When ex-NBA player John Amaechi revealed that he is gay, I figured another player would say something stupid and intolerant. I was sadly correct, but I had no idea how stupid the comment could be. From an ESPN article:
Former Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a radio show Wednesday afternoon that he would not want a gay player on his team.It astonishes me to consider how easily and quickly a member of one oppressed minority group can become the oppressor of another oppressed minority group. Hardaway is black.
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."
For his punishment, I order Hardaway to take his above quote and substitute the word "black" for "gay", and see how it feels.
Note: The ESPN article with this quote has many excellent links to other articles, and even the Hardaway soundbite... should you feel the need to hear the stupidity you've read.
5 comments:
I'm a little concerned with Libertarians jumping on the bandwagon here. I'm sure you defend a person's right to hate whether or not the word black is substituted.
But here is my concern. Do you support the NBA telling him he can't play in the All-star game? How about losing game time and money?
I am very concerned because employers are taking away rights of workers - using the excuse that Indiana is a "right" to work state. But here is the problem. If all employers say to work here you have no freedom of speech, then something is wrong. This has not happened yet but all employers are asking not to be sued as a condition of employment. (Additionally they ask - tell - employees not to sue hospitals and drug testing companies involved in drug testing.)
Libertarians should be for no drug testing at all.
Basketball players make a lot of money and you can tell them to start their own business. The poor are trapped into being slaves of the corporate state. (And the feds won't let you sue your own state without their permission because of a weird 11th Amendment interpertation.)
In other words, ARE YOU A DAMN COMMIE!? (I don't think so.)
Ed, Tim Hardaway is retired, so he isn't going to kept from playing by the NBA. But I'll play along with you in the theoretical.
I believe that any job is owned by the employer, thus, the employer sets policy. Either the employee accepts policy and takes the job, or doesn't, and doesn't.
If I'm an employer and my employee, who represents me, makes bigoted statements, I want to be able to fire him pronto, you betcha! I certainly do not care to be forced by the state to retain someone who represents me and my company in a way that is contrary to my beliefs, and worse, is damaging to my company image.
The 'damn commie' would support the state forcing an employer to retain an employee who speaks in such a manner that negatively, damagingly, or wrongly represents the employer, my friend. In fact, I'm concerned that the battle for rights in the workplace is going the other way, with the employers who create and own the jobs having less and less control over their own enterprises.
The NBA and other sports leagues do have speech policies. Bad-mouthing referees results in fines. The players aren't forced to sign that contract. They do it eagerly.
As long as it's only speech it's the price of living in a free country. The Constitution gives you the right to free speech, not the right to never be offended.
Anyone or group disagreeing with another in today's BS PC world is a racist and hate monger.
Old Yeller, since Hardaway said, "I hate gay people," it's hard not to consider him a hate monger. You know?
Look, Hardaway has the right to say what he wants. I have the right to call him a bigot. He has the right to call me whatever he wants. But the main point I was making was on the serious irony of a black man denouncing a gay man. If you're black or gay, none of it is chosen. It is what you are. Hardaway should have hell-fire rained down on him by the NAACP, the Rainbow Coalition, and all the others who would wail in defense if Hardaway was spoken of by a white man in the way he spoke of a gay man.
Pointing out the double standards.
First, we all know we are talking about fascism and believe it is wrong whether government forces employers to regulate or employees.
You seem to be missing the fact that the Federal Reserve has split this nation in two eliminating the middle class.
When we have a system like this let's admit it is degenerating into a Soviet style - they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work. (No contradiction here - read Hayek - I have some this month on my blog - www.lpvc.blogspot.com
It may be too late already or perhaps we have to hit rock bottom like other addicts.
I also see Ron Paul running as a positive, even as an R. He won't win the R nomination, but the exposure may give him a chance on the L ticket in 08.
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