The narrative is back: Boston is racist

[Kernewek]

I’d like to propose a thought experiment: if I verbally called Dirk Nowitzki a sour kraut, how many people would leap to defend me because I must be too young to know about ‘archaic racial slurs’ and must instead be talking about food?

[Vermont Green]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

[Roy H.]

I’d like to propose a thought experiment: if I verbally called Dirk Nowitzki a sour kraut, how many people would leap to defend me because I must be too young to know about ‘archaic racial slurs’ and must instead be talking about food?

If people were talking about their favorite krauts and somebody loudly interjected "Dirk", that's probably pretty clear what the "joke" was.

If people were talking about their favorite "nips" and somebody shouted "Shohei Ohtani", that's probably pretty clear, too.

But, when talking about "nips", and some asshat shouts out a female name who isn't even Japanese, and later says he his "joke" was about Mila Kunis' nipples?  Then yeah, I'm going to accept that he wasn't making an archaic racial reference that most Americans probably hadn't heard before.  He's just a meathead who probably still doesn't belong on the air.

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Maybe I'm too attuned to the "frat boy" crowd, and too removed from being either hardcore race conscious or a low-key alcoholic, but when I hear "nips" I'm always going to think nipples unless the context suggests otherwise.

[Roy H.]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

[Donoghus]

I’d like to propose a thought experiment: if I verbally called Dirk Nowitzki a sour kraut, how many people would leap to defend me because I must be too young to know about ‘archaic racial slurs’ and must instead be talking about food?

If people were talking about their favorite krauts and somebody loudly interjected "Dirk", that's probably pretty clear what the "joke" was.

If people were talking about their favorite "nips" and somebody shouted "Shohei Ohtani", that's probably pretty clear, too.

But, when talking about "nips", and some asshat shouts out a female name who isn't even Japanese, and later says he his "joke" was about Mila Kunis' nipples?  Then yeah, I'm going to accept that he wasn't making an archaic racial reference that most Americans probably hadn't heard before.  He's just a meathead who probably still doesn't belong on the air.

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Maybe I'm too attuned to the "frat boy" crowd, and too removed from being either hardcore race conscious or a low-key alcoholic, but when I hear "nips" I'm always going to think nipples unless the context suggests otherwise.

I think that part was complete & utter BS by Audacy to attempt to try to cover their butts.

"It wasn't racist, it was misogynist" still looks horrible.

[Neurotic Guy]

I’d like to propose a thought experiment: if I verbally called Dirk Nowitzki a sour kraut, how many people would leap to defend me because I must be too young to know about ‘archaic racial slurs’ and must instead be talking about food?

If people were talking about their favorite krauts and somebody loudly interjected "Dirk", that's probably pretty clear what the "joke" was.

If people were talking about their favorite "nips" and somebody shouted "Shohei Ohtani", that's probably pretty clear, too.

But, when talking about "nips", and some asshat shouts out a female name who isn't even Japanese, and later says he his "joke" was about Mila Kunis' nipples?  Then yeah, I'm going to accept that he wasn't making an archaic racial reference that most Americans probably hadn't heard before.  He's just a meathead who probably still doesn't belong on the air.

=================================================

Maybe I'm too attuned to the "frat boy" crowd, and too removed from being either hardcore race conscious or a low-key alcoholic, but when I hear "nips" I'm always going to think nipples unless the context suggests otherwise.

I think it’s reasonable that Curtis was going for a sex joke rather than a race joke.  It’s a leap for the author to presume it was was a racial reference. Would not be a righteous stance for WEEI to in any way support Curtis’ comments even though objectification of women comments are pretty rampantly out there in social circles.  Defending objectification humor is definitely still a thing - made more acceptable by a former president who continues to demonstrate that he judges people by their appearance.

Needless to say, I think suspending Curtis was the right thing to do. Providing him something to feel mistreated about (the accusation of racial reference) allows him to deflect ownership of the thing he should be contrite about.  I’d probably lean to giving him another chance.

[Kernewek]

I’d like to propose a thought experiment: if I verbally called Dirk Nowitzki a sour kraut, how many people would leap to defend me because I must be too young to know about ‘archaic racial slurs’ and must instead be talking about food?

If people were talking about their favorite krauts and somebody loudly interjected "Dirk", that's probably pretty clear what the "joke" was.

If people were talking about their favorite "nips" and somebody shouted "Shohei Ohtani", that's probably pretty clear, too.

But, when talking about "nips", and some asshat shouts out a female name who isn't even Japanese, and later says he his "joke" was about Mila Kunis' nipples?  Then yeah, I'm going to accept that he wasn't making an archaic racial reference that most Americans probably hadn't heard before.  He's just a meathead who probably still doesn't belong on the air.

=================================================

Maybe I'm too attuned to the "frat boy" crowd, and too removed from being either hardcore race conscious or a low-key alcoholic, but when I hear "nips" I'm always going to think nipples unless the context suggests otherwise.

Makes me think of this classic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnTjbJkA8_Y

[Vermont Green]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

[Donoghus]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

[Neurotic Guy]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

It's a topsy-turvy world.  There is an element of heroism that is afforded to some folks who see themselves as the final stand against political correctness or, as DeSantis likes to shout, "woke-ism".    Some folks believe, or rationalize, that people aren't really hurt by comments or actions that reference race, gender, sexual orientation, mental competence... There is actually some rationale out there that people are made tougher/stronger/more capable by having to deal with such challenges as teasing or bullying or harassment. And of course there are those who see themselves as the judge for what should or shouldn't be offensive, rather than listening to and respecting the views of those who share their experiences as harmful. 

The above is not to say that people don't learn from challenges and become stronger through struggles, but it is to say that when we can avoid being the cause of another person's struggle based on our own biases, or even our own tendencies to find humor in stereotyping, that maybe that's the better course of action if we choose to care about one another -- which of course, in a free society, we aren't required to do.

[Roy H.]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

I don't know the financial / ratings aspect of it all, but it's crazy to me that a guy (other than Trump) can get away with sexual harassment and then go making racist or sexist "jokes" on the air without getting fired.  What's he add to WEEI that makes him worth keeping?

[celticsclay]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

I don't know the financial / ratings aspect of it all, but it's crazy to me that a guy (other than Trump) can get away with sexual harassment and then go making racist or sexist "jokes" on the air without getting fired.  What's he add to WEEI that makes him worth keeping?

Educating the general public about half century old racial slurs so they are not lost to time.

[Donoghus]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

I don't know the financial / ratings aspect of it all, but it's crazy to me that a guy (other than Trump) can get away with sexual harassment and then go making racist or sexist "jokes" on the air without getting fired.  What's he add to WEEI that makes him worth keeping?

No idea. Indifference at this point? WEEI has been a sinking ship for years now and Audacy has pretty much bottomed out as a company.

[angryguy77]

Good god is this a stretch. Nips is definitely not a commonly used slur and hasn’t been been for like 50 years. We all watch shows like the wire, mayor of kingstown, movies taking place in southie that exaggerate everything and use every slur in the book. They don’t use this. if you polled people under 50 3% may have heard it in an old movie. The last show that anyone has found to use it is Mchales navy from 1962.


 Now what he was actually doing talking about a woman’s body sexually for no reason is absolutely ridiculous and he should be fired for that. But this extreme bizarre fetish america has with making things about race has gotten beyond ridiculous. The obvious clear explanation that makes 50x more sense is an older man lewdly and unprofessionally objectifying a woman, which is a sadly real and all too common problem. What’s next? We firing someone for mentioning the term peanut gallery or grandfathers cause of where the terms derives from? Good grief. Fire him for how he talks about women as a professional, not for making a giant nonsensical leap to a never used half century old slur.

Lenin knew that racial tensions were Ameica's weak spot, it's why he directed Comintern to stoke racial fires in the US. The communists knew picking at this wound would be more successful at weakening the country than persuading the middle class to join the revolution.

The modern day leftist elite knows this tactic works. This is why racial relations are not healing, or riled up at times because it keeps us divided while empowering opportunistic politicians.

[Roy H.]

I have listened to Chris Curtis enough to feel I have a sense for him.  I don't know if he is racist but I find his sort of narrative to be very politically arrogant and that sort of political arrogance often includes some elements of "poor people are lazy" and that sort of thing.

As to the nips "slur", I was not aware of this as a slur but it would not be in my vocabulary in any case.  I would never even know that it was a racial slur and in any case, I would never use it in that way, to refer to an Asian person, certainly publicly.  And I would not publicly refer to a woman in that way.  If I did in my work place, it would be an issue, much less if I did it in front of customers which is basically what Curtis did.  It is quite possible that I would lose my job.

If I was Greg Hill or the executive in charge of the show, I would take Curtis off the show forever.  I don't think he is that good anyway.  He is arrogant and argumentative, and seems to be getting worse over time.  There will be more incidents if they bring him back I predict.

From what I've seen of sports radio in general, those two things are likely to get him a promotion.

If he just was arrogant and argumentative about sports, that would be fine, but he often drifts into more political or societal issues and that is where he gets into trouble.  Kind of like what happened to Gerry Callahan.

He also cheated on his wife with one of his subordinates.  I'm actually a bit amazed he was able survive that one never-mind what is going on now.

I don't know the financial / ratings aspect of it all, but it's crazy to me that a guy (other than Trump) can get away with sexual harassment and then go making racist or sexist "jokes" on the air without getting fired.  What's he add to WEEI that makes him worth keeping?

Educating the general public about half century old racial slurs so they are not lost to time.

As an aside, it's interesting how these things develop.  There was an NFL player in the last couple of years who called somebody a g--k.  For those trying to figure out the letters, it's not geek, although I guess that word could be considered offensive by some.  (How did the word for a circus side show who bit the heads off of chickens turn into a putdown for school children who excel in certain areas?  I digress.)

Back to g--ks.  Anybody who has watched any level of television centered around the non-war Vietnam War has heard the term before.  It's a slur, for sure.  I've heard it used as an insult before, particularly when I lived in Oregon in the early 90s. 

So, this player says the word, and I'm thinking, that's disgusting.  But, the player's defense was essentially  "sorry, I didn't know.  My friends and I just use this word to basically mean somebody who is a "spaz"" (another word that will probably be verboten in the future.  And the player grew up in Florida.  So, I did some internet research, including the ever-reliable Urban Dictionary, and there it was:  multiple sources suggesting that g--k meant "spaz", outside of the racial context. 

So, I guess you never know with some of this stuff, in terms of what's in their head and what their intent was.  Words can evolve meanings, and what something means to one person doesn't mean the same to another.