Dave_7

One link that has his comments


Aren't his comments the essence of racism? He's claiming that his race behaves a certain way (while claiming other races may not behave the same way)... not talking about individuals, but of an entire race. And he's speaking specifically of his own race.

Not that I give him a whole lot of credit... he's Gary Sheffield... but I'm surprised that comments like this aren't called out for what they are... purely racist. And I'm not even talking about anything he said directed toward the Latino players.

When you say that "I'm this way because of my race..." it's just a moronic thing to say... especially if you're trying to make a point about racism, as I believe he was.


Dave.

DarkFury

/methinks you have confused the meanings of the words "racist" with "stereotypes" in your posting.

And no, to me his comments weren't "racist"... however he did refer to the general floating stereotypes that seems to plague race issues today.

But hey, everyone is gonna form their own opinion on it... and the piece you quoted was an opinion by a sportswriter (FILIP BONDY, DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUMNIST) and not Gary Sheffield (although his quote was embedded within that article.)

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Dave_7

Well, my take on racism was... it's racist to use race as the basis for generalization. What does race have to do with anything? It doesn't, really. Physically, perhaps. Some races are generally bigger, stronger, smaller, etc... as a whole. But as far as attitude goes, race, strictly speaking, does not really have anything to do with it. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Dave.

DarkFury

Honestly, I don't really see where you are going with this...

"Racist to use race as a basis for generalization"? (that really doesn't make sense to me....)


Being racist usually means that your words or actions imply that your race is superior to another. In none of Sheffield's statements, did I see that. What I saw is that he is saying that the current management in baseball prefers to have players who are "quiet, docile, and non threatening"... and to that effect the Hispanic players in his opinion have filled that role moreso than other Blacks in the sport.

Not to say that there aren't any "quiet" Blacks in baseball... but for the most part the ones that do speak out sure get alot of negative attention as compared to their other minority counterparts.

Honestly, in my own opinion, it just seems that alot of White folks are quick to call various minority actions racism/racist when in fact those actions might be based on their racist actions as well. Only difference is... the minorities are very rarely in an "upper hand" position which is part of the definition of racism.

Taken from Dictionary.com...


That being said, I still don't think the remarks were racist... Stereotypical maybe... but not racist. Just my own opinon on that.

Dave_7

I'd agree with that first part as a definition, and I think it goes toward what I'm saying, but wouldn't include that second part as a "definition." Would you?

I'd mostly buy into the "2. discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion " definition of "racist".

As for his comments, my point was that he used racist logic to make his point, effectively saying "people of my race are like THIS... and that's just the way we are because it's inherent in my race, and we're getting screwed because of it." As if to say something in his DNA and other black folks' DNA is creating the situation he sees. Which would, of course, be outrageous.

Again, I do understand that this is Gary Sheffield <grain of salt time>.


Dave.

DarkFury

Trust me... Gary Sheffield can't speak for the entire race. He is not our spokesman.

However, when making generalizations about something such as this, I can see why you would interpret it as racist, hence my trying to show you why it wasn't racist but the playing up of a stereotype instead.

I'm pretty sure that Gary is not having "supremist" views of his status above any of the Latino players... however his comments are making a general statement about his working environment that you appear to be taking directly to heart as being racist. (I could show you several examples of where folks will make a general statement about a race, but then turn around and say... "well not that guy... because he's OK and whatnot".)

But that's just my opinion on it... from my own perspective.

faither

To say that Latino's are easily (or more easily) controlled is derogatory toward Latino's and by definition racist. That said, I don't think Sheffield is a racist but one in a very long line of public figures who have made comments that are hurtful and stupid to various groups (Jimmy the Greek, Al Campanis, etc.).

zenbooty

Sheffield's words were badly chosen, and in later remarks he refined what he was trying to say, and its not really racist at all. Latinos and other folks who come in from out of country go through a different drafting and signing process from the minor leagues into the majors than people who are recruited from school or sandlot leagues here. Locally, players get drafted like any other sport, and the top picks are signed to a lot of money even though they will still start in the minors. In the latino leagues, no such draft occurs and no high end commitments need be made to the Latino players who are signed to the farm clubs. This makes them much more expendable generally, as the investment in them is not as great to that point. This gives the owners more leverage in enforcing how the Latinos play, practice, and behave than, say, a black kid guaranteed half a mil per who's been tabbed by the higher ups to be made ready for the majors ASAP.

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VTGreg

And one of the reasons Latin born players are not included in the draft is the player's union is against it. They want to keep Latinos out of the draft so they money is split amongst US born players.

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TofuNinja

I will just file this with John Rocker, Reggie White, and Rosie

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eSDee

I thought his statements were ignorant, and as we all know ignorance is the major component in being racist. However since I heard his later remarks at the same time as his initial remarks, I didn't think he was necessarily racist. I think most of it is the residual 'roids talking, but I can also see him being pissed that Barry isn't getting the accolades that Gary thinks he should. It's been recently documented that most African American's believe that Barry is being raked over the coals because of his race, whereas a majority of non- AA's believe that it is because he cheated by using 'roids. Regardless of who is right, this is one of the biggest reasons why Gary is making such crass statements. I don't think he's right, but based on the current events of the MLB, I can see where he's coming from.

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