Why is Boston the Mecca for Racism?

[dchester]

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.

IMO, right at this moment in time, it shouldn't be. However it takes a few generations, for perceptions to change.

FWIW, back in the day (a few decades back), the Celtics were considered an anomaly, and not typical of Boston. BTW, I believe the Bruins (who stunk back then, until after Orr and Esposito arrived) often sold out, while the Celtics who did nothing but win back then, rarely sold out.

I suspect that part of it (back then) had to do with Whitey Bulger and his mobsters. That stuff has been dealt with, and Boston now, isn't what it was back then. But you're correct, the reputation still lingers.

 

[mikiemo83]

well Michael Wilbon has a history in Boston

“First of all, it’s a bad team,” Wilbon opined. “Second of all, you have this history of bigotry against African-American people in Boston. The only place I’ve ever been confronted, multiple times, and been called the n-word to my face, is specifically the Boston Garden…. The fact is, Boston has that history, and black players know that, and they do not want to go voluntarily to Boston.” When asked by Patrick whether he thought that perception factored into Garnett’s unwillingness to be traded here, Wilbon said, “I know it does. Yeah. Sure. Absolutely.” He later added that racism “might have been our issue at one point, but now it’s [Boston’s] issue.”

link

 

[Dwight Schrute]

He alluded to that in the show interview, about a Garden incident.

I’m going to borrow Jarvis skeptical hippo that Wilbon, as loud and opinionated and uninformed as he is, has only had 1 n word incident.

Not buying that bowl of soup.

 

[OJ's Glove]

He alluded to that in the show interview, about a Garden incident.

I’m going to borrow Jarvis skeptical hippo that Wilbon, as loud and opinionated and uninformed as he is, has only had 1 n word incident.

Not buying that bowl of soup.

Garnett was sure hounded out of here. We really hated him, right?

Maybe Wilbon's just an asshole?

 

[Darth Despot]

AWTE nails it, that one image of the guy with the flag.

That's not to say that there wasn't (and isn't) racism but the image of Boston as somehow more racist that other cities is from Southie in the 70s.

 

[AllWorldTE]

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.

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.

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.
​

I don't disagree with you but the question was why is Boston considered racist not is it actually racist? And New York is New York. That city will always be treated differently. The media are who they are.

 

[OJ's Glove]

The media are who they are.

I know.

As a great Indiana troubador once said,

Calling it 'your job', Ol' Hoss, sure don't make it right.

 

[O_P_T]

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?

I think the "man bites" dog" aspect of this may play a role.

Stories about racism in the South are a "dog bites man" story, sometimes quite literally.

So at some level, a story about racism in the North is "unexpected" and so would be considered more of a story.

This has nothing to do with how accurate the story is or how much more significant the racism may be.

 

[Mazz22]

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.

Yes. I was just suggesting given the nature of the thread to have a focus on politics even though it is related to sports kind of like the Kaep stuff. But obviously a MOD decision.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Yes. I was just suggesting given the nature of the thread to have a focus on politics even though it is related to sports kind of like the Kaep stuff. But obviously a MOD decision.

Thanks.

We’d be lost without your help.

 

[Jaric]

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

I'm pretty sure I've used it to tease you guys before lol. (obviously wasn't serious)

 

[dchester]

IMO, right at this moment in time, it shouldn't be. However it takes a few generations, for perceptions to change.

FWIW, back in the day (a few decades back), the Celtics were considered an anomaly, and not typical of Boston. BTW, I believe the Bruins (who stunk back then, until after Orr and Esposito arrived) often sold out, while the Celtics who did nothing but win back then, rarely sold out.

I suspect that part of it (back then) had to do with Whitey Bulger and his mobsters. That stuff has been dealt with, and Boston now, isn't what it was back then. But you're correct, the reputation still lingers.

I also should have included the city's harsh reaction / resistance to court ordered busing, (to deal with segregation and school inequity, again decades ago), also kept that opinion of Boston alive.

 

[Big/Sky/Fly]

Slavery is still around...but it's in different forms and in found in every race.

 

[Baron Samedi]

Boston is fascinating for it's contradictory history regarding race and racism.

The reputation of Boston racism is a product of two distinct groups. The first group would be the Boston Brahmin;

And this is good old Boston,
The home of the bean and the cod,
Where the Lowells talk only to Cabots,
And the Cabots talk only to God.

The Brahmin, the aristocracy of Boston, tended to look down on the inferior folk, which was anyone not Anglo, and not rich, pretty much.

The second group is the Irish immigrant during the famine. The Irish came here in droves, with very little more than the shirt on their backs, and their fellow Irish. They were an impoverished group of desperate refugees, for the most part.

When the Irish arrived, they not only created all Irish communities to support one another, but they needed to make a living, and for the most part, the only jobs they could find were hard labor, long hours, and low pay....in other words, the jobs that the black community had. This created enormous animosity and hate between the two races. They were competing with one another for the same, meager resources available to them, after all. When an Irishman took a job, a black man lost his job.

Needless to say, the Irish came to have an enormous cultural influence in the Boston area, but some of that culture was specific to Boston, and remained for 100 years and more, long after the origins of the racism were lost in time, the racism itself remained.

That's why you can point to pre-Civil War and Civil War legacy to be proud of, with the abolitionist movement, the 54th Massachusetts, and so on....but the late 19th to late 20th century looks so ugly.

 

[EasyBigFella]

Charleston, SC is my favorite city in the country (along with Chicago) but the "Lost Causers" there definitely have a skewed realty of the war. Slavery was going to have to go away because England wasn't going to trade with a nation that had slavery so at some point, the economics were going to force the south to give up "their peculiar institution" as confederate citizen Mary Chestnut would say in her diary.

The ironic thing is the south had freed the slaves before firing on Fort Sumter they would have had England's support and would have won the war easily. The racism there is open and accepted and they have a pride in it that is strange to say the least.

 

[bmooney54]

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



oke:

Begging pardon, but it is a little known fact that Edelman's grandmother was Dutch.

 

[OJ's Glove]

Needless to say, the Irish came to have an enormous cultural influence in the Boston area, but some of that culture was specific to Boston, and remained for 100 years and more, long after the origins of the racism were lost in time, the racism itself remained.

That's why you can point to pre-Civil War and Civil War legacy to be proud of, with the abolitionist movement, the 54th Massachusetts, and so on....but the late 19th to late 20th century looks so ugly.

The Irish vs.Black thing was no lie. Like I mentioned earlier, the NYC draft riots were precipitated - in large part - to Irish immigrant hatred of blacks.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

I also should have included the city's harsh reaction / resistance to court ordered busing, (to deal with segregation and school inequity, again decades ago), also kept that opinion of Boston alive.

Well I’d agree.

As a parent with 2 children in school within 3 minutes from my house to be mandated my children now face a 45 minute bus ride into a much different urban area for diversity sake would be met with a giant F you.

If the people in question want a more diverse option, move.

 

[Baron Samedi]

Charleston, SC is my favorite city in the country (along with Chicago) but the "Lost Causers" there definitely have a skewed realty of the war. Slavery was going to have to go away because England wasn't going to trade with a nation that had slavery so at some point, the economics were going to force the south to give up "their peculiar institution" as confederate citizen Mary Chestnut would say in her diary.

A somewhat twisted version of truth. I lived in Charleston and Florence for a time, I know what you're talking about.

The truth is, with the incoming industrial age, slave labor was becoming economically unsustainable, but England was develpoping a huge textile industry to compete with New York and some of the other northern states. England, however, paid a much higher price for the cotton, and so helped to sustain the slave labor production model for a time, while reducing profits of the northern textile companies significantly.

The so called "Tariff of Abominatoins" in 1828 lit the fuse, that eventually led to the Civil War....which is why the north didn't actually get around to freeing the slaves when the south seceded...they were enjoying the importation of cheap raw materials from the south and the revenue generated from the tariffs.

The tariffs were lowered from 1846-1857, and things went along more or less happily until 1857, when bank failures caused the Panic of 1857, and in response, the north passed the Morrill Tariff in 1861. That was the last straw, and the south seceded soon after.

The north, now sole owners of government, could have declared slaves to be free immediately, yet it took years. Why? Because the northern textile companies were making a killing off of slave labor cotton, and kind of wanted to keep it going, until the war was not going well, and then they began the process of ending slavery.

 

[subroc]

The media has a story line and dusts it off at every opportunity. Lazy journalism.

It will never change.

A couple/few times a year for the rest of you life and your children's lives Boston will be called a racist city. That is just the way it is.