No One with a Neck Size Larger Than His Hat Size Should Be Given a Microphone

I told that to a friend after the Super Bowl. She laughed, and she likes football; she understood it was a generalization about beefy athletes, not an indictment of a physical attribute. I didn't watch the Super Bowl, and I had no person or occasion in mind, just the caricature it evokes.[1]

I was reminded of this while thinking about ESPN's use of the word "chink" in the context of Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks basketball player who happens to be of Chinese descent.[2]

I applaud ESPN for publicly addressing it, but I am positively perplexed that anyone a) would write it, b) would repeat it, and c) would trivialize it (for example, see this article , and this one ).

Are we hypersensitive to this sort of thing? IMHO a little hypersensitivity to others' feelings isn't a bad thing. After a while, the worries about how our words are perceived fade away as we all get more comfortable with each other and aren't so quick to take offense or give it.

When I was a kid, you couldn't say the word "Jew" without sounding racist because it was used so consistently in racist contexts. You said "Jewish," and usually expanded it, ie, "people of Jewish descent" or "the Jewish faith." You still hear some of that, but not as much, because insulting speech toward that community is not nearly as common.

(I almost made A little hypersensitivity to others' feelings isn't a bad thing the title of this blog; it's strong, but I thought the neck/hat thing would pique a little more interest, especially with a picture of Lin that shows up when I post to Facebook.)

My own experience - and I'd wager it's yours too if you examine it critically - is that most hateful and insensitive speech comes from those with less education, opportunity, wealth, and exposure to people different from themselves.

No, not all, just most. My linguistics background taught me to be an analytical listener, and I've detected patterns over the years.

I believe educated and privileged racists are fewer, but influence many more who are less educated and privileged.

Part of the solution seems obvious to me.

[1]
In other words, it was meant to give an image of the type of person that has more brawn than brain and is better off resisting the temptation to exercise both.

[2]
ESPN.com editor Anthony Federico used the phrase "Chink in the armor" in a headline, and an ESPN broadcaster Max Bretos repeated it. Anthony Federico was fired and Max Bretos suspended. Bretos says his wife is Asian and he meant no harm. Both are saying the mistake was an honest one. My guess is that Bretos probably is being honest and his usage benign. When you're paid to talk, you're bound to say things that can be misinterpreted.

I'm inclined to be less generous with Anthony Federico, who says he identifies with Jeremy Lin's strong Christian faith and would never do anything to insult him. (Source, NY Daily News ) Being a writer, and knowing what I know about a writer's sensibility, Federico was either so ignorant of the use that I question his role as an editor, or he knew that having used it "at least a hundred times" (his claim), he could slip in a wink to insult unnoticed.

Or both men could simply have used pejorative language without thinking.

You know what's most interesting in all this? ESPN defenders seem generally to have a professional or passionate attachment to sports. Those that aren't part of the business or coverage of it have responded differently.

I purposely finished and posted this article before reading anymore about it; I have lots of acquaintances online and offline that eat and breath sports and would disagree with me. That's okay too, though I think I've been fair to both sides here given what we know. (When it comes to these things, we often know very little and have to trust our ears.)

As I was writing this, the cable news outlets were covering Rick Santorum's remarks on Obama's "phony theology." I come from conservative roots, religious and political, and I understand the sentiment well. Many religious conservatives believe that liberal theology is at the very least misguided, and usually counterfeit, which in the conservative religious realm means satanic. I know, I know, sounds silly, but spend some time with those folks. They are among the most generous and loving you'll ever meet, and also the most intractable.

Did you notice how my footnotes are sometimes the most interesting parts of my posts? Like cracklin's at a pork pickin'.

Started: 2012-02-19