Friday, November 8, 2013

Incognito and the N-word plus Week 10 pick of the weeks


The fact that Richie Incognito could refer to a black dude as a nigger, and his BLACK teammates defended him shows the disconnect that the Black Community has with our African American heritage.

It's not surprising - most black athletes are in their 20s, which means that they are 90s babies. In-your-face racism was pretty much non-existent then, as it is now. That's not to say that it's not prevalent or doesn't exist, but it's rare that a white person can just visibly show hatred for someone who doesn't look like them. (Thanks, Dr. King). Most of the racism that existed in the 90s was institutionalized, "Sure we'll hire them, but they'll never get promoted," or "You're a good guy, but I don't want you dating my daughter." That kind of closet racism still exists.

For the 90s African American child, the only time they heard the word nigger was from rap music and calling themselves niggas in da hood. The young black populace has become desensitized from the power of the word. A lot of white people (not saying all and not saying most) and some black people want to take the power away from the word: "Why do you let the word bother you?" "Why do you get to say it and we can't?", etc. That's for another debate. However, I will say that for any black person (especially those that grew up in the 50s or 60s) who had been called "nigger" to their face and had to grin and bear it, or for any kid that watched his parents get water-hosed for demanding equal rights, the word "nigger" can never be de-powered.

Black people, for better or worse, have become the gate-keeper of the word "nigger," and we are doing an awful job at it. If you're a parent of a young teenager, sit down and watch the greatest mini-series of all-time, Roots.  Have them watch Jackie Robinson biopics, and then discuss it with them: feelings, perception, why it's important in American history, etc. If they're younger, and you don't feel comfortable with them seeing how shitty we can be as people, have them read a book like The Color of My Skin. This is not just for African Americans - this should be for everyone.

Richie Incognito gets a word from the top to "toughen up" Jonathan Martin. He goes too far, and the Dolphins make him the fall guy. Does this sound familiar? Remember a little movie from 1992 starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson? A Few Good Men was the name of the movie, and it was about a general who ordered his marines to toughen up another marine, and then when that marine was killed, the other marines took the fall for it. At some point I expect ESPN's Adam Schefter and coach Joe Philbin to be in a locker room and have the following conversation:

Philbin: Son, we're playing a game in which you can't even comprehend what it takes to beat a team like Tom Brady and Bill Belichek, and you want to ask me the means in which I entertain the masses with a QB like Ryan Tannehill?

Schefter: I want the truth.

Philbin: You can't handle the truth.

Schefter: Did you order a code red?

Philbin: You're goddamn right I did.

My point is, Joe Philbin will lose his job over this, mark my words. Richie Incognito, though just doing his job, went way over the top and may never see a football field again. Little hint - when trying to spot a racist, here are 3 red flags: 1) a confederate flag t-Shirt (unless you're Kanye West), 2) anytime you refer to a group of people with "The" (aka "The Blacks," "The Jews," "The Gays"), and 3) If you have a tattoo that says "Made In The USA" (Incognito has one). Your Racist radar should be on alert. Jonathan Martin, despite his Harvard parents and Stanford background, handled this like a community college kid unsure of his major.

Last week we struggled to a 2-3 record, but as you know I'm undaunted. I'm about to go on an unprecedented run...All Aboard the KB train...

Cowboys + 7
Chargers +7.5
Steelers -3
Bears even
Bengals -1.5


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