Charles Barkley: We never talk about race until something bad happens
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Source: CNN
The basketball analyst for Turner Sports and former NBA great isn't backing away from comments he made on the radio recently that people who torched buildings in Ferguson are "scumbags" and some blacks degrade successful African Americans too often as not black enough.
Barkley also agreed with the grand jury decision not to indict former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, for fatally shooting an unarmed black teenager. In an interview with CNN's Brooke Baldwin on Tuesday, Barkley repeatedly came back to one point: He doesn't believe that white cops are out to shoot black people because of racism. Everybody wants to protect their own tribe, whether they are right or wrong," he said.
there are too many communities that call for cops to come in and clean up the neighborhood, then cry racial profiling when they do and something happens.
"We as black people, we have a lot of crooks. We can't just wait until something like (the Michael Brown shooting) happens. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror," he said of people in black communities. "There is a reason that they racially profile us in the way they do. Sometimes it is wrong, and sometimes it is right.Barkley also criticized the rioters who set buildings and police cars on fire in Ferguson. They were set on destruction, no matter the grand jury's decision, he believes.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/02/us/charles-barkley-on-race/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
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still_one
(92,454 posts)sports celebrity thinks? Oh, wait. He happens to be African American. Does he live in Ferguson? Does he know how the grand jury was misled?
Maybe the media cannot just interview everyone but those involved with the actually situation. Why not ask Sarah Palin, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Romney, or every other 2 bit publicity seeker.
Essentially, there is no journalism in this country. Hell, there isn't even accurate news reporting. News is just entertainment tonight. No different than survivor
If everyone of the MSM suddenly vanished tomorrow it would be no great loss.
What I do miss are people like Cronkite, Rather, Edward R. Murrow, Frank Reynolds, Huntley and Brinkley, Howard K Smith, Harry Reasoner, and others, who actually cared about informing the public, and getting the story accurate.
What a sham the so-called new media is today.
Legalequilibrium78
(103 posts)By any chance do you live in Ferguson? and are you black?
still_one
(92,454 posts)As for your question, no I am not from Ferguson, and I am not African American, but that the media believes the opinion of a sports figure on Ferguson is relevant shows what a joke they are.
I am not a celebrity and I assume you are not either, so I doubt very much the press will solicit your opinion. or the opinion of the ordinary person
JustAnotherGen
(31,937 posts)I had read All The President's Men many years ago - but I became fascinated with the two reporters this summer when I saw All The President's Men for the first time.
Woodward and Bernstein - let's add them to your list. 
still_one
(92,454 posts)out and worry about accuracy later.
7962
(11,841 posts)Because I'll bet most of the troublemakers DONT live there.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)He is practicing a little trick called "Respectability Politics", pretending that what these people do in a racist society has fuck all to do with how successful they are. It's suit and tie racism by people no one would ever call a racist in their wildest dreams. Read the Wiki page on "Respectability Politics". This is nasty, backstabbing stuff.
...
So yes, you can go into debt to get an education, or play college football, wear a suit and tie to work in corporate America, or serve this country in the armed forces, but so long as you are black you will be subject to racism and white supremacy. You will constantly have to answer questions about your existence and prove that you belong. And in some instances, like that of Jonathan Ferrell, you may not even be given the opportunity to explain.
What’s harmful about the line of reasoning that Lemon, Cosby, Rice, Obama and so many others champion is that they know this reality. They know racism shortens the life expectancy of black people in America. They know there’s nothing Addie Mae Collins, Carol Robertson, Cynthia Wesley and Denise McNair could have done to stop that bomb from blowing up the 16th Street Baptist Church fifty years ago, the same way there’s nothing Jonathan Ferrell could have done to stop the police from tasering and shooting him.
These aren’t simply isolated instances of vicious terrorists or rogue police officers acting in malice. These are the wages of blackness in a society built on white supremacy. We pay in cold blood for a right to live in this country as second-class citizens. We didn’t set the price and certainly won’t change anytime soon, unless those who’ve benefitted for so long finally decide that enough is enough.
...
Here.
One might want to take what he says with a grain of salt anyway. Barkley isn't spoken of well by some very well thought of Progressive folk anyway...
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Like Jesse Jackson when it comes to politics, Charles Barkley has been the go to guy on matters of race when it attaches itself to sports for white folks here in America. This is sad, because it speaks to the frivolous and shallow nature of the understanding of racial issues in America by the Majority population.
Charles Barkley is nothing more than a clown and a buffoon. He is a guy who subjects himself to ridicule by participating in the most vulgar display of abject coonery on a regular basis for the entertainment of his white audience.
Watching him shuck and jive with his fellow studio hosts (who are not much better) during those NBA telecasts is always painful to watch. But at least we know that he is there to shuck and jive. When he attempts to get serious and speak on matters of race it is cringe worthy and embarrassing.
Not to white folks, of course, but to any black person in America who views the issue of race as more than just a sound bite on the radio about "unintelligent" blacks bringing the rest of us down.
...
Here.
JustAnotherGen
(31,937 posts)JonLP24 posted something similar
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025900770
More Barkley comments -
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025895138
More Barkley comments
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025895112
Last one is my favorite -
Quote: And in a marked departure from other prominent black leaders who have questioned tactics used by officers and, in some cases, accused officers of racial profiling and outright racism, Barkley supported police officers, especially those who work in black neighborhoods.
I kind of 'knew' his name - but I couldn't tell you on sight what he does for a living and I wouldn't recognize him on the street. He's not really a black leader . . .
Like he's not someone who has the credentials of a Coates or a Cory Booker or a Harold Ford or a Melissa HP, etc. etc.
And he's certainly not as well spoken or articulate as Chris Rock . . . for example.
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/dec/01/chris-rock-ferguson-bill-cosby-interview
Don't forget Charle's DUI Arrest - I give bravenak to credit to reminding us of this one:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025895112#post6
At the DU link bravenak provided us with this . . .
http://deadspin.com/5121873/charles-barkley-i-was-gonna-drive-around-the-corner-and-get-a-blow-job-
According to the officer who wrote the report, "He told me that he ran the stop sign because he was in a hurry to pick up the girl I saw get in the passenger seat."
The officer continues: "He asked me to admit that she was 'hot.' He asked me, 'You want the truth?' When I told him I did he said, 'I was gonna drive around the corner and get a b**w job. He then explained that she had given him a 'b**w job' one week earlier and said it was the best one he had ever had in his life."
The report says when Barkley was taken to the station, he told one of the employees, "I'll tattoo my name on your ass" if he helped "get him out of the DUI." According to the report, "He laughed and then quickly corrected himself and said, 'I'll tattoo your name on my ass' and then laughed again."
The report also says officers "found a handgun in the vehicle" which was immediately impounded. The report doesn't say if the handgun was legal or not, and the only thing that we know for sure was loaded...
Excuse while I have a Sister Sarah Alaskastan moment -
Charles Barkley says something
and I respond . . .
In what regard Charlie?
Eh? The Republicans will vote for him so that's good for his career. They always ignore that kind of skeevy behavior.
Dyedinthewoolliberal
(15,593 posts)We never talk about race until something bad happens
In this respect he's right..............
still_one
(92,454 posts)he said that.
Trillo
(9,154 posts)that racism was bad, and that when it occurred, it was an extremity, and this was back in the 60-70s. That racism had been a part of our historical past, but that we had overcome that. Perhaps there are localized differences, as it appears the truth is that racism is endemic, in certain areas of the U.S. I'm still not sure what to make of it. It's difficult to reconcile a deeply held and taught beliefs with what we see happening, systematic police mistreatment of certain races.
WhoWoodaKnew
(847 posts)snooper2
(30,151 posts)
heaven05
(18,124 posts)I watched 7-8 white kids fighting in the street, right in front of my house, over something, just as violent, just as expletive laden. And this is supposed to be a quiet neighborhood. Maybe there is just too much violence in the streets, everywhere and per you summation, maybe we should all start turning garbage like this off. That's my take on this obvious attempt at portraying what????? Barkley has nothing to do with this video, does he?
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)DMay
(22 posts)The only way you can arrive at the conclusion, Wilson should not have been indicted, is TO IGNORE THE FACTS, or to be ignorant of them. Take your pick.
Chakab
(1,727 posts)totally bereft of morals, it's Charles Barkley.
http://deadspin.com/5121873/charles-barkley-i-was-gonna-drive-around-the-corner-and-get-a-blow-job-
Nice to know that this buffoon has stepped up to fill Bill Cosby's shoes.
pocoloco
(3,180 posts)Psephos
(8,032 posts)Yes, they're both heinous, despicable acts. Tough to decide which is worse.
But I'm going to take a chance and say that blowjobs are actually ok, and torching buildings during a riot is not.
heaven05
(18,124 posts)
and really not stating reality as lived by a LOT of black people in amerikkka everyday. Our 'bad' is no worse that other races 'bad'. It's just that the rightwingnuts like to make it so. They bring in their FBI charts and quote this statistic or that statistic, but never statistics on how many 'bad' people roam the streets of white communities and in the lily white enclaves, how many crooks reside there with their ill gotten gains from robbing people of their homes and livelihoods. This guy is missing more than a six pack when it comes to reality information. Charles Barkley...
wagepeace
(15 posts)Needless to say, I am heartbroken over the Grand Jury's decision not to indite Officer Wilson (who recently got married, something Michael Browns murdered by Officer Wilson will never get to experience)
I am so tired of seeing women crying over the lost of their sons, their fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles, cousins. Its as if there's been a declaration of "open-season" on black males in this country. Its gut-wrenching to see signs carried by small black children that read "Black Lives Matter" as if by having those words written on a sign validates their existence when this country tells them daily that's not the case. Time and time again police across this country are able to kill black ( and brown) males with impunity and are not held accountable. In the month of August alone five African American males were killed: John Crawford (8/5) Michael Brown (8/9) Ezell Ford (8/11) Dante Parker(8/14)Eric Garner (8/17). This is on top of the LAPD beating of Clinton Alford Jr, the "accidental" killing of Akai Gurley in the darken Brooklyn apartment stairwell the September killing of Darrien Hunt and this past week-end shooting by Cleveland police of 12 year old Tamir Rice believed to be carrying a "gun" even though the person making the 911 call stated that, quite possibly the gun was "fake"
No, this country has gone to great length to prove that black lives have no value. From the wanton lynching of black slaves, the hooded rages of the KKK , the killing of 15 yr-old Emmitt Till for his alleged "flirting with a white woman" the dragging death of James Byrd, Jr.. the LAPD beating of Rodney King, the 2012 shooting of Trayvon Martin by the "profiling-vigilante" George Zimmerman. These cases and thousands upon thousands more demonstrate this country’s deep rooted hatred of the black male, his wife, his mother, his sister, his aunts, his cousins. No matter how many signs are held up, displayed, American history shows that black males are expendable. which leads me to the question: what if it was reverse, what if, white males were being shot and killed by black police officers would the same "No Indictment" "No accountability" whatsoever for said action be accepted... if white women were crying over the loss of their sons, fathers, husbands, uncles, cousins would they take decision with a shrug of their shoulders and carry on with their lives would the same inaction, the same "No indictment" be acceptable, I think we all know the answer to that question.
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)keep some workers marginalized---and trapped in low paying, no benefits jobs that depress salaries for all and give employers more profit. Same for gender.
When we stop talking in code and start talking common sense, then we can get somewhere.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)he believes that only "successful" black people are the good black people. ummmm?,,,,is he still running to be Governor of Alabama?
Ash_F
(5,861 posts)I don't know his story.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)or in congress, charles?
Sissyk
(12,665 posts)Host agree this is not LBN material. Please consider reposting in GD or Good Reads. Thank You!
