Richard Sherman, “Thugs”, and Code-Word Racism
Richard Sherman, the Most Electrifying Man in NFL Entertainment, set the Twittersphere and media on fire after his now infamous post-game interview with Erin Andrews. He excitedly proclaimed his greatness, flexed his masculinity, and laid some verbal smackdown on any would-be challengers (Crabtree).
The response from his detractors was swift and fierce. There were the obvious and overt racists, blurting out the most egregious things they could think of in hopes of a retweet or some sort of acknowledgement. And that’s really to be expected from the legions of anonymous yet attention-seeking people caught up in the social-media-is-my-personal-reality-show apparatus.
Then sure enough, only a few days later, Sherman lit the internet on fire again by stating in an interview that the most bothersome comments were when people called him a ‘thug’ because it, “seems like it’s the accepted way of calling someone the N-word nowadays.”
Cue exploding heads everywhere. “WHAT THE HELL! I DIDN’T MEAN TO SAY THE N-WORD! I WOULD NEVER SAY THAT! I HAVE A BLACK FRIEND!”
To all those who would jump to the conclusion that here’s just another black man pulling the race card unnecessarily, let’s be clear: Richard Sherman is absolutely, positively, without a doubt correct.
When people use code-words like “thug” instead of saying “nigger” it does not LITERALLY mean that they thought the exact word “nigger” then consciously chose “thug” instead to soften it. However, just like when people casually said “nigger” publicly, the function of the word is the same.
They’re using “thug” to dismiss and de-humanize Sherman while simultaneously reinforcing cultural stereotypes imposed upon the black community by power-insecure people and subjugating social structures. The intent is to relegate Sherman person to second-class status, through which more violent and derogatory rhetoric can be indulged in guilt-free. To simultaneously weaken that Sherman, and yet embellish his supposed danger and social threat. And most importantly, to shame Sherman and elevate the verbal attacker above him based on something far too easy to fall back on - race.
It’s completely reasonable and understandable to think that Sherman came off as arrogant and unsportsmanlike. If that’s the entirety of it there’s no reason to run to the word “thug” and all the obvious associations that come with it. Nobody called Roger Clemens a “thug” when he THREW A BAT SHARD at Mike Piazza on 10/22/2000. Nobody called Larry Bird a “thug” ever, even though he was a widely known trash-talker. There’s a reason that people run to words like “thug” with all the robbery, assault, and rape implied in that word.
If you are one of the people that jumps to loaded words like that when you just so happen to be describing black people, or any minority for that matter, you need to take a second to think about the baggage that comes along with jumping to those associations. Whether you realize it when you say it doesn’t matter. Code-word racism functions the exact same as overt verbal racism.
– Evan
PTR’s Super Bold Predictions!!!
PTR’s Super Bold Predictions!!!
FINALLY!!! The Super Bowl is upon us! Let the perfect symbol of American racial commodification, commercial and material excesses, glorification of hyper-masculinity, and beer and food over-indulging begin!! All kidding aside, the guys here are Pass The Relish are stoked for America’s biggest holiday. There are a series of awesome stories leading up to this Super Bowl that have been gone over a million times in the last two weeks. The Harbaugh Bowl! Randy Moss says he’s the best wide receiver ever?! Ray Lewis and deer antler spray… seriously, deer antler spray?! The dramatic change to Kaepernick at the middle of the season. Joe Flacco’s incredible playoffs performance. And let’s not forget that Culliver hates gays and the 49ers organization put him in check immediately and forced a public “apology”. These story lines are all nice and cute, but the real action will be on the field. Let’s get right into the football!
PTR’s NFL Conference Championship Preview
PTR’s NFL Conference Championship Weekend Preview and Predictions!
Last weekend was great! We went 2/2 on our picks for last weekend making us 6 for 8 overall in the playoffs. Who could have expected for Seattle to come out so flat in the first half last week then for Pete Carroll to call that timeout so late on the kick that *missed* and would have won them the game!? How amazing was it to watch Peyton choke AGAIN in the playoffs and see Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ receiving corps make the once almighty Champ Bailey look like he belongs in the Canadian Football League!? Brady did his Brady thing as usual in a rather predictable slaughter of Houston. Finally, two last words for the recap: Colin Kaepernick.
Let’s get into this week’s matchups…
PTR’s NFL Divisional Weekend Preview!
PTR’s NFL Divisional Round Predictions!
After a great Wild Card week, where PTR went 4/4 in win predictions (nevermind that Cincinnati game messing up the points guesses) we’re looking forward to an even better divisional round. The bye week teams are coming off the bench to wrangle with the hungry Wild Card victors. A few classic matchups and a few new ones. Great veteran QBs versus new QBs looking to make a mark for themselves in the playoffs. Strong physical defenses and high scoring offenses. So much excitement I can’t even get complete sentences out about it! Let’s get started…
PTR’s NFL Playoff Preview!
PTR’s NFL Playoff Preview - Wild Card Weekend!
Finally! The NFL Playoffs are upon us. It’s been a wild season with all the twists and turns of an M. Night Shyamalan movie - except no one could have predicted it so easily. Let’s take a look at a few big stories of the season before jumping into the playoffs. Skip to the bottom half if you want to just look at the playoff coverage.
Shenanigans Ep15: The Super Bowl and Why Melo might be the most unique NBA player in history.
Hey Hey Everybody! This is Episode 15 of the Shenanigans podcast hosted by Pass the Relish blog…
This week the gang discusses why the Super Bowl sucked so much, QB legacies (Peyton vs Eli and Tom Brady) and why we care so much about quarter backs at all.
Also, the NBA. How do we feel about the All-Star voting… Zack and Mando have a bit of a disagreement over Kevin Love vs. Lamarcus Aldridge… and, the most important topic of all, does Carmelo Anthony the most unique player of all time? We mean that in a bad way, lol.
– till next time guys!
Mando
Shenanigans Ep12: NFL Playoff Edition! The season so far, predictions, and the difference between new talent and old farts…
Hey Hey Everyone! We are back!
After a month long holiday hiatus the gang discusses the NFL playoffs. Yes we know it already started… but that didn’t stop us from discussing the random comeback of the Giants, the 49ers, whether or not its still a quarterbacks league, and why the hell NFL teams keep hiring old coaches who haven’t changed in 30 years when there’s a ton of fresh talent in the college ranks! Relatedly… this is how institutions in general stay the same year after year. Also, super bowl predictions!
till next time folks!
– Mando
Why I’m Glad the Denver Broncos Lost on Saturday
Like a lot of people, I was happy to see the Denver Broncos’ (and of course, Tim Tebow’s) season come to an end on Saturday night. But it’s not for the reasons that you might expect. I’m not a Patriots fan. I don’t dislike Tim Tebow. And I don’t really have a problem with professional athletes displaying their religious beliefs (within reason). The real reason I’m glad that the Broncos lost on Saturday is that I think it’s the best thing that could have happened to Tim Tebow himself.
Shenanigans Ep6: Reactions to the NCAA Decision to Pay “Student-Athletes”
Hey Hey! This is episode 6 of the Shenanigans podcast hosted by the Pass the Relish blog! (passtherelish.tumblr).
This week the gang reacts to a recent rule change by the NCAA to allow a $2,000 dollar yearly stipend for student-athletes. The decision is monumental because, for years, college players have been working for free in what is a multi-billion dollar industry.
We talk about, amongst many others:
- What led up to this decision? Why is this happening now?
- What is the significance of this decision?
- Why should college athletes be paid at all?
- What has been the legal underpinnings of previous rulings on this issue?
- The role of race?
- What do we see happening moving forward?
- and much much more!
Till next time! – Mando
p.s. Also here is the now widely read Atlantic article that we reference a number of times in the podcast: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/10/the-shame-of-college-sports/8643/
Are we seriously supposed to believe that Tim Tebow’s a victim?
Pretty much everyone, even people who don’t know anything else about professional sports, knows that Tim Tebow is going to be starting at quarterback tomorrow for the Denver Broncos. What most people don’t know, unless they pay a lot of attention to the NFL, is that Christian Ponder is going to be starting at quarterback this Sunday as well, for the Minnesota Vikings. So why has one story gotten so much more attention than the other?
Both of these quarterbacks are young unproven first round draft picks with almost zero NFL experience. Both of them are replacing disappointing veteran quarterbacks on teams that are pretty much already out of the playoff picture. And yet, while no one’s ever heard of Christian Ponder, Time Tebow is the biggest story in professional sports.
Bay Area NFL: Take Two
Bay Area football is back baby! After my Week Two disgust in both the 49ers and Raiders it seems they have gotten back on track. In the last three weeks the 49ers have gone undefeated, including an impressive win of Philadelphia and a beatdown on Tampa Bay, and the Raiders are 2-1 with only a loss to New England between their victory against the Jets and the emotional Al Davis win over Houston. Though I’m hesitant, it seems that rooting for either of these teams will no longer come with the risk of being a target for a beer bath at my local sports bar. Here’s my read of the two teams at present.
What’s going on in the NFL?
What’s going on in the NFL this year? Detroit, possibly the worst franchise in the history of professional sports, has the best record in the league at 4-0. Buffalo is not only leading their division, but just snapped an eight year losing streak to New England. Buffalo. Washington and San Francisco are 3-1, while traditional powerhouses like Indianapolis and Minnesota haven’t even won a game. We are witnessing a changing of the guard in professional football and, for even a casual fan of the game, it’s pretty exciting. This is one of the reasons why I love following the NFL so much, and it’s something that our other major sports leagues need to pay attention to.
Why Walter Payton’s “defenders” are missing the point
Over the past couple days, Jeff Pearlman has been getting a lot of heat for his recent article chronicling the post-retirement struggles of NFL legend Walter Payton. The criticism has been especially strong in Chicago, where Pearlman has been accused of maliciously attacking not just the greatest running back to ever play the game, but the essence of everything pure and good about Chicago sports. Unfortunately, not only do reactions like this miss the point of the article, but they cover up a much deeper, and more important, criticism of the ways in which professional athletes are exploited and abused.
Bash the Relish 9-21-11
It’s Wednesday! Once again it’s time to express all the frustrations of someone getting no action on the so-called “hump day”. Here are the new complaints…
Bay Area NFL:
Oakland Raiders. San Francisco 49ers. What the hell is up with these teams?! Both have a long tradition of winning just not in the last decade - which just so happens to coincide with the rise of online fantasy football. Now they are both fantastic examples of how team loyalty can screw a fantasy team. This last weekend looked very promising for Bay Area football. That is until these teams realized who they were and gave their games away.
Is it just that the Bay Area is opposed to having any quality sports teams anymore? If the Niners and Raiders can’t do it who else can? Golden State Warriors? Oakland A’s? Is it really necessary to look to the SF Giants in their home run friendly park as the savior of Bay Area sports? That’s sad. Don’t even think about bringing up the San Jose Sharks. Hockey is boring. The NHL missed an entire season due to a labor dispute and no one noticed. Hopefully the Raiders and Niners can get their act together so we can stop laughing whenever someone brings up the “Commitment to Excellence” or mentions that maybe this year SF can win the abysmal NFC West.
Lip Injections:
How does anyone think these are sexy?! I get it, big lips are in. However, there is a difference between Anna Faris and Angelina Jolie. Angie’s lips look like a soft, fluffy pillow just begging to be placed on a bed for nap time. Anna’s look like an angry clown stapled a balloon animal to her face. Real lips fold, stretch, and pucker naturally. The only fold in fake ones is the fold that looks like the top of the mouth is trying to hide behind the lip for defense.
In general, isn’t the goal of cosmetic surgery to be discreet and create the illusion of natural beauty? To get a reaction of approval and attraction? It certainly can’t be to cause further negative criticism. Yet that’s the first response to such overt surgeries. Now not only is the person unattractive on the outside, they’re now even worse on the inside due to their desperate need for physical approval. This is doubly so for actors. All the camera time and extreme close-ups bring all the flaws out. Why add personality flaws to the equation?
Bees:
Yeah they’re great as stuffed animals. Everyone loves them as tattoos. And if that little Bee-otch rear-view mirror hanger isn’t the cutest thing ever I don’t know what is. However, actual bees suck. They’re stupid and about as annoying as a Britney Spears song stuck in your head all day. They all need to die.
Gay Haters:
Guess what? DADT is officially over and we weren’t immediately nuked. Jesus didn’t come down and piss fire on America for our insolence. Hurricane Irene came before it ended, not after. And our military is actually more effective for it because perfectly good and skilled soldiers aren’t being fired for an arbitrary reason that has nothing to do with their ability as a soldier.
Quit acting like gays ruin the lives straight people or the precious institution of marriage. Marriage has a 50% success rate. Straight people have Flavor of Love, 99% of rape cases, trophy wives, and 24 hour Vegas marriages. The least we can do is offer this to our gay brothers and sisters so they can share in the self-delusion of happiness.
Reality Media:
This is where social media pretends it’s reality TV. More specifically it’s when people use Facebook, Twitter, and the like to pretend everyone cares about them. Ever see a status update that just says, “Wow”, or “OMG”? What it really says is, “Please correspond with me and validate who I think I am by inquiring about my life in response to this intentionally ambiguous update”.
Get over yourself and quit being sneaky about your neediness. Go make a blog and be straight forward about it like a respectable attention whore.
That about does it for today. Like Queen Latifah, I’ve had it up 2 here. Remember, bullying isn’t cool, just really funny. (Have a sense of humor)
- Evan