Ah yes, your familiar: “You aren’t worthy of a response” refrain. How many times will you go to the proverbial well with this one? Do you apply this to the rest of your interactions in the world as well? You…You are like some kind of hero. Some kind of do-nothing hero. You just keep! doing! nothing!

Let’s see if your snide, throw-away “this is a straw man” point holds any water….let’s just look at a few quotes from your previous comments. Just in case you’re merely confused about the phrase ’straw man’, it is a logical fallacy used to misrepresent an opponent’s position.

Of course, in this case we’re absolute best friends in the world, so ‘opponents’ sounds a little harsh, but that’s the general idea.

Let’s see now…apparently you feel that I am misrepresenting you by accusing you of having unrealistic expectations regarding the progress of black-white racial relations in America. What gave me that idea?

“It’s far beyond this MA, what little progress that has been made is, for the most part, in the notion of wilingness to allow us to be like them without TOO much of a penalty being paid. But other than that, and allowing for a general sense that it isn’t right to lynch people for sassing whites, not much has changed. The lynchings are now simply figurative instead of being literal and the willingness to pile on is every bit as great. ”

Hmmm…see here I see you dismissing the progress “that has been made” as merely a minor concession. You then say that this is pretty much it, and that the lynchings have changed from literal to figurative. I thought you were indicating with this that you didn’t think much meaningful progress has been made. Isn’t that silly!

“Still, this retreat from the idea of brotherhood between blacks and whites in America, and the ever growing willingness of white america to justify, indeed to revel in it’s intolerance and bigotry has been pretty much unabated for at least 30 years. I’ve grown weary of being optimistic and of making excuses for a people whose entire history should make them know better.”

And here, I read this and thought to myself: KevDog, great guy that he is, seems to think that bigotry and intolerance are getting worse. Further, he seems to have “grown weary of being optimistic”. Oh yes! I can see why my characterization of you as having given up on your optimism was so far off!

Gosh, I mean, when I wrote:
“If you honestly thought that 10,000 years of institutionalized racism present in EVERY culture on the planet was going to disappear in your lifetime, you were astoundingly optimistic.”

I guess I thought what I was saying is that your expectations were comically unrealistic. Gee! I guess I just got that impression from those quotes where you were: 1) Dismayed at the amount of progress that’s been made, 2) felt that things were getting worse, and 3) were no longer optimistic about the world. Oh, was it with the “in your lifetime” part of that sentence that got you in “I’m too lazy to respond” mode? Yeah, I guess it was silly of me to ‘read that into’ what you’ve written….

Let’s just see how unrealistic that is. You claim to be 44 years old, and it’s 2007. Let me just get my calculator out here (those of us with Math degrees are comically incapable of actual subtraction), that means you would have been born in 1963.

Huh…That’s funny. Let’s take a look at this quote you wrote:

“I remember the optimism of the late sixties/early seventies and I also remember the strategies used by Reagan and his cohorts to tear away at any fabric of brotherhood in America between blacks and whites.”

Really? You remember a national optimism about race relationship from before you were 12? Or maybe you remember being young and optimistic yourself? I mean, let’s see some of the ‘trivial’ progress that’s been made in America during your lifetime (just off the top of my head here):

1. Various federal and state courts overturned laws banning mixed-race marriage (this one has a special place in my heart)
2. The Civil Rights Act was passed….
3. Directive 5120.36, ending military segregation
4. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, making further racism in this regard illegal, although it certainly hasn’t ended the problems
5. Gates v. Collier, ending segregation, etc. in prisons
6. National Voting Rights Act, which ended the process of states effectively preventing blacks from voting
7. American Indian Religious Freedom Act, which guaranteed many the right to practice their religion
8. Since 1963 there have been MANY prominent African Americans in politics, holding positions such as (to name a few): Secretary of State, Chairman of the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of Commerce, a couple of Supreme Court Justices, Senator and Representatives (not to mention governors, mayors, etc.). And, I hope to god, we’ll soon have a black president.
9. Imus got fired in 2007 for saying damn near the exact same things he’s been saying for 20-odd years.
10. A couple of African Americans on the Fortune 400 (pitifully low, but 2 more than 1963)

Gosh, I guess you’re right. That is a pitiful amount of progress. From overt institutional racism in every aspect of society to widespread acceptance of the idea that overt institutional racism should be punished and outlawed. That IS a pitiful amount of progress. PIT EEE FULL.

Or wait, it actually seem to me that overt institutional racism in this country is being trampled out at every turn. Further, the social cost of overt racism is high, to the point where individuals who are essentially just repeating their previously stated positions are now being fired (Imus, Trent Lott, George Allen). I guess that’s why people pointing out cases of covert racism are so important, because a lot of people (idiots) feel like ALL overt (and covert) racism is a thing of the past and no more effort needs to be put forth in this area.

If I mis characterized you, it was because you couldn’t convey your ideas in writing. If you’d like to actually refute my line of reasoning feel free.

I’m not suggesting or implying that there isn’t a ton of progress that needs to be made. There was a CNN poll a few years ago where practically everyone polled thought of themselves as not racist, but that other people were (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/racism.poll/index.html). Clearly America does not see itself rationally, and that is impairing any progress that can be made.

You, on the other hand, are just perpetuating stupid half-truths and pessimistic ramblings disguised as ‘being realistic’. Gee, who does that sound like (Whitlock, Bush, Lott, etc.)?

Generally, I find you to not be worthy of response. This straw man is case in point,

If that were true then the civil rights movement would have never happened.

If you study the history of human culture, there are always liberal advances following by reconciliations with conservative dogma. True for Islamic culture, true for Hindu culture, true for European culture. If you honestly thought that 10,000 years of institutionalized racism present in EVERY culture on the planet was going to disappear in your lifetime, you were astoundingly optimistic.

If you’re “done”, then get the hell out of the way and quit impinging the validity of trying to change things. Just because you can’t detect the slow pace of change doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

You, Imus, and all the people who are fossilized in their understanding of the world do nothing positive by sharing.

One of the joys of becoming an “old head,” and at 44, I’m just realizing I now qualify, is seeing the new generation, proud, talented and yet not so arrogant that they don’t feel they can learn from those who came before.

I see many of the same charactersistics in our media, but even though the game is still rigged these days, it is also different. We have progressed and many folks on both sides of the aisle are ready to move forward, but that can only come through a mutual respect and a goal of shared progress.

I too was in your position in this debate for many decades. I guess naturally I am optimistic about the human condition. And I do recognize that the entirety of the human condition has been a march against conservative intransigence. Still, this retreat from the idea of brotherhood between blacks and whites in America, and the ever growing willingness of white america to justify, indeed to revel in it’s intolerance and bigotry has been pretty much unabated for at least 30 years. I’ve grown weary of being optimistic and of making excuses for a people whose entire history should make them know better.

Moving black America forward goes towards moving America forward, and personally, I don’t think many white people are opposed to black progress as much as they are to it coming at their expense. We live in a competitive society that isn’t exactly condusive to making sacrifices or adjustments of any kind for others, regardless of race.

It’s far beyond this MA, what little progress that has been made is, for the most part, in the notion of wilingness to allow us to be like them without TOO much of a penalty being paid. But other than that, and allowing for a general sense that it isn’t right to lynch people for sassing whites, not much has changed. The lynchings are now simply figurative instead of being literal and the willingness to pile on is every bit as great.

There are small minded antagonists who will always oppose any black progression, but it should be our intention that they are overshadowed by those who are about dissolving color lines through cultivating personal relationships. These white sportswriters may not have had previous exposure to black people, but after being on a beat long enough, they certainly should get to know some and vice versa. I’m not for that kumbaya shit, but I am about giving people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. It’s essential to any concept of progress that involves us all.

And yet, this is exactly what I did for years until finally, I recognized that no amount of exposure will make the overwhelming majority of white so-called journalists see the humanity in the black men they cover. They simply batten down the hatches, engage themselves in conversations amongst themselves that never challenge any of the notions they hold en masse and then use their bully pulpet to publish personal and cultural attack after personal and cultural attack. Frankly, I’m done.

This game is a common ground for all of us. Some may bring their stereotypes along with them, but one by one they can be replaced with more progressive visions of each other through time invested in each other.

Oh to be young and full of an optimism of lifes possibilities.

There are small minded antagonists who will always oppose any black progression, but it should be our intention that they are overshadowed by those who are about dissolving color lines through cultivating personal relationships. These white sportswriters may not have had previous exposure to black people, but after being on a beat long enough, they certainly should get to know some and vice versa. I’m not for that kumbaya shit, but I am about giving people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. It’s essential to any concept of progress that involves us all.

A good example of this would be Gil and DeShawn.

This has been a three-week long inner argument I’ve been doing in my head. It started when DeShawn told me, you know he throws his little hand over his face, you know the “I can’t feel my face.”

He started laughing. You know, that’s what’s wrong with sports now. Image. Can’t have fun anymore. It’s about image.

This game is a common ground for all of us. Some may bring their stereotypes along with them, but one by one they can be replaced with more progressive visions of each other through time invested in each other.

In any case, I come to my anger and bitterness legitimately.

I remember the optimism of the late sixties/early seventies and I also remember the strategies used by Reagan and his cohorts to tear away at any fabric of brotherhood in America between blacks and whites.

So now, I see a white dominated media that far more than by and large has no problem with scapegoating, piling on, character assassination and racially and culturally biased moralizing on a completely subjective and selective basis.

Those white sports journalists who don’t partake, more power, AND props to them, but they are VASTLY, I mean, VASTLY outnumbered by moralistic scum, mediocrities with press credentials and little else in the way positive attributes.

They’ll never fess up, nor apologize. It’s not in their nature.

And yes, alot of the Steve Nash bandwagon is comprised of Kobe haters. Exhibit A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyB1Nm4ySrw

That thing is dripping with stereotypes, and it is a representation of a larger percentage of the media who share those sentiments. I would not be surprised if he won it again. When the NBA has their 100 year celebration about thirty years from now, and all the game’s greats are gathered to reminisce on it’s evolution, I hope I’m alive to see the explination for why Kobe Bryant didn’t win an MVP in either of the past two years.

Everyone talks about how the Suns are worse without Steve Nash. Dallas is better without him. Phoenix plays that uptempo style of basketball, partially to compensate for Nash’s defensive deficiencies, no? The man is a sieve and allows constant penetration that gets their bigs in foul trouble. How can a team with Raja Bell, Shawn Marion and STAT have defensive problems? Hmm…. When Nash was in Dallas he had the same problem. Anyone who calls Dallas’ rise to prominence through establishing themselves as a defensive squad and Phoenix’s subsequent defensive troubles a coincidence is being dishonest. The common thread is Nash. And for that reason alone this guy should not be working on three straight MVPs.

Mizzo: thanks for the second part. I’m firmly in the Kobe for MVP camp, because if the Lakers hold on to a playoff spot, it’s because of him.