Thursday, February 15, 2007

Tim Hardaway Hates Gay People

I will attempt to navigate some choppy waters here in order to get this whole thing straight: Tim Hardaway says he hates gays and that he wouldn’t want to be on a team with them and he gets blasted for it. While I think I “get” where these critics are coming from, something about all of the firestorm doesn’t strike me as consistent.
Let me put it this way: He IS talking about his own feelings. To that extent, they are an accurate representation of what he feels, what he is passionate about, etc.. regardless of whether you agree with him. He was answering a direct question in response about the story of a former NBA player that said that he plays for the other team (if you get my drift) and how he would respond given a certain situation. He is doing nothing but characterizing his own feelings, right?
Okay, now the tricky part where I start to think through this thing. You’re going to have to follow me for a second here. I have heard a few places respond with “it’s fine that he was honest, but…” and then the typical PC apoplexy begins. Take step back, rewind, recall with me Kanye West commenting on Hurricane Katrina. Remember the “George Bush hates black people” and the George Bush blew up the Levees conspiracy? I seem to recall that there was not a “but..” after the media and others who may have shared this mindset ,including the Washington Post, who had the audacity to print this. If I recall the general mood, it was along the lines of “well, it might be wrong to characterize OTHERS as below-the-surface bigoted and racist, but at least he was being honest and true to what black people are thinking….”
Okay, now following this line of reasoning: its OKAY to call others out and generalize about an individual if--even though your statements might be poo-pooed on one side as, at best awkwardly put-- your fundamental point is true to one belief system, .i.e. the liberal thinking on George Bush’s supposed racism without a scintilla of tangible evidence to the contrary, but to state your OWN true feelings (not to mention to express something that a lot of the African American demographic may also feel about gays) and is NOT appropriate and does not deserve the same kind of leeway that you would give to opinions of “disaffected” minority groups if it's about a Republican. I guess it’s all in what group you have put your lot in with, eh?

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