Lebron calls Celtics fans racist

[86MaxwellSmart]

Blah Blah Blah....who cares what comes out of The Queen's mouth...?

[SparzWizard]

In other news- LeBron is trash and just disrespecting Boston and the Celtics franchise.

Screw this self-entitled queen

[celticsclay]

I’m to the realization Lebron himself is pretty racist in the last few months. Especially with his response to Ethan liming compared to other events. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9544265/amp/LeBron-James-shares-regret-youre-tweet-MaKhia-Bryant-shooting.html

[konkmv]

being illiterate may be a problem of the system being ahistorical is a problem of education.. tell him to read more books and drink less wine

[tenn_smoothie]

Lebron - the idiot social commentator. His act has gotten very old.

[Erik]

I always considered Mass a liberal haven . 

Despite the best efforts of politics to convince us otherwise, racism has never been about political alignment. Racists can come in all shapes and sizes.

I think when enough people target Boston with these comments, there’s likely some to a lot of truth behind it. I doubt there is some conspiracy going on here.

[Erik]

Stuff like that is why the United States is really divided now and days.

Amen……

It will never end and that is the sad part

People aren’t meant to unconditionally love strangers. You will never end a concept like racism because that means ending free will. And as long as there is free will, someone somewhere is going to think his people are better than another people through some sequence of events that had nothing to do with him. In other words, morons… or as I like to say “people who haven’t fully evolved.”

The part that is messed up is how these divisions are being used to pass bad policy.

I will say though that as someone who has traveled to many countries, America is top tier in terms of lack of open racism. You’d never imagine the types of things complete strangers say to me in other “first world” countries. I can pass for several different races and they’d openly disclose their hatred for X,Y,Z. You just smile and walk away and realize the person is an idiot. Nothing else you can do.

[Birdman]

And said Britany Griner should think twice bout coming back to USA or something like that…hey James, bet you wouldn’t make billions playing somewhere else & talk the way u do here..I don’t feel sorry for her or anyone who break the rules overseas,, they got strict rules

[GreenlyGreeny]

Some Bostonians are idiot racists, of course (just like every other city in America and the rest of the world), but can he please explain to everybody how a political party, the Communist Party of China, telling everybody under their jurisdiction what their job and wage will be is not appropriate to label as 21st century slavery? Is it ok to ignore because it happens overseas and he is a billionaire partly because of it, so everyone best shut up about it? That seems like the questions he ought to answer at this point, no?

[Neurotic Guy]

Boston fans are offended (some) because Lebron casts aspersions on an entire group for the actions of a few.  This is what it’s like to be the victim of stereotyping.   It’s analogous to seeing a black man steal from a store and then expressing or carrying with you the notion that black men are thieves (the genesis of prejudice).  No, that man is a thief, not black men.  Just as the fan who shouts racial epithets is racist, not Boston sports fans. 

The question that pops up for me is if I’m sitting near a person who throws a bottle at a player or shouts the N word, what do I do?

[GreenlyGreeny]

Stuff like that is why the United States is really divided now and days.

Amen……

It will never end and that is the sad part

People aren’t meant to unconditionally love strangers. You will never end a concept like racism because that means ending free will. And as long as there is free will, someone somewhere is going to think his people are better than another people through some sequence of events that had nothing to do with him. In other words, morons… or as I like to say “people who haven’t fully evolved.”

The part that is messed up is how these divisions are being used to pass bad policy.

I will say though that as someone who has traveled to many countries, America is top tier in terms of lack of open racism. You’d never imagine the types of things complete strangers say to me in other “first world” countries. I can pass for several different races and they’d openly disclose their hatred for X,Y,Z. You just smile and walk away and realize the person is an idiot. Nothing else you can do.

Yes, it is quite interesting how racism is probably worse in almost every other nation on the planet (I cannot think of many countries as diverse as the USA) yet online some of those racists in those countries like to point the finger at America and stir the pot. Frankly, it has gotten old. Racism is wrong, but sadly it’s rampant around the world. At least the USA has many who are trying to do something about this problem…

[seancally]

It sucks when stuff like this comes out in this way, because Boston gets uniquely trashed over its race relations compared with other cities. Calling “Boston fans” racist also implies that the city is racist, residents are racist, and the whole thing is rotten. It’s hard to hear that because most of us are not racist and don’t see the problem.

But…

Most of us are also not Black Bostonians. Those folks are the voices that should be the loudest, most respected, etc. in this discussion. Because those folks are in the position of loving and defending their home, while acknowledging the criticism and working for change… while elements of their home itself fights against them. It’s complicated.

Lebron can be an ass, and for once I’d love a high-profile athlete to say: “Lots of racism still in the Boston fanbase, which poisons how players feel about the city — and that’s too bad because there’s lots of good examples of revolutionaries from Boston too who moved race relations forward. But as long as there are fans in that arena who call players the N-word and all that, it’s hard to give them the benefit of the doubt.” I’d respect that as a still [dang]ing take but one that actually helps facilitate discussion.

If there are Black Bostonians on this forum, I’d love to hear from you.

Here’s a great piece that helped me understand this issue better: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/09/10/boston-racist-reputation/

Edit: also already forgot about the recent white supremacist walk through the city (I’m abroad right now so not super up on the latest happenings). Globe also just posted this piece: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/07/15/metro/progressive-massachusetts-long-history-white-supremacy/?et_rid=33206124&s_campaign=todaysheadlines:newsletter

I DO NOT want this city, not my hometown but my chosen home, to be this way. It WILL be a problem in Boston, as everywhere, without concerted effort against it. Racism and white supremacist ideology is like mold. It’ll grow if you ignore everything else, and once it’s there you might need a tear down to get rid of completely.

[CelticD]

Blah Blah Blah....who cares what comes out of The Queen's mouth...?

I'm pretty sure players' perception of Boston being racist has and will discourage free agents from signing there. Coming from LeBron of all people that's a pretty scathing remark.

[Chief]

Lebron is just so sad.

[Sophomore]

Stuff like that is why the United States is really divided now and days.

Amen……

It will never end and that is the sad part

People aren’t meant to unconditionally love strangers. You will never end a concept like racism because that means ending free will. And as long as there is free will, someone somewhere is going to think his people are better than another people through some sequence of events that had nothing to do with him. In other words, morons… or as I like to say “people who haven’t fully evolved.”

The part that is messed up is how these divisions are being used to pass bad policy.

I will say though that as someone who has traveled to many countries, America is top tier in terms of lack of open racism. You’d never imagine the types of things complete strangers say to me in other “first world” countries. I can pass for several different races and they’d openly disclose their hatred for X,Y,Z. You just smile and walk away and realize the person is an idiot. Nothing else you can do.

Yes, it is quite interesting how racism is probably worse in almost every other nation on the planet (I cannot think of many countries as diverse as the USA) yet online some of those racists in those countries like to point the finger at America and stir the pot. Frankly, it has gotten old. Racism is wrong, but sadly it’s rampant around the world. At least the USA has many who are trying to do something about this problem…

I agree and disagree. Yes, human beings have a long history of mistrusting or disliking strangers. Part of the way we cooperate is we develop codes and customs, which identify people who can be trusted and people who can’t. We have to work to be comfortable around people who are different.

At the same time, if you study history, you quickly see that the in-group circle has expanded a lot over time, that the punishment for being an outgroup member can change dramatically, and we are, at least a lot of the time, open to new ideas or at least not openly hostile. It’s not completely fixed and I don’t know where the limit is.

And, of course, raw, brutal injustices still exist and have existed. I don’t think you meant it that way, but the fact we may never get it completely right isn’t a reason not to try. People shouting racist things in a stadium are a pretty easy target to identify.