04/19/24
December 21, 2005
Chicoutimi -- welcome to the 17th century: How far do you have to go to have your franchise disbanded? By sportsfilter's own wfrazerjr.
Great but Saddening Column, Thanks Fraze That any humans have to be subjected to such ugliness from supposedly other human beings boggles the mind. Perhaps your suggestions don't go far enough. Mayhaps the Team Owners should be forced to sell and the Team moved to another city. The so-called fans from the one they're in doesn't deserve it.
posted by skydivedad at 01:41 PM on December 21, 2005
It might seem harsh, but put it in perspective -- these measures are no harsher than what Nolan had to face on Sunday Couldn't possibly have said it better, wfrazerjr. Great column. My hat's off.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:27 PM on December 21, 2005
Thatr is a good piece, fraze. I don't think any of those suggestions are out of line. Certainly the PA operator should find some new work, at the very least. You know, as a possible upside, this might be just the thing to push Nolan back into the NHL's ranks. The more shit he has to deal with at the Junior level, the more he takes the higher ground (even if only by necessity, like in this case), the more times people ask why he's not back at the NHL level, the greater the possibility that Muckler's stupid little fatwa stops holding water and someone offers Ted Nolan the NHL job he actually richly deserves.
posted by chicobangs at 03:11 PM on December 21, 2005
word
posted by garfield at 03:21 PM on December 21, 2005
Eeek, and this is in Canada where they are alot more educated about their first nations brethren. Sad thing is if this had happened in the states, there'd hardly have been a peep. Over here Tomohawk Chops, War Whoops, et. al. are the norm at a sporting event, and if you even suggest it might be distasteful, well, you're just some liberal pinko fag, aren't you?? It's not cool when Chicoutimi does it, and it's not cool when FSU does it. Peace out.
posted by LostInDaJungle at 03:33 PM on December 21, 2005
Liberal pinko fag? From where do you procure your information? I have video tape AND DVD-ROM evidence of Jane Fonda and Ted Turner, two of the most liberal pundits in existence, doing the Tomahawk chop and singing to the chants at a Braves game when they were owners, and there are more than enough other places to show them. Be careful when you accuse one group for fear you may expose the other, LostInDa. A person does not need any particular political affiliation to be a moron, but it helps. As far as agreement, there seems to be a bold lacking of discretion in sports fans ever since the beginning of the paid admission. Those who can afford the ticket assume they have the right to do whatever they want, and until a line is drawn, they will continue.
posted by mrhockey at 05:33 PM on December 21, 2005
mrhockey, that whizzing sound is LostInDaJungle's point flying past your head.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:40 PM on December 21, 2005
Thanks justgary. Your anger is righteous and justified. But welcome to the 17th century? Unfortunately aboriginal people all over the world are still experiencing this sort of thing (for real) in the first decade of the 21st.
posted by owlhouse at 10:06 PM on December 21, 2005
Oh, and thanks fraze for the original post and response/column. I got confused there.
posted by owlhouse at 10:08 PM on December 21, 2005
This whole thing saddens me a lot. I wish the people who did this understood what it means. But they don't, and they won't. I'm in favor of firing the DJ, and having the Sags play in an empty arena for a few games. IANAL, but I don't think there is any cause for prosecution under Canada's "hate laws", though. And I don't see what prosecution would change. No ignorance has ever been removed by punishment. Punishment can affect behaviour (the Sags fans would learn not to do shit like this eventually), but the ideas (or lack thereof) behind the behaviour would stay. That's the hardest change.
posted by qbert72 at 10:28 PM on December 21, 2005
No ignorance has ever been removed by punishment. Truer words have never been spoken. Although rascism like this infurates most of us to the point where we want vengence, punishment, ect. (I'm totally guilty of this) what our responsability is to ensure that another generation is not brought up with this racist mentality. I really haven't come to grips with the fact that racism won't end in my lifetime or my kids lifetime or my grandkids lifetime but I understand it is our responsability to get the ball rolling (or keep the ball rolling in my case) and just eliminate this mentality.
posted by HATER 187 at 09:52 AM on December 22, 2005
LOL lbb...
posted by LostInDaJungle at 10:01 AM on December 22, 2005
You know what, though, guys...punishment for antisocial acts does accomplish a useful purpose. Does it change racist hearts and minds? Not usually in a direct way, sometimes (often) not even in an indirect way. But changing hearts and minds isn't the only goal, unless you're set on utopian racial harmony and can't be bothered with any of those tiresome intermediary stages. On the other hand, there are worthwhile intermediate goals. I'd argue that one of them is a world where Ted Nolan can take his team to Chicoutimi and not have to listen to war whoops and look at tomahawk chops. If the hearts of the Chicoutimi fans still seethe with racist resentment, obviously that's not a good thing...but it would probably have made Ted Nolan's day a lot better if fear of punishment had made them keep their damn pie-holes shut about it.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:40 PM on December 22, 2005
Nicely done, fraze. I could not agree more with charging the perpetrators with a hate crime. Bravo!