Is this racist?

Nothing I say here is admonishing or judgemental. I am just trying to analyze a dynamic, to the best of my ability to do that. It’s all intended to be simply rational and neutral. And, I give you enormous credit for asking, and bringing something into the light of discussion.

So. My main point is that racial issues don’t break down into simple symmetries. In fact language doesn’t work that way–it’s not a series of abstractions. Meaning is heavily dependent on context.

For example, if someone said, “I am proud of my african-american heritage” it means certain things. And it is set against a certain background–where black men and women were supposed to think of themselves as lower on the scale of human value. To be proud of your heritage therefore means you are taking something back from history and setting it right. “I was supposed to be ashamed of my heritage in the past but screw that, I assert pride. I take my heritage back as a proud thing.”

It is NOT a symmetrical statement to say “I am proud of my white heritage.” That’s just not the same thing. For one thing, like it or not, the term “white heritage” refers to ideas of white supremacy. And in fact the people who say that? That’s precisely what they mean. There are people who say “I am proud of my Engish heritage” (or French or Ukrainian) and that is much more neutral a thing to say.

So, whenever african-american qbs are discussed, there’s the Warren Moon problem–there’s a history there of saying that in fact african-americans couldn’t be quarterbacks, they didn’t have the mental skills.

So like it or not, saying “xyx is a black Bradshaw” is still more loaded because it draws attention to race, in a way that reminds people that previously, african-americans were not given the chance to play qb same as whites, mostly because of prejudices. So there, there’s a history of divisions between “quarterbacks” and “BLACK quarterbacks,” where “black” can’t help but sound like a qualification. It marks a difference. In the history of the term “black quarterback” it quite often meant “not really just a quarterback.”

So putting it that way means drawing attention to race in a way you don’t have to, and undoubtedly don’t mean to, because your statement — to others — is seen in a context where racial issues have a way of being loaded.

So for example why not just say “Winston has vision as good as Montana.”

Meanwhile, as I said these things are NOT symmetrical. Because, interestingly, saying “Manziel is a white Russel Wilson” (which is ridiculous but it’s just an example) does not draw attention to the exclusion of whites from being quarterbacks since that didn’t happen. It also sets Wilson up as a standard, which erases the old “blacks can’t play qb” history.

Now is it RACIST to say what you said?

Not according to my definition of racist.

Is it unwise to say it your way? IMO yes…because it exposes the fact that you think language is symmetrical when it comes to issues of race. But, it flat isn’t symmetrical. And you know who automatically KNOWS it isn’t? The vast majority of african-americans.

We live in a very different world from two or three decades ago. It’s a hyper sensitive world where almost any racial distinction is considered offensive. Hell, we live in a world where making gender distinctions is becoming offensive. It’s a new world. A very strange world. People look for reasons to be offended. And if they’re not looking, they have others telling them that they should be offended. Frankly, it all offends me.

waterfield wrote:

“Jerry West is the white Oscar Robertson?” That is a comment heard often during the day in all sorts of media. However, apparently I recently became a racist by saying Winston was the black Montana. Montana had the vision of a bird of prey and Bellicheck used to say that is the single most important attribute of a qb in the NFL-i.e. the ability to see the entire field in an instant. Winston has reportedly the same quality-hence my comment that in that respect he’s the black Montana. But I was chastised for making a “highly offensive” remark.

I’m venting. And apparently getting older quite fast.

My own personal short-answer is
no, i dont think it was ‘racist’.

w
v

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

why mention the color or race to compare a person’s abilities?