Racism and other social prejudices are very real.

And so I present to you all Higgy’s post. I will chime in on the racism… Being a part of the Cubs in 2006, and witnessing the stupidity by numberous fans (from the other side of the fence), i thought i could chime in a little bit here. Jacque Jones received his fair share of unwanted, hatred, criticism, racism, and whatever else you would like to call it. it was definitely out of control and un-needed. I had a few conversations with JJ about it, and it really affected him. He didnt choose who he was, or the color of his skin, but he did choose to play in our Cubby blue. Lets face it, the players can hear you, when you scream stupid remarks, but i have to ask, what is the point of screaming it? Being racist to a player, really what is the point? Is he going to play better because you just noted the color of his skin? Is he going to step up because a drunk, no clue, idiot in the stands called him a racist remark? Personally i thought JJ handled the situation pretty well, he enjoyed being here in Chicago, and he also understood that there were good fans out there, but that was a difficult picture to paint because the idiots seem to shine through more now a days. Hopefully MB can handle the situation the same way if not better. The game is not about the color of your skin, or your heritage, or anything to do with it, it is America’s past time, so we should treat it that way. Finally, i have also witnessed fans directing racial remarks towards Wrigely employees, and i was absolutely blown away. An usher would not let in a 20 something into the stadium because he was too intoxicated, it was very clear, i actually think he still had a bottle on him. Once the Usher refused to let him in, the patron told the usher to go F off you N, totally in appropriate and childish. At no point was there merit to say that, nor was it needed. All i have to say is this, to the fan, drink as much as you want, eat as much as you want, but if you have something nonproductive to say, or something derogatory to say, keep it to yourself. You are not making the player feel stupid, or making that player play better, you are making yourself look stupid. Because you can make a racial doesnt make you better than the person you are directing it to, it makes you lesser of a person. Go Cubs. “I love this world. I hope hell is as much fun!” by HIGGY on Aug 27, 2009 8:43 AM PDT reply reply actions actions 9 recs You’re probably asking who is Higgy. Or at least who does he claim to be? Left-handed Batting Practice pitcher, so i spent a lot of time with JJ and Jaun Pierre. “I love this world. I hope hell is as much fun!” by HIGGY on Aug 27, 2009 8:56 AM PDT to parent up reply reply actions actions 0 recs Was Higgy a left handed batting practice pitcher in ‘06? It hardly matters. He is spot on with his points Higgy did a fabulous Job with his post and hence it was worth sharing. I have my own thoughts about this that I want to share as well. Just because one hasn’t seen racism doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Racism can be causal racism (angry black man stereotype, the black conspiracy theorist who thinks all whites are out to get him, lazy/hotheaded Latino players, etc), when a sane person makes a claim of racism they rarely do so flippantly. When racism is the topic, both examine the situation objectively and remove your bias as best as you are able. I admit I’ve joined in the causal and latent racism on several occasions and I have no shame admitting this. I am a flawed human being and me and everybody else slips up now and then. Don’t act offended about a claim of racism if this claim is a serious one and not a personal attack. Take such a critique as an intellectual one not a personal one. Examine if you have engaged in some kind of racism or prejudice and if you feel you haven’t defend yourself logically and thoughtfully without resorting to childishness. If you have taken part in some racist activity take it in, apologize, and make yourself a better person for it. I’m not talking from my Ivory tower, or at least I’m not trying to.I’ll give you my experiences with this sort of behavior. Some of them I’ve been able to manage. Some of them continue to plague me, that’s just how it goes. I have used the term “jew” for cheap before and I get called on it. I still slip into this a few times, but I feel I consistently realize it Because my friends were good enough to call me out on it I was able to stop using “gay” as an insult. Because my friends are good friends, they pointed out how ridiculous and racist the term “nukka” is despite the fact that it is not the exact N word (mainly used during online gaming) and I was able to stop doing that. I still have issues identifying certain things done by Black or Latino characters I see on TV as typical Latino or Black (robbing a bank, gang banging, doing drugs, gangster rap, etc) actions even if the action isn’t representative of those kinds of behavior. I try to say to myself that it’s satire, but it’s not. It’s laughing at a different race. The hardest thing for me to give up is the term “retarded” (as I felt it literally meant slow and dumb and was exactly what I was trying to portray), but I can’t choose how language operates in a society. Language takes on a force of it’s own and as such the term retarded is associated with the learning/developmentally disabled. I felt it was an insult first and then a disparaging term for the mentally challenged second. This is the wrong way to view that. I still slip into this specific slur way to often. In baseball and life, mocking white people for the perceived qualities of being nonathletic or completely self interested is notable theme. It’s not right and I know that. White’s don’t deserve racism anymore than any other race. I constantly make fun of my own race with absurd generalization. I engage in this activity in a serious way far too often. Purely in jest, this type of humor doesn’t bother me, but when it becomes a serious comment there is something wrong with it. It may not seem like much to you, but being white and mocking your own race is still racism. It’s not that it offends that many people (few people I have met get angry at disparaging comments toward whites), but it’s wrong. Being white doesn’t make you any greedier or self-interested than anyone else inherently and being white doesn’t make you inherently less athletic than others. Whites in this country do suffer the least from racial injustice, but that doesn’t mean that injustice is allowable or should be ignored. Before I end this post I have some pointed questions that people at Wrigley Field need to seriously ask themselves: To those who get on Milton Bradley, think about how bothered he’s been by it. For an average/slightly above average player this season he sure catches a lot of flack. Is there any latent racism in your dislike of his personality or the way his is singled out? Just ask yourself that. For those who get pissed at Z’s personality: question why you are so upset with him? He’s been a productive pitcher. So why is there so much concern over his personality? Why is it so easy for people to call him crazy?