Boston Fans Revisited

i think, that if the perception of boston as a racist city and the celtics franchise in particular exists among nba players, its pure ignorance of nba history. Celtics broke the color barrier in basketball, and started the first all black team.

some of our favriote players of all time are African American, bill, the chief, DJ,paul, even dare i say cedric maxwell.

Down with the political correctness Nazis.

The most racist city I’ve ever visited was Johannesburg before aparteid, but Los Angeles is a close second. The police in LA routinely beat up blacks on routine traffic stops, and there is plenty of film to prove it.

As I’ve said before, Boston is no more or no less racist than any American city. The stereotype of Boston as blue collar Irish and Italian is false, and has been false for many years. Now there are way more Brazilians and Dominicans than Italians, and most of those folks are people of color. Even Irish strongholds like Southie and West Roxbury have diversified.

Boston/Mass is more ethinic than many other cities around (Like cities as New York, Chicago) were not racist at all. Many other parts of the countries are not as diversed as our city of Boston.

I’ve traveled to many parts of the country and its very different, especially in the south.

We have our China Towns, our North Ends, our South Bostons, etc, as I mentioned you don’t find that in many parts of the cities else where.

It is, indeed, quite sad that you should scrap something for being potentially controversial…

Most, if not all, misunderstandings are a result of poor communication. Bias and prejudice can “jade” even clear communication. Thus Jeff’s reluctance to offer his “take” on the stereotyping of Boston as a “racist” city. Can Jeff really say anything that mutual DISTRUST won’t misinterpret?

Not all “whites” are racist nor are all “blacks” racist. To be sure, there are racists among blacks and whites and others of “color”. The resulting “inhumanity” from these warring factions keeps the controversy alive and its “mother” is IGNORANCE, INTOLERANCE, and PREJUDICE.

Strange that all of us have “mingled” with people of color as teammates in various sports. Strange that these teammates can become close friends and diminish past prejudices. Except for SKIN tone (and perhaps cultural differences) these same guys don’t “fit” the divisive stereotype that divides society. Perhaps having a common goal as teammates makes us better “partners”?

I went to school in Boston in the 60s and returned 15 years later to take a nostalic walk through Roxbury (as I often did in the 60s). A group of intimidating blacks followed me in a manner that suggested trouble. Unaware of the racial bitterness that had occurred during my 15 year absence, I was ignorant of the my predicament.

As I strolled down the street with growing awareness of the closing pursuit, I was joined by another black who had witnessed my plight from his home. He said…“Man, what are YOU doing here walking all alone”? I told him that I recently returned to the city and was taking a similar walk I had taken many times in the past. He said that alot has happened since then …“but if I walk WITH you, you’ll be safe here”…

He walked with me for half a mile…I was safe…In the same manner that I walked in the military with a man of color at my side. We were BOTH safe because we WALKED TOGETHER!

i agree with brick. the biggest problem boston has for nba players is that it is cold and old. mtumbo in a recent article somewhere said he was wooed by boston and didn’t want to freeze.

As a white male that grew up in Queens,NY and have lived in Denver, Chicago and now Boston..here’s my two cents…Boston is no better or worse than any other city…racism is a product of ignorance not location….

Beyond the issue of the exact amount of racism existant in Boston and the city’s perception, is an issue Jeff made glaringly apparent when he wrote: “But about two paragraphs in, I stopped, read what I wrote and decided "I don’t see anything controversial at all about what I’ve just written, but I’m sure someone somewhere will.” So I stopped writing and deleted the post. That’s just sad."

Jeff’s reluctance to articulate his beliefs for the fear that they may be controversial, a sentiment seemingly widely held amongst people, is perhaps the most troubling aspect to this or any discussion of any issue. Jeff, I’m truly interested: Why the fear of controversy? Articulating your beliefs is what one’s role as a writer constitutes, so if someone is reluctant to express beliefs for fear of “controversy” I must wonder whether he/she is truly just afraid of either the effort necessary to justify those beliefs, or the possibility of having those beliefs changed. Your reluctance to me seems similar to the lament that’s the subject of the Boston Magazine piece cited in your post. And ultimately, this saddens me. Now, while I don’t think controversy should be deliberately sought out, stating one’s earnest beliefs for fear of “controversy” should never be the case. Otherwise, we all lose the opportunity for discussion and ultimately that chance to change someone else’s thinking or have one’s own thinking changed. And that opportunity is at the root of all writing and communication, and in truth, even this very site.