Day: April 27, 2014

In yesterday’s post I made light mention of NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s (now extended) racist rant. I wanted to wait until I understood the facts before offering a response. Team Sterling’s response and that of Doc Rivers tells me everything I need to know about the situation.

The tape was originally released by V. Stiviano AKA Vanessa Perez, a mixed-race gold digger who, if we are to believe anyone from team Sterling (which I do in this regard because it makes a lot of sense) released the tape in a revenge move after seeing her relationship with Sterling end. It is clear that she or someone close to her recorded the supposedly private conversation between boyfriend and girlfriend.

Team Sterling cast a weak attempt to cast dispersions on the tape by offering, “We have heard the tape on TMZ. We do not know if it is legitimate or it has been altered.”  Note the legal footwork there: we do not know if it is legitimate. See, this is intended to cast that shadow of a doubt but doesn’t come right out and say ‘hey, this isn’t Sterling on the tape. He didn’t say that crap.’ He apparently did say that crap and those statements appear to reflect the core of his understanding of race and the modern world. As I said yesterday, this is not new. I reflected on the racism of that age group a few days ago when I discussed the Nevada rancher situation. Now I’m waiting to see if the same angry group of disaffected Americans come to the aid of the embattled billionaire.

Here is what I think: Sterling has been a racist for a long time and has used his financial leverage to invest in and create environments where his racism can flower. At one point in the tape he points out that Stiviano is supposed to be a ‘delicate Asian or delicate Latina’ further indicating his world view. As pointed out in this report by The Nation, Sterling was accused of racist practices in his real estate business. He tried to recruit Asians–specifically Koreans–because he felt they wouldn’t complain about the slum conditions and tried to get rid of African-Americans who he saw as lazy people who spent all their time on the stoop lowering his property values. Sterling masks and justifies his racism as merely an understanding of how the world works and an acceptance of how to behave properly in that world. In reality what he is doing it reinforcing a world view that is dated and counterproductive to the ever-shifting ethnography of the modern world.

Still, this is America and we are all entitled to think what we want to think. On the other hand, the market is entitled to act as a result of any individual acting on their thoughts. In other words, we don’t have to support Sterling. Once that starts to happen, the power of capitalism is going to kick in. The NBA is a business, and like any good business the NBA is going to do what it can to remove any and all threats to profit.

Believe what you want, Mr. Sterling, but realize that your beliefs represent one hell of a threat to NBA profit.

A few weeks ago I wrote down this random prompt: All the cars I’ve owned. I saw it tonight and thought, what an interesting conversation to have. So, here it goes.

1. Olds 88: I bought this car off a teenage girl for something like $450. It had one headlight and turned like a fat dinosaur. Still, once it got on the open road that car could flat out move. I still remember doing 95+ down the I-35 with a backseat full of DJ gear trying to make it to a set.
2. Chrysler Cirrus: Eventually the Olds gave out, and I needed to get into something functional. I found this wonderful purple Chrysler Cirrus and christened her ‘Jellybean’. Soon it was the ‘bean racing down I-35 with a backseat full of DJ gear. One day Jelly Bean burst into flames and rolled to a disappointing stop in the middle of the industrial district of Des Moines, Iowa. I managed to walk to restaurant and call someone to cover my DJ gig and someone else to come get me. The ‘bean never ran again.
3. Nissan Maxima: Once I went foreign I knew I was in love. Maxi was my first luxury car and represented everything I looked for in a vehicle. Unfortunately, my mind never accepted the loss of this car. In truth, I probably blacked out whatever happened to it. I’ve since gone back to the Nissan well time and time again.
4. Honda Element: The one thing I remember about this car is the first day I owned it. The seal on that beast was incredible. I’m talking luxury level noise blocking. I couldn’t hear a peep of the outside world–which is why when I saw the police car coming at me from the opposite highway slam on the brakes and switch to my side of the highway I wondered, who the heck is he after. I hadn’t heard the other car that had been chasing me, siren blaring, for quite some time.
5. Nissan Quest: At some point you have to start being a good driver, and start being a dad. No more speeding, because mini-van is here! We bought a mini-van in AZ and I met a guy at the dealership who happened to be the coach of the Flagstaff Hitmen. He invited me to come try out for the team. I did. I played one year for the Hitmen and was interested in returning, but it was too hard on the wife. Its too late now to play anymore. My knees are very much against it.
6. Pontiac Grand Am: Never buy a Pontiac. Within a month of owning it, something in the drivetrain snapped and the car became inoperable. Pontiac sucks rocks.
7. Nissan Altima #1: I should be dead. I’m quite aware that having an Altima is why I am not dead. We were in an accident that ended with the driver of the other car dying. Given my early driving history you may be wondering if it was me who caused this. No. Truthfully, despite speeding through the empty roads of Iowa, I learned to be a more in control defensive driver as a result of moving to the accident capital of the free world. That, and the car saved my family. A car ran a stop sign and thundered on to the highway in front of us. I was able to turn my vehicle just enough to survive the collision.
8. Nissan Altima #2: You know I went and got another one.
9. Scion XB: I love this car. No stories to tell until all the stories of this car have been written. I’ll say this: The Scion has room for days.
10. Nissan Altima #3: Yep, I’m a straight up addict. Or loyalist.

 

Some Thoughts:

1. Amidst all the outrage and mock surprise about the Clippers owner’s racist rant tape I feel I need to say something: Stop acting like you’re surprised. We are talking about a league that, like football, essentially operates in the same fashion as the slave trade did–right up to the part about getting paid. Players are poked, prodded, examined, ran through drills, and basically put on display like meat until the auctioneer tells them whose chain to put on–I mean hat. The entire thing is televised like it is a sport in of itself. You don’t see that for leagues that aren’t considered, as Charles Barkley put, ‘black league(s)’. I’ll say more once I know the facts.

   
   The Custom in Washington

   
   The Custom in New York

2. Interesting day of youth soccer. Our clear cut best 4-5 player moved up to the 6-7 league because he wasn’t challenged. We thought the team might struggle as a result. Nope. Up until today only 4 kids had ever scored goals for the team (including our #1 guy). This game 4 kids scored, including my own kid who knocked in 7 on the way to a 10-1 rout. I guess they were laying low and letting the good player do all the work. Now its game time.