Finally, some sincere racism. Looks like Boston’s the next big scene, hipster racists!
So I pretty much avoid all exposure to hockey–which, perhaps owing to its target demographic, has always struck me as NASCAR on ice skates, or UFC with big oversized sweaters instead of Ed Hardy t-shirts and TapouT gear–but the reaction from the ever-classy Boston fans to Joel Ward’s game-winning goal forced me to pay attention to it.
GMP’s ace blogger Jamie Reidy already tackled the subject, but I’d like to add one additional thing. Lindy West, in her recent “words-gone-viral” column on hipster racism, closed with the following remarks:
At least sincere racism isn’t running around Brooklyn wearing artisanal suspenders and masquerading as enlightenment. Give me sincere racism or give me no racism at all, but enough with this weaselly shit.
Well, friends, there’s nothing insincere about this collection of racist tweets. Nope, these Boston loyalists–many of them teens brought up in “post-racial” America–have delivered the goods, and they’re très authentic. For example, AndrewDulac6 was “so fucking mad that fucking n***** scored”* that he added the hashtag #4thlineblacktrash, in case that particular concept happened to be trending and he might score some sweet RTs as a result. Mastabates23, who apparently decided that discretion was the better part of valor and deleted his account after this story broke, couldn’t believe his beloved Bruins “just let a sand n***** beat them” and tacked on a #gobacktothejungle hashtag for good measure. Grizzlymarshall, whose account remains public and who appears to have some serious “Irish pride,” decided to share his innermost feelings with the whole wide world: ”Fucking stupid arrogant, smelly, useless, waste of life, sad excuse for a NHL hockey playing N*****!!!!”
So there you have it, hipster racists: a glimpse at the genuine article. Maybe it’s high time you went and gentrified the Boston Bruins fan base, thereby providing us with twee remarks like “Joel Ward scores the game-winner–I always thought Washington was #SoGhetto” and “#AlwaysBetOnBlack” in lieu of this nastier, more visceral shit. And once that scene’s dead, there’s still NASCAR and mixed martial arts. Think how cool a pair of non-prescription eyeglasses would look when paired with one of these.
*Editor’s Note: While the original racist sentiments displayed the fully spelled-out racial slur N*****, we have decided to use a censored version of the slur in the body of this post.
Photo–Dan4th/Flickr
About Oliver Lee Bateman
You do realize that many of those idiots tweeting racist things were not Boston fans right? And please go on Twitter and Google “nigger Knicks.” You’ll see a host of racist tweets about Amare Stoudamire related to last night’s game. Where’s the outrage there? Why isn’t New York being called a racist city?
Boston has a shameful history where race is concerned. But it’s just that — history. A dozen or so idiots — many of whom aren’t even from the area — don’t speak for an entire city and the media is absolutely braindead to couch it that way. Are those people who tweeted that about Joel Ward reprehensible? Yes. Does 99.99% of Boston despise them as well? Absolutely.
I’m confused by your comment.
1) the links in the post go to a site which clearly show Boston Bruins fans using racist hate speech. So how are they not therefore, Boston fans? Remember: you can’t not call them Boston fans just because they started using racial slurs.
2) Boston has a shameful history where race is concerned. But it’s just that — history.
Really? And I’m assuming you know better than the myriad communities of people of color who say differently? And I’m assuming you believe we live in post-racial America too, right? Either way, clearly Boston still has a problem with racism, as evidenced by the Bruins fans.
3) Where’s the outrage there? Why isn’t New York being called a racist city?
So you’re more upset that people aren’t calling out NY for racism than about the racism happening in Boston??? How does that thinking negate… anything? Seriously, getting upset that people are attacking Boston for racism and not NY is childish, equivalent to saying “don’t get mad at me for making a mess when someone else is making a mess miles away and you’re not saying anything about it!” Anyways, point of fact, people do call out NY for racism — all the time. But nobody’s obliged to inform you when these things happen. You need to inform yourself. In the meanwhile perhaps you should stop deflecting racism? Because it’s making you look bad.
My point was that only half of the people found making those racist comments are actually from Boston. Yet the media, who jumped at the opportunity to pick the low-hanging fruit, didn’t even bother to make note of that. Instead, they wrote things like “…making it clear Boston still has a problem with racism.” Well no shit. Show me a part of the country that doesn’t have a problem with racism! Racism is a problem everywhere, but I resented an entire city being classified as racist because of the tweets of a few idiots, many of whom aren’t even from here. That is my point. If you can’t see that, there’s not much hope for you.
My other point is still valid. I want to know why fans using the word “nigger” in one city is a huge deal and a massive problem, but when it happens 200 miles south of in another city it doesn’t get a lick of press. Both involve a black athlete and idiotic fans using despicable racial epithets, yet one instance makes it into national news outlets and the other goes completely unnoticed. As a former member of the media myself, I don’t think that’s right. It’s perfectly acceptable to question things from time to time, you should try it.
I’m not deflecting racism. Those tweets were extraordinarily racist, as were the tweets about Stoudemire in New York. There’s no room for any of it no matter where it came from. That’s never been up for debate. But it’s still worth asking the question: why the different treatment of the two (almost identical) circumstances?
The people who hate that Ward scored are not necessarily Boston fans, and even if they’re Boston fans they’re not necessarily from Boston. You can’t tell a damn thing about the motives or background of a person based on 30 characters scratched out on a tweet, except the person is willing to use the n-word as an insult.
I mean, I’m assuming these people are all using the n-word as an insult and not a term of empowerment or satire, but that’s just imposing my own assumptions on them, really.
Daddy Files,
but I resented an entire city being classified as racist because of the tweets of a few idiots, many of whom aren’t even from here. That is my point. If you can’t see that, there’s not much hope for you.
Really? As opposed to resenting the racism emanating from Bruins fans? You can resent all you like, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re more upset about how people will look at Boston than about the racist ish which happened. And that’s sad.
My other point is still valid. I want to know why fans using the word [expletive deleted] in one city is a huge deal and a massive problem, but when it happens 200 miles south of in another city it doesn’t get a lick of press. Both involve a black athlete and idiotic fans using despicable racial epithets, yet one instance makes it into national news outlets and the other goes completely unnoticed. As a former member of the media myself, I don’t think that’s right. It’s perfectly acceptable to question things from time to time, you should try it.
I am questioning things, right now. I’m questioning your apologetics and attempts to diminish a very real, and very ugly part of professional sports.
I understand it sucks, especially because of the Boston & NY rivalry, to erroneously perceive them getting away with racism while yours isn’t. But that’s not the point here. Don’t change the subject from what’s happened to something else you think is important. Clean up your own backyard before complaining about the guy’s lawn across town.
And it’s incredibly insulting to see someone actively try to downplay racism like you’ve been doing here. You say you want to question why the two seemingly different standards of treatment between NY and Boston regarding similar incidents of racism, but just because YOU personally did not see any backlash doesn’t mean there wasn’t any. People are not required to inform you when they protest racism just to make you feel better that everybody’s getting equal time in the hot seat. That’s childish behavior.
Moreover, if you wanted to really discuss why racism isn’t equally called out in similar incidents, then you could’ve easily done so without downplaying the racism spouted by Bruins fans.
Seriously, you got me shaking my head.
So you dont understand Daddy Files point? You dont see the absurdity of whats happening here? How the media continues to perpetuate the idea that Boston has a race problem while the rest of the country has a clean conscience. A few racist tweets referencing the Bruins game makes national news, yet when the same exact thing happens in the media capital of the world (New York City)……..SILENCE! Not a peep about it. Is this how other cities make themselves feel better? They just constantly make news of every single time a race issue occurs in Boston so when something happens in their own city they can say….”Hey, leave us alone, dont you remember, Boston is the racist city….not New York”
And as its been pointed out already, a majority of these tweets came from outside of Mass. So how does this make it a Boston problem? This is just absurd. Its easy for everyone to point their finger at Boston and pretend that the same thing isnt happening in their own city. Even after Knicks fans offered up the same dose of racism 2 days ago. But I guess if the news doesnt report it, it mustn’t be a big deal!
Just remember….always blame Boston!!! -Sarcasm
Your comment is extremely prejudiced and uninformed: “its target demographic, has always struck me as NASCAR on ice skates, or UFC with big oversized sweaters instead of Ed Hardy t-shirts and TapouT gear…”
I have grown up playing, refereeing, and now coaching ice hockey. Ice hockey players are some of the most educated, intelligent athletes in any sports. Most of the kids I grew up playing with are college graduates and many of them went into law enforcement, teaching, military service, and other honorable career fields. Now as a Coach, I see a culturally, and ethnically diverse mix of kids and parents starting out in this exciting sport. We are trained to teach sportsmanship, teamwork, educational achievement, physical fitness, nutrition, and life-long love of the sport.
This is far from the image you seem to have of players and fans of this sport. There are a lot of great articles on GMP, but when you open your article with such a demeaning, prejudiced statement attacking a large group of people based on the actions of a few idiots, you seem to me to put yourself in the same class as those idiots.
Hockey remains an expensive sport to play, and I suspect this high cost will continue to be prohibitive for many children from low-income families. Given the way race and poverty intersect in this country, how diverse is youth hockey nationwide?
In terms of the fans, we actually have data: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2010/06/Issue-185/The-Back-Of-The-Book/Fan-Demographics-Among-Major-North-American-Sports-Leagues.aspx
Yes, it is expensive, and I wish I could say the costs were coming down. There is, however, a lot of outreach into lower-income communities, lower-cost programs (some free to get started, try the game out), and “scholarships.” That will never open it enough to lower-income people, but maybe at some point that problem will be solved. With that said, I have seen a lot more diversity than there used to be, in the families that can afford the costs.
No doubt, though, the costs are prohibitive from truly opening it up to a wider audience.
“So I pretty much avoid all exposure to hockey-which, perhaps owing to its target demographic, has always struck me as NASCAR on ice skates,…”
I don’t know much about what some Bruins fans have said or done, and I won’t bother to defend them, but the opening sentence to this article displays a kind of cultural bigotry that is nearly as bad as racism, in my opinion. Why are you using one kind of irrational prejudice to criticize another? Does it make you feel better to have tarred ALL hockey fans and ALL NASCAR fans as racists? Why do you feel it’s acceptable to make those kind of blanket statements, but not make blanket statements based on race?
And in any case, whatever hockey fans and/or NASCAR fans might or might not do, does that the hipsters off the hook?
Such insults generally backfire. You don’t think much of your own team when you trash a player on the other team for beating you. The more you insult Ward, the more you’re insulting your own team. Pile all the insults you want on Ward, say he’s nothing but trash, but then what does that say about your own team, beaten by “inferior” people. That means you’re actually worse than inferior. Reminds me of Ewan McGregor’s line in _Trainspotting_ – “I don’t hate the English. The English are wankers. We, on the other hand, were COLONIZED by wankers.”
P.S. I apologize to all people of English ancestry whom I have offended with my anti-anglo language. When will the persecution of the English ever end?
I’ve got to admit, I sympathize with the Boston Bruins franchise. And that’s a very hard thing for me to admit, because I’m a Vancouver native and die hard Canucks fan.
As with the riots that rocked the streets of Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Dream’s smoldering wreckage, the actions of these fans should not be reflective of Boston or the Bruins franchise. There are always going to be individuals who take words or actions too far. It was probably somebody’s idea of a stupid Twitter joke that was latched onto by a few racists. Of course, those individuals could have the balls to at least declare themselves what they are. I hear there was one poster who was outed and quoted by his school newspaper as “It was a stupid joke. I’ve never been a racist and I never will be.” News-flash: you were, you will be, and you are.
But to reflect badly on the Bruins franchise, who were the first team in the NHL to break the colour barrier with Willie O’Ree, is stupid. To associate these jackasses with the city of Boston is wrong. This is the work of a few kids with screwed up reflections of the world. The Vancouver riots were caused by, at most, 100 people. A couple dozen racist Twitter users who hide in the internet do not represent the Boston Bruins.
Boston has a very bad problem with racism. Its so bad there that they are only the 2nd state in the history of the USA to VOTE a black governor into office.
Oh wait, I’m confused. Are we saying that Boston is the most racist city or are they not the most racist city?
Because it would be awfully strange for the most racist state in the country, to be only the 2nd state EVER to vote in a black governor.
You people need to stop being dumb. You all know that every state and every city has its share of dumb racists. Stop pretending that all the racists in the world have converged on Boston.