What all of this tumult over Donald Sterling proves to me is that civil discourse and public tolerance has descended to a new low in our country. We now leap to judgement over whatever fresh meat the media throws into the middle of the circus ring, and no one dares to question the hellish pile-on and ritual murder that results. Several basketball stars like Karrem Abdul-Jabbar had the resident fortitude to publicly decry the despicable display of political correctness the media has been shoving down our throats as if it is okay to use illegally obtained recordings of private conversations to pillory an admittedly craven personality like Donald Sterling. Jabbar specifically cited the double standard of the NAACP, which was scheduled to give Sterling a lifetime achievement award later this week and suddenly reversed course when they were caught in the act of stooping and fetching for money. Likewise the NBA owners, who ordered the harsh treatment of Sterling to their lackey, the Commissioner. The decision was all about fear of lost revenues and had precious little to do with racism, which is rampant and enduring in all the professional sports scene. Anyone who is at home celebrating this as if it were a victory against racism is delusional; this was about money and cash flow at a critical time of the basketball season. The Commissioner did nothing laudible; he did what was political expedient to rescue the owners from losing money in the event of a strike by players. People suggesting he did the right thing are deluding themselves. I could care less about the fate of Sterling, who is insanely wealthy and who will survive all this just fine. My concern is with our loss of civility and sense of fair play, and our willingness to lock onto whatever target the media chooses to identify for us and proceed to rip that target to pieces like the senseless hyenas we have become.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Apr 2014 10:52:47 +0000