Plantation patriarchs see me and everyone else outside of
their circle of the White and wealthy as children---lazy children who should be grateful that "Massah" is so kind and good to us. Sterling saw the men who worked for him--- “WORKED,”
I said---- as recipients of his charity. Sterling paid these employees the way slaveowners used to give sweets
to the "cute little nigger babies" while prompting to them praise Massah for his
generosity.
By the time those babies turned 8 they were experienced field hands with whip scarred backs. But, no matter how hard those children worked, no matter how long they labored, no matter the place of respect they grew into in their families and communities, regardless how much money they made for the patriarch of the plantation, Massah still saw them as children who should be grateful for how sweet and merciful he was in LETTING them work on his team and only whipping them sometimes.
By the time those babies turned 8 they were experienced field hands with whip scarred backs. But, no matter how hard those children worked, no matter how long they labored, no matter the place of respect they grew into in their families and communities, regardless how much money they made for the patriarch of the plantation, Massah still saw them as children who should be grateful for how sweet and merciful he was in LETTING them work on his team and only whipping them sometimes.
Such is the heritage of Donald Sterling and those who share
his mentality. And my heritage is tied
to those on the other end of the lash. So
a part of me feels avenged that the NBA took Donald Sterling’s plantation away.
But.
There’s this other
part that thinks that in this single dispute among entertainers and
entertainment franchise owners, we---- we the society----- have wronged Donald
Sterling and stumbled our collective selves over a line we’re going to
regret crossing.
Donald Sterling is losing his team, a business he acquired
honestly, because he’s a racist jerk. Is
that the way we want things to happen?
Are we sure?
See, a private industry, like the NBA, is legally obligated to apply its rules fairly and consistently. So, the penalty for Sterling’s offensive speech is more than an act of social vengeance. It’s the precedent for all future responses to offensive speech in the NBA.
And more, our satisfaction with the NBA’s penalty is
establishing a cultural precedent for how the nation responds to prejudiced
speech.
But precedents inevitably end up applied in ways no one
intended.
For me, a racist jerk is someone like Donald Sterling, and I
want my fellow citizens to avenge me and my ancestors against such men.
But how will the new cultural precedent be applied on behalf
of those who feel prejudice differently than I do?
When the lady who owns an IHOP and goes on a rant about
Muslims and atheists and Scientologists and other such “heathens”? Will we rise up and demand that she lose her restaurant?
When Lebron James gets taped rattling off a racist spiel
about White people, will the NBA ban him from playing ----- for life?
When a pastor preaches against homosexuality is the community
going to light their torches and sharpen their pitchforks?
I’ve little sympathy for the bigoted billionaire, but I’ve
enough sense to wonder and worry exactly where this is going to take us.
Oh, and there's this.
Despite the euphoric sense of righteous indignation and vindication you or I feel over the NBA's decision , at the end of the day Mr. Sterling is going to make a whole lot of money on his "punishment." He bought the Clippers for $12 million. Today, the franchise is worth over $575 million. In that context, the NBA's 2.5 million fine against Sterling comes out more like a really, really small commission.
Massah's crying all the way to the offshore bank.
Oh, and there's this.
Despite the euphoric sense of righteous indignation and vindication you or I feel over the NBA's decision , at the end of the day Mr. Sterling is going to make a whole lot of money on his "punishment." He bought the Clippers for $12 million. Today, the franchise is worth over $575 million. In that context, the NBA's 2.5 million fine against Sterling comes out more like a really, really small commission.
Massah's crying all the way to the offshore bank.
---Anderson T. Graves II is a writer, community organizer and
consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.
Rev. Anderson T.
Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of
the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves
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