIT. Default profile pics mean even LESS. Why? Because just as quickly as they can change to "show support" for the current cause de jour, they're impact is felt exponentially shorter. So, whether you're a person of color or a non-person of color, that feels racism should die off more and more with every passing generation (if not suddenly and painfully for all that adhere to such nonsense), I'll tell you what you SHOULD do.
Boycott. And I mean REAL boycott...like our grandparents and great grandparents and great-great grandparents used to. If you're a Clippers fan AND if you're a fan of a team the Clippers are playing, you should boycott. EVERYTHING. No game attendance. No tuning in on television. No NBA.com video feeds/visits/site hits. Literally, IGNORE IT ALL. Make the powers that be...you know, those filthy rich, socially & legally omnipotent people (racist and not racist)...feel the result of their thoughts and actions realized.....IN THE BOTTOM LINE. Nothing brings these people to full attention like the loss of the thing they covet most....THEIR MONEY. And it can't be for one game, or one day...it must be diligent and disciplined in execution. There must be a lasting effect. It must be strong and piercing. Why? Because they don't currently have a reason to FEAR the repercussions of pretty much anything that they do or say. A lot of the time us current folk feel strongly about things, but don't speak or act on them out of fear. Fear of losing our jobs...fear of what may happen to someone we love....etc. These people have lived arguably for most or all of their lives living by a completely separate set of rules, only governed by the almighty dollar.
Advertising and sponsor money will dwindle. Direct income from their products will fall. But most importantly, these results will make their way around their closed group (or "culture") that it CAN happen to THEM TOO if they make the same mistakes. We, Americans, must show unity of the financial sort to EVER change anything that we collectively feel is wrong. Money truly makes the world go round, and as the consumers and vast majority of the populace, we have far more power than we realize; the problem is there are so many of us that it's far more difficult to band us all together.
Either way....
This is all just a waste of my finger strokes. Yeah, it's fundamentally correct and makes sense and sounds/feels good but ultimately, totally unrealistic. Not because it's such a sprawling exhibition to execute...but because people are selfish. Not even the big picture or the positive long-run outcome is enough for 98% of us to sacrifice our comfort, convenience and entertainment in order to truly make a change that we all as a society so desperately need. Which is essentially why THEY are the 2%.
So, I guess....fuck it. Forget you ever read any of this. Just like you're all going to do in less than a month's time about Donald Sterling's beliefs about race relations and the proper place for people of color in America and the world.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled bigotry.
-R
eeeeyup! -I am ze kat.
ReplyDelete