I think this picture floating around on Facebook pretty much says it all. White privilege is alive and well.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, consider this story on Ebony where a boy, Darren Manning, is making a complaint of extreme police brutality. His crime? Having some fun with his Philadelphia Mathematics, Civics & Sciences Charter School teammates.
As for Bieber, I’m also going to need people to stop circulating a mug shot of a kid for laughs, calling him a girl, and making prison rape jokes.
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Image: @DerrickJaxn
Celebrities are often feeling they are above the law as they are well protected by their wealth. They are financially able to call in expensive lawyers and experts to defend and excuse their wrongdoings. They are however all individuals and it is difficult to compare them to each other. I see no reason why any discussion concerning USA justice is moving into a black-white argument. I could add to this discussion to compare males and females. For example Justin Bieber and Lindsay Lohan. Is Justin Bieber treated the same way as Lindsay Lohan? Both have their drug problems, drunk and… Read more »
Justin Bieber’s been called a lot worse things than “misguided kid”.
Bieber is a misguided kid who is also a thug.. shoot, I’m racist against my own skin color?! This is ridiculous.. Sherman, who is known for trash talking, acts like a thug. It has nothing to do with skin color… I’ve never seen Peyton Manning or RG3 act like. It’s called being a professional and showing class. Do we really want our kids seeing that on TV & thinking it’s okay to act like that?
STOP WITH THE RACIST CRAP!!!!!!
I’m kind of (pleasantly) surprised that Sherman got the backlash that he did. I remember the days of the Detroit Piston “bad boys” who got props for thugish behavior on the court. Dick Butkus got props for his unsportsmanlike behavior in a pile. Sherman did get some supportive tweets. There is a philosophy in sport that I ascribe to, which shows compassion for an opponent and a competing philosophy of “no mercy” that says that if you don’t want an opponent to score 100 points on you then stop them. How many people would write an article on Barry Sanders… Read more »
I think Bieber would be honored to be treated like the way we think black men are treated, because he thinks he’s black anyway
Yes–I think they are both arrogant and obnoxious. The color of their skin is irrelevant. The problem is, I can say what I want about Justin Bieber and no one cares. The minute I say anything about Richard Sherman, or Barack Obama, or any other black person, I’m “racist.” Room for honest disagreement or personal abhorrence of actions, and freedom of speech disappears once the person being evaluated is a minority. It’s a weird sort of reverse racism: If the person is a minority, they cannot be subject to any scrutiny or criticism. The first thing noted is color. As… Read more »
The problem could be not in the fact that you’re criticizing, but rather in how you’re doing it.
I criticize things done by Black people or other POC from time to time, and have pretty much have never been called a racist, or even had it implied.
John McEnroe doesn’t come across as a thug, just a petulant and pathetic tantrum-thrower. From what I have seen of his flare-ups they were more childish fits of frustration and pique, rather than more pointedly antagonistic outbursts with a dimension of intimidation, the sort of things that one associates with more pugilistic sports such as boxing or wrestling. Sherman’s interview seemed to have more of that latter dimension to it, although, once again, I am surprised that such a big deal is being made of it. I have yet to see justification for labelling Sherman a ‘thug’. I think that… Read more »
Who exactly calls them a thug and a misguided kid? Who? Society? News Media? You? NFL has a thug mentality and Sherman acted like an idiot within that structure.. Bieber is a kid and acted like one who has too much money and lacks any self control or parental supervision.. Can compare any two celebs and make up some sort of unjust ironic story.. This article just reinforces racist stereotypes by highlighting the ironic racist angle.. Two different incidents with two different sets of consequences. If the incidence we’re the same and the consequences were different then I could see… Read more »
Is John McEnroe a “thug”?
Just curious.
John McEnroe has certainly displayed some thuggish behavior, not only on the court, but domestically , as well. That being said, it’s pretty obvious nobody commenting here understands the unwritten rule in all pro sports: Don’t spit on your opponents grave, because next time it might be you. In other words, look for some questionable hits on Sherman the next time the Seahawks play the Niners. In the NBA, it’s considered bad form to throw up a 3-pointer at the end of a game your team has won. In baseball, gloating after a home run will get you beaned your… Read more »
I am a middle aged white man. You know, the problem. I think Sherman did nothing wrong. Coach types, who are notorious control freaks, get nervous when individuals take the focus off of team. But as a fan, I’m here to be entertained, and Sherman does that on the field and off. And I suspect he knows exactly what he’s doing. Bieber, not so much. He seems intent on hurting himself, and this latest stunt could have taken some others with him. I wish him well and I’m sympathetic to what celebrity does to young people, but I can’t really… Read more »
Making a joke about someone getting raped in prison is a thousand times worse than calling someone a thug.
[Full disclosure: I’m a Seahawks fan, so I’m hardly unbiased.] Two vastly different incidents. Sherman’s eff-up was a horrible lapse in judgment largely protected by freedom of speech. It was 30 seconds talking into a microphone. Bieber drove drunk, resisted arrest, pissed in public, and spit on people. He broke law after law and placed people in real danger. (By the way, the same freedom of speech allows him to say “f*ck Bill Clinton,” which is not a crime as long as it is not a threat.) You could compare what Bieber said about Clinton to what Sherman said about… Read more »
Go Hawks!
A far more interesting racial dimension to the Bieber story could be explored by studying the way that the media have reported and reacted to the company that Bieber has kept over recent years, especially people like Lil Za and Lil Twist (Khalil, the guy arrested with him, is another example). This group seems to enjoy ‘gangsta’ culture affectations (Lil Za’s ‘Gangsta Shit’ is a good example of this) and have had a number of run-ins with the law along the way for DUIs, drugs, vandalism, and the like. When Bieber has been in trouble, they have usually been right… Read more »
This is a perfect recorded snapshot of formation into a particular racialized model of hyper-sexual masculinity in which Lil Wayne (around 30 at the time), one of Bieber’s friends and mentors, speaks to Lil Twist (15 at the time), one of Bieber’s close friends, about why Lil Twist needs to be sexual active, speaking about how he himself was ‘raped’ as a ‘scared’ 11 year old and ‘loved it’, when a woman was instructed to perform a sexual act upon him in a room where several other black men had been performing sexual acts. Lil Wayne’s tale is greeted with… Read more »
I guess I’m a snob. I’d be more impressed with Bieber if he, like Richard Sherman, got a degree from Stanford.
exactly, wellokaythen! I am ‘treating them the same” because I have some respect for Richard Sherman for the person he is (I did not call him a thug, nor do I believe the backlash has anything to do with race or racism). Richard Sherman simply got caught up in the emotion and reacted, which might have been unfortunate, and he has apologized. I also am not dismissing Justin Bieber as misguided – to me he shows an extreme lack of judgement and class, zero remorse for any of his ridiculous actions. I do not care that he is 19 –… Read more »
oops, I meant *NOT* treating the same.
carry on.
The meme you include in the article complains about the public having sympathy for Bieber and calling him a “misguided kid,” while we label Richard Sherman a thug. But then you go on to write “As for Bieber, I’m also going to need people to stop circulating a mug shot of a kid for laughs, calling him a girl, and making prison rape jokes.”
Well which is it? Are we calling him a misguided kid and making excuses for him, or are we insulting him? You can’t have it both ways.
I don’t think sympathy is in the form of not making rape jokes or misgendering someone. I just call that being a decent human being. You want to be mad at his drunk driving? Please do, but that doesn’t have to mean snickering over him being assaulted.
But I do think you can say that if you are wishing harm against someone that is not in any way an offering of sympathy.
I mistakenly read this headline as “Would you treat Justin Bieber the same way you treat Richard Simmons” and thought to myself, “sure, I’m dismissive and confused by both. But now I see my mistake, so carry on.
Wouldn’t Richie Incognito be a much better example. JB broke the law and is an idiot however he is a privileged pop star (who is an idiot). JB breaks multiple laws and people still love him (who knows why) Actually you could draw a parallel between Justin Bieber and Chris Brown. Both are privileged and both have fans who will justify their ridiculous behavior. Sherman’s tactics are closer to Richie Incognito, whom also was labeled a thug. However ultimately both Incognito and Sherman were labeled a thug for saying some really “mean” things. Bieber and Brown were labeled idiots for… Read more »
The way that people have reacted to Richard Sherman’s comments have me scratching my head. Perhaps there is just something about the culture of American football that, as an outsider, I don’t understand. I watched the video and don’t get why it is such a big issue. On the other hand, I really don’t think that this is comparing like with like. Bieber (19) is someone who has grown up before us in the glare of the media. We were first introduced to him as the wide eyed and innocent young teen and this first impression colours our view of… Read more »
agreed on all counts.
yea, but we get that already. what is everyone arguing? that some old and misguided thinking is being passed down and will survive our generation? or that it needs to or will change? as i see it, its only inevitable that a product forming in today’s media driven & technologically enhanced world (read: internet) is a wide eye to the nonsensical. what will we do about it? will our children be succeeding these old and misguided? will articles like this continue to portray contrasts that are no obvious than saying “here is food that’s good for you, here is food… Read more »
For me, the better comparison is John McEnroe, the “bad boy (read: thug)” of tennis. I guess you’d have to be a certain age to remember McEnroe. There’s plenty to see on YouTube though.
Hey Nettrice,
I will check it out! Thanks.
It’s amazing, actually. I found an article from Oct 2013 about the worst sportsman behavior in tennis and laughed SO HARD.
I distinctly remember a few years ago watching on TV a tennis match where McEnroe was one of the commentators. McEnroe, without a trace of irony, said “Serena Williams needs to show more respect for the officials.” [!!!]
Exactly. I’m old enough to remember McEnroe. If you have all those credentials, then why are you talking the way you talk? Take some lessons from Ben Carson or another black mentor. And Bieber? . Bieber will either figure it out or die from his lack of bad judgement. The other story you linked..I”m not even reading that. everyone wants to play the race card. money talks and they both have it so let the cards fall where they may.
(read: lack of good judgement*)
I remember John McEnroe. He was a BRAT too…. Justin Bieber is a BRAT. Richard Sherman is an angry ungrateful person. Justin Bieber is like a very bad teenager gone wrong. Where are his parents? Where are his PR people… Same for Sherman where are his PR people. they have their work cut out for them. If my son at this stage in his life (15) acted like that I would ground him for life. I would stop him for touring till he got his shit together. I might slap him I’m not sure. There is no way it’s ok… Read more »
But where do you get that he’s angry? that his voice was raised? So was John McEnroe. This just furthers the myth of the “angry black man”…
The fact that you used the word “angry” to describe someone with a Stanford education who’s famous or his charity work and working with children, and his fantastic writing shows the ways in which society has taught us what words fit Black men vs white men. McEnroe was a brat. Bieber is a brat, but Sherman is angry.
Beiber IS a brat, I agree. But McEnroe was WAY angrier than Sherman.