Hank Aaron would have faced worse racism today
Just try to imagine how much more intense and challenging his predicament would have been. Can you picture the potential for incessant racist taunts on Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the blogosphere? In the 1970s, the haters reached Aaron by what we call “snail mail.” Today, in our sped-up-world of modern communications, Aaron would have had no escape.
Racism existed before Aaron challenged the Babe and it continues to pervade our society today, all over the world. I made a cursory Google search to check out “sports racist taunts on Twitter” from 2014 alone and found numerous examples, such as:
“Cops Investigate Racist Taunts at Stan Collymore After He Accused Luis Suarez of Diving”; “Students Suspended After Racial Slurs at Basketball Game”; “Racism Rears Its Ugly Head: Peruvian Fans Shout Epithets at Black Brazilian Soccer Player”
Plus, we witnessed the possible racial overtones in the bullying furor late last year that engulfed the former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, and the reaction to Richard Sherman’s post-game comments after the NFC championships game. Even in those simpler times, Aaron, caught up in a media whirlwind that he did not sign up for, surely paid a price for his lofty accomplishment. Indeed, Aaron had gotten death threats during the winter before the start of the 1974 baseball season. The Atlanta Journal discreetly crafted Aaron’s obituary, just in case.
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No doubt about it, the liberals have gone crazy with their bigoted attacks.
Hank Aaron would have been forced to say exactly what he is told to say by the liberal racists…they would have extracted every ounce of his honor and independence.
Even the demise of the democrat controlled and sponsored KKK hasn’t stopped them, they just now wear a different “hood”.
The hood of diversity…
right2bright on April 7, 2014 at 10:09 AM
They’ve gone around the bend. They still think they make sense.
Mimzey on April 7, 2014 at 10:12 AM
Liberal psychological projection is really starting to bore me.
Rational Thought on April 7, 2014 at 10:16 AM
The only reason someone writes this kind of slop is to present the undercurrent of “I’m not racist” and hope you’ll notice.
Akzed on April 7, 2014 at 10:17 AM
Is ol’ Hammerin’ Hank for or against ghey “marriage”?
Akzed on April 7, 2014 at 10:18 AM
If so, erase him from the record books, and photographs.
forest on April 7, 2014 at 10:22 AM
That’s assuming he’d listen to rap. But on the field he would face far less.
Flange on April 7, 2014 at 10:24 AM
What horseshite. Baseball fans went absolutely bonkers following Bonds, Sosa, and McGuire engage in a season-long home run derby about 15-16 years ago. The strike against Bonds these days is that he generally always was an a**hole and he was downing the juice.
BuckeyeSam on April 7, 2014 at 10:32 AM
What a stupid thing to ponder.
Fallon on April 7, 2014 at 10:36 AM
LOL…
d1carter on April 7, 2014 at 10:48 AM
The only thing I notice is that the people who talk about race a lot seem to judge people by the color of the skin and not by the content of their character.
thebrokenrattle on April 7, 2014 at 10:49 AM
Yeah. I totally agree that US sports fans are a bunch of totally racist bigoted bigots and that’s why all those bigoted bigot KKK white non-motor-sports fans avoid sports with black players and why black player dominated sports are barely watched!
Obviously, the NHL with over 90% white players is the top watched and supported sport among all those bigoted bigots! What? The NHL is #4 by a wide margin among the um, top 4 most watched non-motor-sports in the US? The NFL in which 2/3 of players are black is the #1 watched pro sport in the US for 30 years? MLB with about general population representation of blacks (more if black hispanics are included but the reported numbers vary) is #2? And NBA with nearly 80% black players is #3?
Well, obviously all those bigoted bigots KKK wanna-be whites are doing a pretty darn good job of hiding their racism by taking a lot of time and spending lots and lots of money to pretend to like football, baseball and basketball and not give a rat’s behind what color the players are but instead pretending to evaluate the players on, you know, how well they play. I am shocked and amazed at the lengths those bigoted bigots go to just to cover up their bigotry!
Lucky for Hank Aaron he doesn’t have to put up with all these huge salaries, mass fan adoration and a vast majority of fans who give 2-rips about who held the records he breaks beyond being utterly amazed at his athletic ability to break long-standing records. /s
deepdiver on April 7, 2014 at 10:50 AM
He certainly would have read worse crap today than in 1974 (sh*t-stream media.)
Marxism is for dummies on April 7, 2014 at 10:51 AM
If people like the writers at TIME Magazine, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton weren’t obsessed with race, they’d have nothing at all to do.
UltimateBob on April 7, 2014 at 10:51 AM
Hank Aaron was born in Alabama in the middle of the Great Depression, so I have my doubts that anything we call “racist” today would’ve even caught his attention.
Pincher Martin on April 7, 2014 at 10:54 AM
The Jonathan Martin bullying situation and response to Richard Sherman are examples of modern-day racism? I don’t think so. The response to Richard Sherman was because he was acting like a jerk – and nothing more. I’m so sick of these people. The reason why racial relations are worse today is because the left and the media scream racism whenever anybody criticizes their prince, Barry Obama. They are ripping this country apart.
TarheelBen on April 7, 2014 at 11:12 AM
Seriously , has o done anything to make anyone less racist
if that were their proclivity in the first place ?
Lucano on April 7, 2014 at 11:23 AM
Why would anyone read a far left lies written by race baiters at time?
Freddy on April 7, 2014 at 11:43 AM
It’s always entertaining to see haters wag their fingers about haters.
It’s always the leftist pointing out what everyone is.
Moesart on April 7, 2014 at 11:44 AM
The writer does have a point. But is there more racism today, no. Unless you are white truck driver who accidentally hits a black child who runs out into the street in Detroit and then pulled out of your car, to be beaten into a coma into which may or not recover.
http://theconservativetreehouse.com/2014/04/04/detroit-police-consider-hate-crime-in-race-based-mob-beating-of-truck-driver-as-possibility-of-a-set-up-mob-n-rob-surfaces/
SC.Charlie on April 7, 2014 at 11:50 AM
King Obama, in my opinion has only made race relations worse. He and his party has played the race card far too many times to smear those who disagree with his policies. I could not care less if he was a polka dotted midget with one leg. It is his damn stupid policies with which I disagree, that makes me oppose the man.
SC.Charlie on April 7, 2014 at 11:59 AM
Bullcrap.
portlandon on April 7, 2014 at 11:59 AM
Why is this article coming out now?
Del Dolemonte on April 7, 2014 at 12:00 PM
SC.Charlie on April 7, 2014 at 11:59 AM
And that’s precisely why articles like arise .
I think they call it ” bait ” as in race .
I despise the tactics .
Lucano on April 7, 2014 at 12:10 PM
Sure, we’re all racists and we’ve made no progress since reconstruction.
jmtham156 on April 7, 2014 at 12:22 PM
Andy Warhol had his 15 minutes of fame.
Liberals and Leftists have their minutes of complete, utter, drooling lunacy. Too bad it lasts their entire lives and not just 15 minutes.
chuckh on April 7, 2014 at 12:26 PM
What rot! Between Racism and Homosexual Marriage the spinmeisters on the Left are working overtime setting up hypotheticals that absolutely no one can answer.
http://news.yahoo.com/katie-couric-lbj-daughters-civil-rights-interview-001003293.html
At least Lynda Bird Johnson Robb spoke some semblance of truth when she said back in the ’60s homosexual marriage wasn’t on anyone’s radar. So it’s impossible to determine what someone long dead would think about it now.
Mitoch55 on April 7, 2014 at 12:28 PM
uhmm it is time magazine … not like they have a huge readership ….
that gotta do something to stir things up….
conservative tarheel on April 7, 2014 at 12:33 PM