Wendell Maxey Puttin' In Work

by Ben. on May 22, 2008 9:48 PM PDT Comment 52 comments

Wendell Maxey, your NBA writer over at HoopsWorld, conducted this interview with former Blazer Alaa Abdelnaby who is now putting his Duke degree to work as a radio analyst.

Wendell also brings the draft goods with reports on the Heat, the Cavs, and, of course, the Blazers. Real talk: don't overlook HoopsWorld when it gets to be this time of year.

The Abdelnaby interview struck a chord as I was recently reading Against The World by Kerry Eggers and Dwight Jaynes (a must read for younger Blazers fans-- I suspect those in the 30+ crowd read this long ago) and I came across this strange passage regarding Abdelnaby and the current NBA Executive of the Year, Danny Ainge.

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"We knew Danny was Mormon [Kevin Duckworth said]. I drilled Danny about everything I ddin't know, why there were no black Mormons and that kind of thing. When you're with all black guys, you don't learn aout other cultures. Danny was great. It was like Danny Ainge, the brother.

And during the Finals, when Spike Lee sent along some Malcolm X hats and t-shirts to the Blazers to help promote his new movie, the players made sure Ainge got one. "Danny was part of the team, too," Duck said.

"We called him token, in a light-hearted sense," said Abdelnaby. "I called him 'Ritz' for cracker and he called me 'Mandingo.' I've played with a lot of white people, and I don't know too many other people who could have handled it as well as Danny. That's probably the thing I most respect him for. There was never an inkling of anything from him of racism, of being uncomfortable... I don't think I could have handled it as well as Danny. We would talk black-white relationships. Part of the reason Danny and I got along so well is he was naive to what was going on as a black person. He never even saw the color."

Abdelnaby was of Egyptian heritage, but carried himself much like the team's blacks. "No question, he's more black than white," Ainge laughed. "I used to joke with him that I wasn't the only white guy on the team, that it was me and Alaa. He hated that."

----------------------

Amazing that this passage is from -- Portland 1991. Even more amazing that Ainge has been able to succeed as a player, coach and executive given this perception of him.

Although the Blazers locker room shouldn't be confused with an ACLU meeting house, it is very, very, very hard to imagine this kind of conversation and that type of "nickname" (racial slur) being shared so openly with media members today.

Or am I the one who is being naive?

-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)

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Comments

You're right

I’m surprised anyone openly admitted to calling anyone Rizt. That’s bad.

by mark twain on May 22, 2008 10:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

"thems some straight haired Ritz's"

that’s what he would say about Danny and Sabas, had they both actually played for the Blazers at the same time

by mark twain on May 22, 2008 10:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I see Sabas as more of a

Saltine.

by Sabonis4Ever on May 22, 2008 10:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

All this talk of crackers is making me thirsty

And really makes me miss Sabas. He was so rad

by mark twain on May 22, 2008 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sensitivity

What a great story – thanks for sharing, Ben. Obviously, we’ll all read this one in our own way, but I was struck by how comfortable the protagonists were in their own skin, whatever the color. The “rules” are different in various situations. It’s okay to call Jason Williams “white chocolate”, but probably not in a newspaper headline. It might be okay to call Oden “babyface” or “grampa”, but not “captain midnight”, even though he may be proud of the latter and sensitive to the former. We’ve all worked places where humor had to be very controlled and others where it gets pretty bawdy. It can seem okay to make fun of someone for being 7’, when many are probably sensitive to it. Unless you’re a baller, being 7’ is probably more of a career disability than being 5’2”.

Let’s hope the day comes when we can ALL look back on this and laugh…

by Engineering Problem on May 22, 2008 10:38 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

My Grandpa is Indian and my wifes father is from Portugal. We take great delight in

one upping each other with racial slurs. I would share some of our “best of” slurs but I do not want to offend anyone. Being that we are both a mix of several races there are many options for each of us. Few Americans are of “pure” blood so to speak.

Personally you could call me any racial name and it wouldn’t bother me in the least . Because I look at race kind of like a kid, it is a non issue. I am proud to be whatever I am. I see people, not color. However, I know that many people are very sensitive about their race and out of respect I would never say anything to them that they may find offensive. A lot of it depends on the rapport you have with the person and your intent. It sounds like they were all just having fun with each other.

by oderiferous emanations 74 on May 22, 2008 11:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I second that.

It definitely depends on the type of relationship you have with people, whether or not it matters as much. My friends and I joke around with this kind of stuff, as we’re all different races/ethnicities. That’s just the type of relationship we all have. But we would never go so far as to openly offend someone we don’t know. If people label me, whatever, I think it’s definitely a touchy subject, but it doesn’t phase me in the least because I’ve accepted the differences of myself and the people around me.

Beaver believer!

by mannyfresh1 on May 23, 2008 12:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think

When you become good friends with people of another race, sometimes it can become a big joke. Now, I’d be insulted if one of my friends got called anything with racial connotations, but within a inclosed group, those same things become funny.

Joel Freeland=Stud

by hightide on May 23, 2008 1:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I have a friend who calls me Honky Honey.

He’s one of my two best friends at work. He doesn’t call me that in front of just anyone, of course. I consider it a term of endearment.

"We comin along." Travis Outlaw

by annthefan on May 23, 2008 2:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

you just received

a cow girl hat and boots in my mind.

"I got the goose bumps." - Rudy translated by Alamart

by ratbastird on May 23, 2008 10:42 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah. No tonk.

"We comin along." Travis Outlaw

by annthefan on May 25, 2008 3:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ben,...

I don’t understand your comment, “Even more amazing that Ainge has been able to succeed as a player, coach and executive given this perception of him.”

The perception I get is that Danny Ainge is basically color blind.  Why wouldn't he, as a person who sees people as people, not as races, succeed in a black dominated sport?  And yes, that was an extremely awkward sentence.  Probably had comma splices and everything.

"You don’t visit the coast, then ask where you could get some average seafood." -tominhawaii

by -ken on May 23, 2008 2:23 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

wow, I have no idea what happened there...

Continuing the sentence:

Why wouldn't a person who is so comfortable around other races be a success in a sport that is dominated by another race?

"You don’t visit the coast, then ask where you could get some average seafood." -tominhawaii

by -ken on May 23, 2008 2:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

OK, I give up.

"You don’t visit the coast, then ask where you could get some average seafood." -tominhawaii

by -ken on May 23, 2008 2:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

humm

Sometimes when a too long quote gets put in there is a scroller bar on the comment so people can scroll over and see the rest… But it doesn’t seem to be working for you.

Joel Freeland=Stud

by hightide on May 23, 2008 2:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i guess i meant...

the NBA is a league where race is always lurking. Casually using inappropriate and demeaning names like “mandingo” in reference to your teammates (and in the company of reporters) is just not something i would expect of an NBA General Manager. Consider the amount of player interactions a GM goes through on a regular basis. To harbor those thoughts and that naivety would catch up with you, one would think.

Put it this way, can you imagine Pritchard saying something like this?

"Honor Terry Porter." Email me with your TP stories and memories.

by Ben. on May 23, 2008 8:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

KP the GM? No

But maybe back in the day? Who knows. The Ainge quote was from his playing days and it is just different when you are talking about a management position vs a player position. Ainge the GM probably would never make that comment (I would hope not).

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 23, 2008 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i guess im of the school of thought

that you’re the same person regardless of job title. your core stays the same. to rephrase my above comment….

“It is just not something i would expect of an NBA General Manager to be“

I don’t see KP the player making comments like that and given the tight-lipped nature of most GMs (Isiah of course is always the exception) it’s very difficult to imagine similar statements.

I didn’t post this simply to Ainge bash, but its something to take a serious look at. Clearly this comment was deemed acceptable by his teammates then and reporters then and this kind of talk didn’t hinder his success and career in the NBA.

i think this is revealing about the culture of the NBA.

"Honor Terry Porter." Email me with your TP stories and memories.

by Ben. on May 23, 2008 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

True

But people do learn and grow.

Reading the story I see a close personal relationship. I suspect that strangers or others will NOT receive that type of treatment.

Also, as i’ve taken on growth within an organization my approach changes. I don’t say negative things about other team members to anyone but the team members in private, where back in the day I might start bitching and venting to other peers.

I’ve learned that this doesn’t improve the situation AND as a manager, I don’t have the luxury to bitch over a beer after work like that. My job to find solutions, not complain. My job is to build up the team, not tear it down unless that’s completely unavoidable and ti’s time to rebuild.

my two cents.

"I got the goose bumps." - Rudy translated by Alamart

by ratbastird on May 23, 2008 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ya, what he said.

by oderiferous emanations 74 on May 23, 2008 2:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was reading it differently, Ben...

I was reading a comfortable, joking relationship between two friends, not a racial slur against a black dude. Maybe I’m reading it wrong.

"You don’t visit the coast, then ask where you could get some average seafood." -tominhawaii

by -ken on May 24, 2008 4:36 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

the perception he was reffering to is...

of him being a straight laced so white he’s clear Mormon. there aren’t many of them in the basketball world period. Not to mention none that have had his type of success. Remember Sean Bradley the 7’6” mostly talentless Mormon center? ya I’m a Mormon and i barely do.

by DephlatorMouse on May 24, 2008 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Experience isn't everything.

Ben, you can’t be faulted for not understanding how things were. At the risk of sounding preachy try to get this. In the 70’s and 80’s fresh from the Jim Crow times we were just learning how to coexist. Busing and desegregation politics were new and we were sharing physical space for the first time. Young people had no real experience in dealing with race relations and all we could do was test the limits of our character. The same process was happening in pro basketball I guess. The ABA and NBA were integrated and that affected the game right to the core. These days it seems that people are afraid to test the limits of their humanity. It’s much about other people’s rules for behavior and all the weaknesses of political correctness and it’s even more complicated by the fear ofoutsiders and foreigners that is in the air these days. Race relationships take all kind of forms and I wouldn’t be too quick to judge how that plays out. We’ve come a long way since the beginning of desegregation but there are people who through ignorance I suppose would send us back to the bad old days. Go Blazers.

by noreliefinsight on May 23, 2008 9:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Really?

this was 1991. the nba had been integrated for decades. Michael Jordan was in every living room. Jesse Jackson had already made a relatively serious run at the presidency. Race riots in LA. Ainge had played in desegregated environments his entire life.

I understand banter but I don’t understand Mandingo… this was the 1990s not the 1890s.

"Honor Terry Porter." Email me with your TP stories and memories.

by Ben. on May 23, 2008 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Keep in mind that most of Oregon

was not a hotbed of progressive thinking (and Ainge is a native Oregonian) in those days. And the times were what they were. I am about the same age that Danny is and while I wouldn’t have been likely to trot out the Mandingo verbiage, I do recall other equally offensive things I have said back then. That being said I would never …ever…say something like that to an African American today becuase of my experiences as a manager and my growth (I hope) as a human being.

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 23, 2008 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I gotta say this

Mandingo is a horrible movie. I do not know why I watched that movie. I think I had free HBO at the time.

Two

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I always looooooathed Danny Ainge, even when he was a Blazer.

He had a sense of entitlement that really turned me off. At least I thought so. He was/is whiny and petulent. All of his features are pushed inward toward his pointed nose, which makes him look like the little rodent he is.

"We comin along." Travis Outlaw

by annthefan on May 24, 2008 7:04 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I have no idea if he is or ever has been a racist. I despised him anyway.

"We comin along." Travis Outlaw

by annthefan on May 24, 2008 7:22 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

some thoughts from a former US Marine and (definitely amateur) athlete:

for anyone that read anything negative into the “offensive” names….

In my experience so far, I’ve only seen the kind of relationship described in the article in two places: soldiers (Marines in my case) and the higher-level sports locker room. It’s a relationship that completely transcends the petty detail of race comparison.

It doesn’t gloss over racial differences, or feel uncomfortable about them. Instead, by placing such a huge focus on the ACTUAL value of the men (people) involved in the group, focusing on the REAL qualities of (cliche, I know) teamwork, courage, self-sacrifice, an amazing thing happens.

Racial differences (this may sound strange) are reduced to as much importance as shoe-size, accent, or general personality traits. When this state is attained, using these so -called slurs becomes an exercise in mocking the insanely backwards attitudes of “people who still have significant racial bias”. There may be a slight similarity to a sub-segment of Americans who, at some point, embraced the N-word (in the NWA context) – taking over a former slur, and neutering it.

The relationship illustrated in the article is generally, with both soldiers and athletes, the language of the “inner circle”, of the pack, the group, whatever. You may not understand it, but it IS appropriate if the participants deem it so. Danny Ainge acted properly in his pack, and now that he’s playing a different role, he again acts accordingly. There is no conflict.

This language has no place “out in the world” because it doesn’t mean the same thing there. When used OUT of context, it’s a vote for all the small-minded points of view out there, and is WRONG.

For those of you that feel uncomfortable with this knowledge, your sensitivity is good – it shows you care that we all get along fairly. But put this into context, and you’ll see that it gives us a glimpse into what, hopefully, someday, will be a world where all comments about race will have as much sting as “your feet sure are big – you big foot”.

(sorry if that sounded contrived or sanctimonious, I was just throwin’ it out there) (I hope this post doesn’t get deleted like my first one a couple months ago commenting on the “Nate is making substitutions based on race” nonsense)

Blazers!!

by jerome glide porterworth on May 23, 2008 11:54 AM PDT reply actions 2 recs

Well said and well thought out

BTW thanks to you and your brethern for the sacrifices you made for our country

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 23, 2008 12:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sounds right to me

It’s all about context.

When you get close to someone, you can make jokes with them that you can’t make when you don’t know someone as well. This sounds like a case like that. I’ve made a lot of horrible jokes with my fiance (who happens to be of the Ebony Queen persuasion) that I wouldn’t make with someone I just met. I’ve done the same with friends of various ethnicities and backgrounds. Making fun of the stereotypes and racial myths are funny to me, but obviously can only be done within a certain context.

The intent behind it, the context, the humor, that can be lost in print. In a locker room, a lot of horrible stuff is said. I can imagine how’d it get in the NBA as well. Now, I played a lot of sports in my day, and even at the lower High school level people say stuff that out of context would be taken as simply inexscusable. People get comfortable around each other, they make jokes with each other. It isn’t mean, or racist, or out of spite. It’s bonding to make relaxed jokes out of topics outsiders can take deathly serious.

Certain professions allow for such talk. In some writers rooms for TV or film, you’ll hear stuff that would make some people’s ears bleed. I’ve said a lot of such stuff every single day. In certain environments, if everyone is free to say what they want with a common goal in mind (making sumthin funny, bonding, etc), it’s totally okay. There isn’t any hate in what is said.

I don’t always explain it very well, but I think you did. Context and intent is everything.

If Ainge couldn’t find a way to make friends and talk with young black men from poor areas of big cities that his small-town Mormon upbringing never exposed him to, THEN he’d have a tough time as a GM. It sounds he found a regularly way to interact with his mostly black teammates.

I also know that my point of view is coming from a dumb white kid, so I obviously haven’t had to experience much real racism. When I’ve made racially based jokes with my fiance or friends, it’s coming from a place that is mocking those who believe such things, but as I am not one who has experienced the harm of such beliefs I understand that I do not know the real power of how having such things directed at you with the intent to hurt would feel. I think I’m very careful with things people are sensitive about (politics, race, religion) that do not know me, but with people who I am comfortable with I do not feel the same need. Allll about context.

The larger issue at hand is, I have the best chance at having a kid in the NBA because my fiance is black. Unless someone manages to have two black people (preferrably a male and female) make a baby together… hmmm… does that even work?

I gotta get to work making a baby!! The rookie scale and MLE will be purty sweet in 2028. Luckily, Dave had his baby last year so my kid won’t compete with his for draft position.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on May 23, 2008 1:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wonder about you

Did you know “fiancé” is male to be married and a “fiancée” is a woman to be married?

Once I was camping with some friends and my wife. She was stoking the fire and I asked her if it was easier for her to be close to the fire, because her eyes are already squinty.

Two

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 1:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

reminds me of the South Park dodgeball episode...

which, besides being a good take on the “race thing” had the quote of the Chinese sports announcers clowning on the visiting American dodgeball team:

Short Chinese Commentator: Okay, Kam, looks like americans are getting ready to play. I don’t suppose they’ll have any problems seeing the ball with their BIG American eyes. [laughing]
Kam: Yeah. Good thing they have those uh big eyes so that they don’t have to rely on that amazing American intellect.

My roommate at the time, (a good friend, a confident, “american-ized” baller, who happens to be from Singapore (and of Chinese heritage)) and I just about died laughing, ‘cuz it it cuts to the quick of “we’re all really the same”.

This country has a lot of left-over racial pain, and no amount of over-analyzed empathy is gonna make that go away. We just all have to weather the time it takes to heal, no matter how many years, decades, whatever. All in together now!

Blazers!!

by jerome glide porterworth on May 23, 2008 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I say

And I stole this from my 90 year old Great Uncle, and it’s something he decided as a young man…

Everyone just has to get ‘together’ with everyone else until everyone is the same color. Then we can go back to hating people based on religion alone.

Only, he just said the first part. He decided it in the 1920s! He was a smarty pants. Married a white lady though, so he was a damn hypocrite.

I think that Warren Beatty “Bulworth” movie ripped off my Great Uncle’s idea, but that’s okay. I just have to include that so no one thinks I’m taking an idea from Bulworth.

The fun thing about your wife is that she is easy to surprise, TiH, because she has no peripheral vision. The un-fun thing about mine is that she keeps stealing my wallet :-( And I’m sick of eating Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles all the time.

Oh, different races are so comical, but you gotta hand it to ‘em.

Mortimer

by Mortimer on May 23, 2008 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then we can go back to hating people based on religion alone.

LOL – that’s classic.

ps: Hey, I believe the rule is that each person can only make fun of their own wife, not someone else’s! We covered this, dammit! Now we have to start a new thread!

;-)

by jerome glide porterworth on May 23, 2008 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Khara Said

Kids in school would squint and then ask her if she only see that much. She was the only Asian kid in her school. I don’t see it as racist, just kids asking questions.

Three

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, I Forgot One

My wife lost her ID and had to get a new one. She went to get it in McMinnville and when the DMV guy handed her, her finished ID, she said, “I need a new one, my eyes are closed.” The guy looked at her ID and said, “You can’t tell.” She had an ID with her eyes closed for a couple years after that.

Four

by tominhawaii on May 24, 2008 11:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's okay.

I like playing the victim card. It’s worth 200 points!

I’m used to being hated. Actually, I’m not. It always makes me sad. :(

Well, if people would just believe the right way, then we wouldn’t have anything to worry about!

It’s not my fault you’re a heretic.

I couldn’t decide on just one, so I respond with all four, plus more, if I ever come up with any.

One of Two Official Blazer's Edge Poets Laureate for the 2008-2009 Season

"Scholars have long known that fishing eventually turns men into philosophers. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to buy decent tackle on a philosopher's salary." - Patrick McManus

by T Darkstar on May 23, 2008 8:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I had no idea actually

I will say fiancee from now on, unless you are tricking me, which you are.

I can marry a boy if I want anyways. The state sez we can! HUZZAH!

Mortimer!

by Mortimer on May 23, 2008 2:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man Love is Overrated like the Celtics

Did you know blond and blonde is different?

Three

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man love sucks

by Sabonis4Ever on May 23, 2008 3:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's the best part

;-)

Three

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 3:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This thread has gone south big time

Don’t turn that comment into a man love thing…oh wait…too late I think

"Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors... and miss" Robert A. Heinlein

by 92wastheyear on May 23, 2008 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well said

My experience in the military was very similar. You said it well here, “You may not understand it, but it IS appropriate if the participants deem it so.” It is all about the relationships in play and the context the comments were used in. If it was being viewed negatively by his teammates then it would be dealt with.

These conversations aren’t of the same nature that we would have in a lot of “normal” work situations. If you are out on a forest fire, a military operation or playing professional sports (etc.) these are conversations between people that happen on much more intimate and open terms than most would have with 9-5 coworkers or acquaintances.

I think it’s cool that this was published as it sheds a little light on an interesting topic in the NBA.

by BlazerD on May 24, 2008 1:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You said what I was thinking

PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04

by tssbro on May 24, 2008 10:00 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm with Jerome

It’s all relative. Here people say, “My niece is dating a nice haole boy.” When they get cut off in traffic by a white person, they call us “{expletive deleted} haoles!” It depends on the context. It also depends on the person using the word and their reason for using the word. Interesting stuff. Thanks Ben.

Two

by tominhawaii on May 23, 2008 1:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually Danny succeeding as a GM

would have been laughable at this time last year when he was alongside of McHale and Thomas as the worst GMs in the NBA. What’s that you say? – “Elgin Boylor”? Is he a GM? Does he know it?

Danny got lucky twice in the same year. In three more years he will be fired. I did like Danny as a college player. He made it exciting.

Aldridge said. "We feel like we can beat any team. We feel like we can beat the Spurs, Suns, Lakers, Mavericks, whoever any night right now, and we'll still be here when those teams get old and their guys retire. We're going to be here for a long time."

by lee3022 on May 23, 2008 7:50 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

There SHOULD be a double-standard

Of course there’s a double standard regarding racial language. Someone referenced the nickname “White Chocolate.” Why is that acceptable when calling a black player “Black Vanilla” (or whatever) wouldn’t be? Because whites have been and still are in the position of power, relative to blacks, in this society. When I played in (otherwise) all-black bands, I was routinely called the N-word by my bandmates. That was a term of endearment—an indication that I was accepted as one of the guys. But I never was dumb enough to think that entitled me to use the same term in return.

There SHOULD be a double-standard when one race has been subjected first to enslavement and then to generations of instituitionalized discrimination. Given that history and the on-going aftermath, whites can afford to take jokes about their race in stride—blacks can’t.

Having said that, I actually came away from reading the Abdelnaby interview excerpt thinking better of Ainge than before. I still think he’s a jerk-I always have-but at least he doesn’t seem to be a racist jerk. It isn’t like he went around calling his black teammates “Mandingo.” He called one PARTICULAR teammate-who was a close friend and who had already dubbed him “Ritz”-that name.

In that kind of context, using racial humor can be liberating—a way of saying, “We’re so tight we can break all the rules and not worry about offending each other; our relationship transcends all that bull**. We trust each other that much.” Something like that. The fact that Abdelnaby considered Ainge to be colorblind is what’s critical. Context is everything, and clearly Ainge correctly perceived that it was OK in that unique context for a white person to direct racial humor at a black person. In VERY rare circumstances, that’s acceptable. But for the most part, it’s better to leave it alone.

Speaking of which, I would NEVER use the N-word in any context whatsoever, nor should any white person, IMO. There’s just too much darkness, too much evil history associated with the word. Lenny Bruce famously tried to rob the word of its power by repeating it over and over again until it became a meaningless sound. That was a noble experiment, but I’m afraid it failed.

"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla

by hurryup09 on May 25, 2008 4:00 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs