The Stubbornly Stupid Racist Hockey Fans

Political Correctness run a-proper

Now I only make this post out of frustration with what I have seen on hockey message boards and in news articles over the past couple of days. Frankly, I thought this was something that was long since resolved. I thought this was an issue that didn't really require discussion. I thought there was just a reasoned conclusion that we had all arrived at by living in this world and growing up in our communities (especially ones like mine).

The argument I see being made, is what I can only assume is some kind of reactionary, "Us? Racists? Come on!" response. I have seen a significant number of people ask "how do we even know the person who threw the banana meant it to be a racial taunt?". The first time I saw this question asked I thought, "well of course, this is the internet, and this person is a troll". But then I saw more of it. And a large contingent of people agreeing with the sentiment. It seemed alot like cops surrounding a crash scene whilst saying "move along folks; Nothing to see here".

The argument was being made by people (who I can only assume are under the age of 12) that they had no idea what the connection was, or why people would be offended by something like that. And then of course, following close behind them were the, "why even draw the connection? Ignoring it will make it go away" people. Their rallying cry for this cause is that this is just another example of "political correctness run amok".

Of course it is not political correctness run amok. We have all seen political correctness run amok and I certainly don't think that telling people to refrain from throwing bananas at black people would qualify as such.

Political correctness run amok...

Of course all of that is just absolute nonsense that I suspect only people who have no first hand experience with racism would even think it. A lot of small town Canada is not like Toronto, and a lot of small town Canada simply doesn't have black people. From my experience at University, meeting young people from outside the GTA for really the first time, I ran into quite a bit of, not necessarily mean, but just plain stupid racism. Now full disclosure, I am not black. But one of my best friends that first year on campus was black, and I saw first hand the kind of stupid "first time talking to a black guy" kind of racism. Especially from drunk people. Every female thought he was a basketball player and every male thought he was a gangbanger who could only be communicated with via "yo"s and "wassup G"s. In comparison to my friend, I have never dealt with anything, but just seeing it on those few occasions helped me understand a little what it is like to be a visible minority. Frankly, I was impressed by my friends restraint because on more than one occasion I would have thought him perfectly within his rights to get confrontational with some people.

I feel like ignorance of stuff like the aforementioned story is a reason why we have such a backlash against the backlash against the banana thrower. A large amount of the hockey consuming audience has no time, or no thoughts for racism. It isn't relevant in their lives, so they make no hesitation in summarily dismissing its presence. People are trying to equate this with the octopus in Detroit, or even the waffles in Toronto, and in my view, those people are flat out wrong. They are wrong in principle (Octopi and Waffles were directed at the teams as a whole), and they are wrong in tact (I think being on the side of a banana thrower should tell you all you need to about your tact).

The fact that there is any response to this other than universal disgust and condemnation I find shocking, and really, really disappointing. For as stupid as I thought hockey fans were, I didn't think they were this stupid.

Telling people not to throw bananas at black people shouldn't be that onerous a request. Yet look at any message board and you will find people attempting to argue that "maybe somebody just brought fruit to the game".

Hell, it really doesn't matter what the throwers intent was! The only message that matters is the one that the observer/recipient infers, not the one that deliverer intended.

This whole issue strikes me as being similar to the white people who think it is a "double standard" that is isn't socially acceptable for them to say "nigger".

If you throw a banana at, or near a black person, chances are there will be people near there, who will think it is a racially motivated taunt. It will be wonderful when our society gets to the day where nobody would ever understand the significance of a banana thrown at a black person, but we sure as shit aint there yet, and just because some people are too sheltered or too naive to understand the connection, doesn't mean the action should not be condemned.

The argument being made that we should ignore it, treat it like it were nothing and it will go away, is nothing but a desperate attempt to try and ignore the issue. People in Canada like to pretend like racism is not an issue here, but just like denial does nothing for addicts and alcoholics, it won't do anything to make our society better.

When I was in first grade I had no idea what the connotations of a swastika were. I just thought it looked cool; so I drew a bunch of them all over my workbook. Had my parents not told me to erase them, I doubt it would have done anything make people forget about the Nazis. And people wouldn't have cared that I did not know what it meant. They would have just figured I was a Nazi.

Its like that kid on this past season of Curb Your Enthusiasm who stitched the swastika on Susie's pillow cover. He didn't know it was wrong, but you can't let him run around sewing swastika emblazoned linens for everyone.



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