Jeremy Lin - "[Ban Me] in the Armor"

Discussion in 'Sports' started by VolDad, Feb 18, 2012.

  1. VolDad

    VolDad Super Moderator

    ESPN sorry for offensive headline on Lin story

    NEW YORK — ESPN has apologized for using a racial slur in a headline for a story on Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin.

    ESPN ran the headline "[Ban Me] in the Armor" after Lin had nine turnovers in New York's loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night on its mobile website that could be seen on phones and tablet computers.

    Lin is the NBA's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. He has captivated sports fans with unexpected dominance on the court that sparked a seven-game winning streak.

    ESPN says in a statement Saturday it removed the headline 35 minutes after it was posted. The cable network says it is "conducting a complete review of our cross-platform editorial procedures and are determining appropriate disciplinary action to ensure this does not happen again. We regret and apologize for this mistake."


    ESPN sorry for offensive headline on Lin story *| ajc.com
     
  2. NashVol11

    NashVol11 Well-Known Member

  3. Bassmanbruno

    Bassmanbruno Banned

    lol - isn't it more racist to acknowledge that [Ban Me] is a slang term? Because its obviously a legitmate saying and only is considering racist since he is asian.

    Who knows these days with all the PC... because it seems more racist to point out the fact that it could be perceived as racist even though this phrase is commonly used in sports in situations similar to this.

    I also feel there was no way that this was just an oversight - dude had to have a smirk on his face when writing the title of the article.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2012
  4. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    is it wrong that i laughed out loud?
     
  5. kidbourbon

    kidbourbon Well-Known Member

    Ha! Racist bastards.
     
  6. Unimane

    Unimane Kill "The Caucasian"

    How is it more racist to acknowledge it than say it? That doesn't make sense. And there's a difference between being overly PC and actually saying something offensive. Speaking as someone who has a half-Asian son, there's a lot of bullshit that slides as humor which wouldn't be accepted for a lot of other races, so I think it's quite appropriate that they apologize. People went into a tizzy with the "trailer park frenzy" comment by Chris Fowler, so I can only imagine if they said 100,000 rednecks showed up Neyland for game, trying to be funny.
     
  7. justingroves

    justingroves supermod

    But they do
     
  8. Unimane

    Unimane Kill "The Caucasian"

    When?
     
  9. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    redneck doesn't equate to "[Ban Me], nigger/negroe, spik" etc anyway. That is the problem with comparing "cracker, white trash," etc. to those terms. It is apples and oranges.
     
  10. justingroves

    justingroves supermod

    Every Alabama game.

    I meant 100,000 rednecks fill Neyland, not that someone points it out.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2012
  11. justingroves

    justingroves supermod

    I agree. There's plenty of people that think "redneck" is a term of endearment.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2012
  12. Unimane

    Unimane Kill "The Caucasian"

    Agree, for a couple of reasons. One, it's just a different dynamic as the race/ethnicity of privilege getting called out. Secondly, aside from cracker, the epithets thrown at whites are often more identifiable by class rather than race. Even "white trash" suggests the part about being poor, uneducated and uncultured as the identifiable characteristic. On the other hand, it doesn't matter if they are a doctor or criminal, the word "nigger" encompasses everyone under the umbrella.
     
  13. NashVol11

    NashVol11 Well-Known Member

    To be fair, Lin's Xanga name was ChinkBalla88, so maybe he brought it upon himself.
     
  14. Bassmanbruno

    Bassmanbruno Banned

    Because - [Ban Me] in the armor is a common sports phrase. You're acknowledging the fact that he's asian rather than just a basketball player first. [Ban Me] isn't a word that's in the dictionary (I wouldn't think) and there's a good chance the author likely had no idea that [Ban Me] was a slang term used for asian people. It's not like the word "nigger" - maybe I was sheltered but I never even heard the phrase [Ban Me] used to describe an asian till I was around 18 - its just not something that its tossed around a lot like the n-word is. Pointing it out is drawing even more attention to when it was likely never even supposed to be harmful. It's like that South Park episode about changing the South Park flag - racism will continue to exist as long as stuff like this continues to happen and you try to be overly PC when other people (the real non-racists) don't even consider it racist to begin with because they never even considered the color of the persons skin or ethnicity when reading into a situation.
     
  15. NashVol11

    NashVol11 Well-Known Member

    I don't buy this at all.
     
  16. IP

    IP Super Moderator

    Bassman, that's such a broke-[penis] argument.

    "People use Spanish words randomly in conversation all the time. Him referring to the guy as a 'negro' is no different than randomly saying 'hola' instead of hello."
     
  17. Bassmanbruno

    Bassmanbruno Banned

    what?
     
  18. Unimane

    Unimane Kill "The Caucasian"

    That's ridiculous. People try to pull this "I don't see race" line and it's bullshit every time. I mean, are you blind, you don't notice someone is Asian, black, a woman, etc? And "real non-racists"? Give me a break. If I say something when another person says "nigger", am I more racist for acknowledging the word as racist? Ignoring racism isn't the same thing as not being racist. Just because you were unaware of the nature of the word "[Ban Me]" doesn't make it any less of a pejorative. It just means you are unaware. Besides, it's patently absurd to argue people don't see race and, those who try to argue this, are lying.

    But, this is how racism is done these days. You can't be obvious about it and do the equivalent of burning a cross on your yard. Nope, you do something in which you can deny as racist, even though it may be obvious. Then, you feign some kind of outrage at the "sensitive PC" people and have guys fetch water for you, criticizing the "real racists" for "seeing racism everywhere". It's what I call Plausible Deniability Racism. As long as you work in codes and indirect language, you can say any kind of shit you want and then attack the criticism.

    To the main point though. "[Ban Me]" is racist and offensive. Yes, it does mean the same thing as "nigger" to Asian people. Yes, that guy should have known, or probably did know, that "[Ban Me] in the armor" was not acceptable in regards to someone who's Asian.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2012
  19. Bassmanbruno

    Bassmanbruno Banned

    Lol - first of all - I'm not saying I don't see his skin color - I'm saying that's the ideal situation of where we would want to be if we want to eliminate racism.

    Second of all - you're first paragraph is just BS.

    Thirdly - [Ban Me] isn't nearly as offensive as the word nigger.

    Your second paragraph is what keeps racism alive and kicking - how paranoid can you get? That's utterly insane.

    [Ban Me] in the armor is not racist. Its racist if you want to be an overly PC and overly sensitive doucher. It's racist if there is clear malicious intent in the statement - but guess what? The line fit perfectly with the story but when you have crazy conspiracies about "plausible deniability racism" then racism will always exist - no matter what.. you'll find something else to complain about 20 years down the line.. like focusing on someone's shoe color.... dude goes 7-0 and appears almost godly.. then he loses the game. Give me a break. The dudes xanga name was Chinkballa and you are going to tell me he finds [Ban Me] as offensive as a black person does nigger? Really? And don't start the nigger/nigga debate because it can't even begin to relate.

    I can however understand how someone could find it offensive - but to a point when you're just looking for something to be angry about. Should he have chosen a better line? Yeah - because there was no doubt going to be "plausible deniability racism" hounds out there to crucify him even if it were unintentional.

    I never once claimed ignoring racism fixes racism. That's ridiculous. Ignoring "plausible deniability racism" would go a long way to fixing racism though. Because what that is.. is just garbage.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2012
  20. Unimane

    Unimane Kill "The Caucasian"

    [Ban Me] is as offensive as nigger, you have no [uck fay]ing clue if you don't think so. Either that, or have never met an Asian person in more than just a few hellos. If you have, go call them a [Ban Me], see how it goes over. Tell them to stop being so sensitive while you're at it and it's their fault that racism is still alive because they got offended.

    And, my second paragraph is spot on, sorry if you don't realize this. Saying I'm keeping racism alive by pointing out the fact that people are saying racist bullshit through coded means is patently idiotic. "[Ban Me] in his armor" is a turn of phrase, yes, but it was obviously more pointed because it was in regards to the guy being Asian. The fact that the guy left himself an out by saying "Oh, it's just a common phrase", is exactly the kind of scenario I'm talking about. I don't think the dude's in the KKK or something for saying it, but he can deliver the headline with a wink and a nod, yet show some kind of surprise at people calling him out.

    The Plausible Deniability Racism gambit has actually gone on for many years, dating back to the 1800s even. It's just another example of blaming the victim. That way people can throw their hands up and say "Ugh, they are always complaining. What more do they want?"
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2012

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