Why is Boston the Mecca for Racism?

[Dwight Schrute]

Wilbon got me thinking.

Why is it Boston is considered the Mecca of racism?

Sure, Yawkey had his contributions.

And a fan or small group of did some truly disposable things to Bill Russell’s property.

But I can’t think of much more. Anyone?

The Bs has the first black player in the league.

The Cs were the first team to field an all black lineup iirc. And to hire the first black hc.

I just don’t understand how the city that was once final destination for the escape from slavery and embraced as a nirvana of sorts has fallen into this light while all these cities of the south complicit in thousands of lynchings and human atrocities are viewed in a positive light.

It makes no sense to me.

 

[PatriotInIndy]

Charleston, SC should be viewed as the mecca. They are all so extremely proud of how much money they have because of slavery. They won't outright say it's from that, but everyone knows that's why that city is loaded. Hell, they have the damn sign "The Union is Dissolved!" all over the city like it is a point of pride.

 

[TipRoast]

Wilbon got me thinking.

Why is it Boston is considered the Mecca of racism?

Sure, Yawkey had his contributions.

And a fan or small group of did some truly disposable things to Bill Russell’s property.

But I can’t think of much more. Anyone?

The Bs has the first black player in the league.

The Cs were the first team to field an all black lineup iirc. And to hire the first black hc.

I just don’t understand how the city that was once final destination for the escape from slavery and embraced as a nirvana of sorts has fallen into this light while all these cities of the south complicit in thousands of lynchings and human atrocities are viewed in a positive light.

It makes no sense to me.

Maybe you weren't around when Louise Day Hicks was in her heyday.

 

[EasyBigFella]

It shouldn't be. It was the city that fueled the abolitionist movement by people like William Lloyd Garrison, it was the first city to have an all black regiment in the Civil War, etc.

It is driven by the busing incidents during Civil Rights, and especially one pic of a guy spearing a black guy with a US flag https://www.usnews.com/dims4/USNEWS/45e032c/2147483647/thumbnail/970x647/quality/85/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.beam.usnews.com%2F84%2Ff6773d0f5d87e71c87186d74f72e4f%2F4295FE_DA_080405flag.jpg

If you want to see real racism, go to South Carolina or Georgia.

 

[Mazz22]

Boston has a history for sure BUT I think the focus on it now is because how much the city is winning across all of the major sports. Always have to find the negative spin ...

 

[O.Z.O.]

Boston has a history for sure BUT I think the focus on it now is because how much the city is winning across all of the major sports. Always have to find the negative spin ...

goes back well beyond that

 

[AllWorldTE]

Busing is a big reason.

 

[PumpDee]

Busing and because BSPN talking heads say so.

 

[OJ's Glove]

I love how Boston is villified and they pretend New York is this bastion of the melting pot.

While Boston was THE hub for Abolitionism, New York had the 1863 draft riots which was arguably the most horrific single instance of racial mob violence in US History.

Crown Heights and Howard Beach didn't happen in Boston.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Failed to mention bussing.

A true political fiasco.

But, PALES in comparison to the lynchings I’ve mentioned.

Why is the south seen as home and those issues glossed over or ignored altogether?

 

[Mazz22]

This thread probably belongs in P/R section.

 

[AllWorldTE]

This wasn't very helpful either.

 

[OJ's Glove]

This thread probably belongs in P/R section.

I don't agree. It's a segment the sports media pushing this.

I actually remember people complaining in the 80's that an instance of racism in Boston was the fact that four of the top six Celtics were white. Bird, McHale, Ainge, Walton. The vibe out there was that if you were a black guy, you were supposed to prefer the Lakers because they had almost no white players.

How do you rationally argue against such stupidity? The Celtics were the most racially progressive team in NBA History, but to hear someone actually claim the opposite was like being in the Disneyland of morons.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

This thread probably belongs in P/R section.

It’s tied directly to a call in to sports radio yesterday.

You don’t have to click on it.

 

[Jaric]

I assume this is why there's always 2 or 3 white wide receivers on the Pats.



oke:

 

[AllWorldTE]

I don't agree. It's a segment the sports media pushing this.

I actually remember people complaining in the 80's that an instance of racism in Boston was the fact that four of the top six Celtics were white. Bird, McHale, Ainge, Walton. The vibe out there was that if you were a black guy, you were supposed to prefer the Lakers because they had almost no white players.

How do you rationally argue against such stupidity? The Celtics were the most racially progressive team in NBA History, but to hear someone actually claim the opposite was like being in the Disneyland of morons.

The Celtics of the sixties were ultra successful and ultra black and competed in near empty Boston Garden. Along came Dave Cowens, busing & Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and lo and behold the Celtics were the toast of the town. I'm not saying the Celtics of that era were built that way due to racism or that their popularity was due to racism as there certainly were many factors to the rise of the Celtics in the 80s but this certainly lends credence and at least the appearance of racism to the argument when viewed through the long lens of hindsight.

Boston has a difficult racial history. I know it was the cradle of abolitionism back in the day but who in this day gives an Ef? Those people are long buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery. The Civil Rights movement and its aftermath is history in living memory not words on a page. The racial problems of the 60s, 70s and 80s make for a national sensitivity towards any appearance of racial inequality in Boston and it's going to be called out and probably will be until we all take our dirt naps. It takes a long time to get one's reputation back.

---------- Post added at 11:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:01 AM ----------

I assume this is why there's always 2 or 3 white wide receivers on the Pats.



oke:

No need to joke this argument has been made in the past with total seriousness.

 

[Hawg73]

Charleston, SC should be viewed as the mecca. They are all so extremely proud of how much money they have because of slavery. They won't outright say it's from that, but everyone knows that's why that city is loaded. Hell, they have the damn sign "The Union is Dissolved!" all over the city like it is a point of pride.

I went on a walking tour of Charleston. Most beautiful city I've ever seen. The confederate jasmine was in bloom and that's all you could smell as you walked amongst all the swanky mansions lined with shady oaks founded on a bogus system of human enslavement.

So, the tour guide was a perfectly nice, polite hipster and eventually somebody asked him a question about slavery. His response, which was sort of polished I thought, was that slavery was a complex question and the very house we happened to be standing in front of was once owned by the mullato daughter of a Plantation owner and SHE had no problem owning that house or her own group of slaves. Like the fact that the Master banged his slave was the natural order of things and the daughter was a typical example of their progressive nature.

He kind of glossed over the whole thing. Like, plenty of the local Massas were real generous to their property and they were way better off than they would've been in Africa.

So, I did a follow-up question that I've always found entertaining with southern types who still bitch about the Civil War -- What do you think would've happened with slavery had Lincoln not drawn a line in the sand?

That made him a little flustered and he suggested that they would've eventually parted ways as friends and business partners once the economics worked itself out, but the North screwed everything up by trying to tell them their own business, which was going splendidly for all concerned.

I laughed out loud and said "Oh, that is beautiful....good one!!" which he didn't care for much. Nobody was going to volunteer to change shit. Too many people getting rich.

Charleston is great. To look at. I found it very ironic that a lot of their tourism now centers around their history as the slave capital of America.

 

[PatriotInIndy]

I went on a walking tour of Charleston. Most beautiful city I've ever seen. The confederate jasmine was in bloom and that's all you could smell as you walked amongst all the swanky mansions lined with shady oaks founded on a bogus system of human enslavement.

So, the tour guide was a perfectly nice, polite hipster and eventually somebody asked him a question about slavery. His response, which was sort of polished I thought, was that slavery was a complex question and the very house we happened to be standing in front of was once owned by the mullato daughter of a Plantation owner and SHE had no problem owning that house or her own group of slaves. Like the fact that the Master banged his slave was the natural order of things and the daughter was a typical example of their progressive nature.

He kind of glossed over the whole thing. Like, plenty of the local Massas were real generous to their property and they were way better off than they would've been in Africa.

So, I did a follow-up question that I've always found entertaining with southern types who still bitch about the Civil War -- What do you think would've happened with slavery had Lincoln not drawn a line in the sand?

That made him a little flustered and he suggested that they would've eventually parted ways as friends and business partners once the economics worked itself out, but the North screwed everything up by trying to tell them their own business, which was going splendidly for all concerned.

I laughed out loud and said "Oh, that is beautiful....good one!!" which he didn't care for much. Nobody was going to volunteer to change shit. Too many people getting rich.

Charleston is great. To look at. I found it very ironic that a lot of their tourism now centers around their history as the slave capital of America.

This is exactly how I felt. It's a gross, southern pride in Charleston.

 

[OJ's Glove]

Along came Dave Cowens, busing & Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and lo and behold the Celtics were the toast of the town. I'm not saying the Celtics of that era were built that way due to racism or that their popularity was due to racism as there certainly were many factors to the rise of the Celtics in the 80s but this certainly lends credence and at least the appearance of racism to the argument when viewed through the long lens of hindsight.

My point is the "appearance of racism" is bullshit. Racially-progressive Red Auerbach was the guy making the personnel decisions the whole way. They won 5 Titles in the 70's and 80's with those white headliners, so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they were the best players.

Boston has a difficult racial history.

Every American City does. What I object to is the unethical ESPN frauds who passive-aggressively single out Boston for special scorn. It's not accurate and not needed.

The racial problems of the 60s, 70s and 80s make for a national sensitivity towards any appearance of racial inequality in Boston

Why aren't New York and LA singled out for their racist incidents during the same time, which can be easily argued are horrifically worse than anything that happened here? When was the last time the equivalent of the LA Riots happened here? New York spawned Al Sharpton and Tawana Brawley. Not Boston.
​

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Exactly Hawg.

And Charlston is far more black than Boston, embraces despite its horrific past. A past as disgusting and evil as one can imagine.

Makes no sense.