Andrew Harrison on Kaminsky: "duck* that n****r"

[UConnDan97]

Watching Harrison's dreams crushed 2 years in a row? Priceless...

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

I play in a flag football league down here in Charlotte where most of the guys are African american. Everyone gets called the N word, really no big deal. Part of the language I guess. I don't use it, but it is what it is.

 

[mauconnfan]

As they should. Bottom line is when a black guy says it we know it isn't meant to be offensive. When a white guy says it, it is. It just doesn't matter that there isn't equality in use of the N word. Life isn't that simple.

Nothing is simple here and no one really knows what he meant though. But who cares it's a kid after getting his gut ripped out.

 

[UConnSwag11]

I play in a flag football league down here in Charlotte where most of the guys are African american. Everyone gets called the N word, really no big deal. Part of the language I guess. I don't use it, but it is what it is.

this isn't the street, it's a final four with a mic in front of you... you dont see other schools saying this when they get hounded over and over again about kentucky even when they're not playing them

 

[UConnSwag11]

you know what's worse than this? stephen a smith about to be on sportscenter about cal... im going to vomit

 

[WillB4]

Thankfully it was a black saying this. If it had been a white player, there would have been investigations, protests, and an uproar. Let's move on.

Why should be be able to say that and not face any consequences. A white kid would be pilloried in the press and media.

 

[UConniki]

How about the use of the word duck*, on live tv, does he get a pass on that too ?

 

[CAHUSKY]

Why should be be able to say that and not face any consequences. A white kid would be pilloried in the press and media.

Really. You don't understand the difference? Good lord.

 

[ctchamps]

Why should be be able to say that and not face any consequences. A white kid would be pilloried in the press and media.

How about the use of the word , on live tv, does he get a pass on that too ?

Because there are basically two usages for that word. The first is a young generation slang term without racial implications that can be either endearing or contemptuous. The second is a multi generational use that is only meant as a racially derogatory slur.

A black kid is only using it with the slang intent of a young generation. People will have to decide if he is using it as an endearment or with derision. A white kid could be using it with either implication. People would have to decide if there was a racial slant behind it.

 

[ctchamps]

Really. You don't understand the difference? Good lord.

Some people don't understand it. Which is why I explained it for them.

 

[Huskies2324]

Harrison said it in "jest" so I will surmise that he is nothing but a no-NCAA title winning overrated jester.

 

[CallMeBruce]

I don't understand why so many white folks are so frustrated about not being able to drop N-bombs around. Yes, there's a double standard because black people and white people aren't the same. For those of you who find it confusing that he isn't going to be in that much trouble, here's a tip: Stop pretending to be stupid, and the world will puzzle you a lot less.

 

[joober jones]

You need to strain to hear anything in that clip. He was obviously reacting to a tough loss & while being forced to the podium minutes after his season came to an end. He certainly wasn't making a public comment. It's a joke if anything comes of this…

Just leave the kid alone.

LEAVE ANDREW ALONE! I'M SERIOUS!!!!

 

[tzznandrew]

Some people don't understand it. Which is why I explained it for them.

I wish we could say it was something stupid and move on. But people here always feel the need to make it about something greater.

It was a kid who said something he shouldn't. A black kid about a white kid. It was dumb but it doesn't have the same resonance if Kaminsky said that about Harrison. History matters. But that counter-factual need not have even been brought up.

 

[joober jones]

I wish we could say it was something stupid and move on. But people here always feel the need to make it about something greater.

It was a kid who said something he shouldn't. A black kid about a white kid. It was dumb but it doesn't have the same resonance if Kaminsky said that about Harrison. History matters. But that counter-factual need not have even been brought up.

Well it's kind of like if Ace Watanasurparp got mad at Dievendorf and used an anti-Asian slur against him, or if you had a sandwich you didn't like and screamed "this pizza sucks!" When the term used doesn't logically apply, the severity of the barb is very much compromised.

 

[tzznandrew]

Well it's kind of like if Ace Watanasurparp got mad at Dievendorf and used an anti-Asian slur against him, or if you had a sandwich you didn't like and screamed "this pizza sucks!" When the term used doesn't logically apply, the severity of the barb is very much compromised.

I wish I could like this twice because of the reference to Ace Watanasurparp.

 

[Scoe]

Its over with its time to move on, he apologized already lets move on.

 

[ctchamps]

I wish we could say it was something stupid and move on. But people here always feel the need to make it about something greater.

It was a kid who said something he shouldn't. A black kid about a white kid. It was dumb but it doesn't have the same resonance if Kaminsky said that about Harrison. History matters. But that counter-factual need not have even been brought up.

I think there are people who want to reduce racial bigotry by trying to invent an argument about a reverse double standard (NOT IMPLYING PEOPLE ARE DOING THAT IN THIS THREAD). However there are also people who are unfamiliar with slang, lingo, generational variations of words, insults and so on. These people are sincerely concerned about hatred of any sort. It behooves us to take a balanced approach to these subjects and offer people the benefit of doubt. Which is why I like discourse. Without discourse we can't get to the heart of a our differences. Of course discourse fails with people who are not interested in ascertaining if their arguments are infallible and argue purely for arguing's sake. But even when that group takes hold, there can be value in these types of threads if people who are thoughtful participate in the discussions without getting engaged or entangled with said individuals.

As an aside, one of my pet peeves was when people automatically said someone was PC. It became so commonplace (and many times inaccurate) that I felt it was PC for people to say PC. I've noticed a significant reduction in the usage of this phrase for the better imo.

As a further aside, there is a part of me that enjoys pandering to my base self. For instance I have taken immense pleasure over Calipari's loss and Syracuse's sanctions. Does that make me a better person? Not by a long shot in my opinion. What it does make me is human. And it makes me understand first hand the need for me to have compassion, tolerance and forgiveness towards others, as I hope to have them and myself offer me. This is a valuable lesson on any day including Easter.

 

[donyell34]

Good kid, you guys covered this well. No story; move on.

 

[CL82]

Either way, who cares?

Struggling to understand the rationale behind posting this one.

Because Cal's full year coronation shtick was kind of grating, people are enjoying watching the wheels fall off the bus.

 

[businesslawyer]

Really. You don't understand the difference? Good lord.

Good God. Yes, context is meaningless. All uses of the word -- whether meant to be harmful, meant to be a quote of someone else or meant to be a sign of respect or affection -- should be treated exactly the same.

My son played two years of AAU Basketball. He was called a all the time by black players, sometimes as a show of respect and sometimes just to see if it threw him. It never occurred to him that that made it acceptable for him to call one of his black opponents a back.

Of course, he was just a teenager then. Luckily, we have all these adults to show us how context is irrelevant.

 

[Waquoit]

The first I heard about this was the ESPN crawl saying that Harrison apologized for using a racial slur and thinking "so what"? Who cares about a word like "honky" or "cracker"? When I saw that he said the n-word, I thought it was funny. Something or nothing? Nothing.

 

[CL82]

The N word usage may well be culturally acceptable to Harrison's peers but it is distracting to rest of us. So let's eliminate that issue by substituting the word "guy" for it. Would anyone be okay with it he had said " guy?"

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Some people don't understand it. Which is why I explained it for them.

In 2015, people "don't understand" on purpose.

 

[ctchamps]

In 2015, people "don't understand" on purpose.

I'm not quite as cynical as you are. But more cynical than I've been in the past.