Readers Aren’t Joking About Shaq and Adande
It is amazing how much our tolerance of racial slurs depends on who utters them. The outrage at Shaq’s comments was minimal at best.
From now on, I will refer to the “Big Aristotle” as the “Big Idiot Who Should Have Had His Brain Operated on Instead of His Big Toe.”
Timothy Suing
Los Angeles
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So does this mean that any future ethnic jokes are not racist? Things are obviously much improved for Shaq, since he has obviously lost his sensitivity for issues regarding diversity and people of color. I’m making an assumption that perhaps he was sensitive at one time to begin with.
But then again, because we are only talking about stereotypes, what can you expect from an athlete?
Lloyd Peterson
Seattle
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Shaq’s attempt at humor is not a 70-30 joke because “70% of people thought it was funny, 30 didn’t.” It’s a 70-30 joke because 70% of the idiots out there think that racial and cultural insensitivity is funny.
Unfortunately, a large number of those idiots are school age, idolize Shaq, and are forming attitudes and behavior that will become hard to break. I guess admitting he’s an “idiot prankster” is the first step to recovery. The second would be to wise up and aim a bit higher.
Mitch Paradise
Los Angeles
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J. A. Adande couldn’t be more wrong when he writes that it’s “impossible to ignore the good [Louis] Farrakhan has done” [“After Bad Joke, Take Apology Seriously,” Jan. 11]. Working within the ultra-politically correct world of sportswriting, Adande holds different races to separate standards.
Farrakhan is an unrepentant racist and segregationist, but we should overlook that because he has done some good? No way! This is a demagogue who routinely slanders 87% of the population -- “white devils” and “bloodsuckers” are two of his oft-used terms mild enough to print in a newspaper -- to further a radical and separatist political goal. And he makes no apology for his words or his views.
Contrast that with John Rocker (as Adande does with Shaq), who apologized profusely after his ugly remarks. Rocker was still branded a racist and no consideration of his past bridge-building and fair treatment of minorities kept the press from piling on (and on).
On the other hand, Charles Barkley’s seemingly racist remarks (“I hate all white people”) were always cast in the light of his smart-aleck nature -- much as Shaq’s remarks are now portrayed.
To be fair, Adande should apply the same standard to all sports (and political) figures who make ill-advised remarks. He’s probably right about Shaq not being racist, but he’s wrong about Farrakhan.
Michael J. Billings
Grand Terrace
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Mr. Adande makes a feeble attempt at distinguishing between Shaq and John Rocker. Both made dumb statements, but after Adande’s explanation the only difference I see between the dopey statements was that Shaq is black and Rocker is white.
If I were The Times, what I would be worrying about is Mr. Adande’s problem with race. At least Rocker wasn’t hanging around David Duke.
Michael Hannin
Oxnard
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I do not believe Shaq is a racist and I accept his apology as sincere. Still, I wonder why we haven’t heard any public expressions of outrage from the same individuals and groups who called for Sen. Trent Lott’s ouster several weeks ago. Is Shaq’s joke, made in a public forum, any less offensive to minority groups than Sen. Lott’s remarks, made at a private birthday party?
David Cheng
Compton
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I was struck at how eloquently Yao Ming responded to Shaq’s dumb little “joke” about the language of the Chinese people. Indeed, respect to others is the most important concept taught to all children in China. We should emphasize that more in our schools.
Warren Chu
Rancho Santa Margarita