This story has gotten a bit of play online today. It was sent by a Penn State alumni to one of their current football players:
This can't be real. Who would write this?
Sadly, it's realThis can't be real. Who would write this?
I saw nothing in his unsolicted, rude, and needless written statement that indicated any reason to be cautious of his sensitivities.I see a lot of people calling this racist on the net but I don’t think it goes that far. I know that we don’t see dreadlocks on many white guys, and that it’s predominantly a hairstyle worn by the black community, so I get how people are connecting the two.
But I think this guy is truly just an old “get-off-my-lawn” stick in the mud who probably also complained when white guys started playing football with long hair.
He is basically the true to life Grandpa Abe from the Simpsons and we should all make fun of him for that.
But to declare him racist? I’d need to actually see racist comments first. (I mean, he might actually BE a horrible racist, but let’s not jump to that conclusion because he likes crew cuts)
I see a lot of people calling this racist on the net but I don’t think it goes that far. I know that we don’t see dreadlocks on many white guys, and that it’s predominantly a hairstyle worn by the black community, so I get how people are connecting the two.
My face when I found out this came from the Penn State fan base.
At best, it's extremely tone-deaf and "unintended dog-whistle racism", but this is pretty clear cut to me. Needing explicit comparison of races and derogatory language as the criteria misses the bigger picture of the implication. His words target one culture much more than another to conform to a certain norm.
At best, it's extremely tone-deaf and "unintended dog-whistle racism", but this is pretty clear cut to me. Needing explicit comparison of races and derogatory language as the criteria misses the bigger picture of the implication. His words target one culture much more than another to conform to a certain norm.
We agree that he is targeting one culture over another for the hair style, but then he repeatedly calls it disgusting so I fail to see how that doesn't meet the criteria of racist.I can get behind the idea that he is targeting one culture over another (the hair issue/not so much his hate for tats) but on my scale of “when something is racist” it didn’t meet it.
Take the R word out of this for a second, and think about reading this from the perspective of Jonathan Sutherland, the player to whom it was sent, who is an honors student and team captain.
The message is loud and clear. The institution you pour your blood sweat and tears into belongs to us, it does not belong to people who have cultural signifiers associated with you and people like you, and you will only be truly accepted into this institution with our permission, exclusively on our terms.
The stuff about the NFL drops the mask even further. Sutherland isn't some big surefire draft prospect, but because of his "disgusting" hair he's shown that that's where he belongs.
It ain't subtle.