re: Non Celtics Content: Richardson

[bird <birdwl@earthlink.net>]

> From: "Cecil Wright" <cecil@hfx.eastlink.ca>
>
> Just wondering what you all think of the Nolan Richardson dismissal at 
> Arkansas.

Being out of touch, I had to go look up why Nolan Richardson was fired.  
Seems he had the temerity to say that he was treated differently because 
he was black.  Is that pretty much the only reason?  I don't really 
understand how this was so bad.  I guess it brings unwanted attention or 
"damages the image" of the university.  That's just another example of one 
of the problems in our culture: that image, publics relations, spin, and 
the *perception* of something is much more important than the thing itself,
  or its real (read: non-PR) consequences.

The other issue is all these people who get sacked for saying undesirable,
  unpopular, often racist, things in public.  Racism and prejudice is bad, 
but pretending that the rest of us are free from racial bias is ludicrous.
   No one is.  It's human nature to fear difference, but even in that is 
revealed that we, as humans, are all same in many ways as well.  Anyway, 
while I don't agree with the stances of the Joe Campanella's and Nick the 
Greek's of the world, they basically got fired for stating their opinion.  
And that makes me uncomfortable.  Opinions, even badly-constructed ones, 
racist ones, whatever, are yours to cherish and hold close to your bosom.  
I've got mine, and you've got yours, and in a free society we're supposed 
to be able to air them out.  Indeed, someone bringing up something 
distasteful or unpopular is a great opportunity to ... *gasp* ... actually 
have an intelligent discussion about the issue.  The other thing is, it 
becomes like a sort of witchhunt: remember when Howard Cossell referred to 
some NFL player as a "monkey"?  (As in, "that little monkey just scampered 
for a touchdown" or some such.)  Player said he was flattered.  Was that 
racist?  Maybe Howard was just an older Jew who talked colorfully.

Anyway, people getting fired for saying things.  Just doesn't sit well 
with me somehow.  Doesn't seem like speech is free when it costs you your 
job.  It's sometimes hard to defend people who speak, because their views 
are sometimes distasteful, but eventually someone will get around to my 
views and find them just as distasteful.  Be up a creek, then.

Sorry for the rant, but didn't Arkansas know Nolan Richardson had opinions 
before hiring him?  I'm still not sure how what he said was so bad, though:
  aren't black people treated differently sometimes?  Was there more to it 
than that?

Bird