My buddy is a fan of the Phoenix Suns (but I love him anyway, harf harf harf), who wrote a number of articles for "thebrightsideofthesun" on SBNation.com. However, last week, after posting a commentary about censorship and tolerance, his post was deleted and he was banned from further participation on that site. In short, he was censored and not tolerated.
Because it is provocative, topical, and touches on one of my favorite topics - control through language manipulation - I felt his banned commentary deserved posting here. I can only guess that some reader of this blog skimmed the post, saw it used the word "gay" a lot, and while missing the point completely, deemed my friend to be a hate-monger and reported him to whatever entity controls the site. Then that entity went ahead and banned him, while not actually reading it either. But you can judge for yourself.
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"Why Censorship, The NBA, & Grant Hill are gay".
Once upon a recent time, Kobe Bryant called someone gay. I have no idea if he used the word gay, or something some would find more derogatory, like faggot or queer. For his non-crime against no specific person, he was fined $100,000. That is a lot of dinero. There may very well be some other instances around the league, but I did not bother wasting my time looking into it because it is ultimately irrelevant. What is confusing here is that the NBA is trying to promote tolerance, while being intolerant.
I do not know when it came out, but Grant Hill and Jarred Dudley were involved in an NBA commercial urging individuals to use the word "gay" as only a term for homosexuals. I did not bother to verify whether or not Steve Nash did a similar thing, but I heard he has. To my fellow Sun's fans, let me say, "BAMF is the BAMFiest of any BAMFer who ever tried to BAMF". I would like to apply that statement to both Steve and Jarred. Classy is another word I would like to use for these three. Do you recall Grant's response to Jalen Rose calling him an "Uncle Tom"? Remember how powerful that answer was? Where is that response to this issue? I can tell you. It's missing. Because of that, gay is the word I am using to wrap up my feelings about these commercials. Gay, gay, gay.
It is fine that these three are involved in the NBA commercials. The NBA, and subsequently, the teams and players, have a desire to present themselves in the best manner possible. Totally cool. It's why they acknowledge things like Hispanic Heritage (Los Suns anyone?). It is why they do any number of promotions. To be an all inclusive organization. Fantastic. But let's be a bit more honest with ourselves.
When the NBA, government, individual, and so on and so on, engage in telling people how to use a word, they are not being active participants in a conversation. They are trying to control the use of words and their definitions, or, to cut to the chase, mind control. It is your individual responsibility to decide how you will use a word.
And seriously, how many openly gay players are in the NBA? Zero at my last count. Who is the NBA defending here? Why is it a big deal when the Phoenix Suns' executive Rick Welts admitted to being gay? Because this is not about tolerance, it is about controlling how you think.
What did the Kobe Bryant incident show us? He used a slur, got fined, there is no actual victim, and behind the scenes, anti-gay sentiment remains within the league, teams, and locker rooms. Let us even be more clear. Kobe Bryant is an American Citizen, who has the right, per the 1st Amendment, to say stupid, stupid things. Even in the NBA, this right cannot be taken away. It doesn't matter what K.B. actually said. What ever it was, that word does not say anything about homosexuals, at all. It only exposes the mind from which those words came. Same with any other word. So, where is the tolerance for morons?
Finally, words gain, or change, meaning within the context (society) in which they are used. The "N-Bomb" has a different meaning within black culture than it does white culture. It is viewed differently now than it was 200 years ago. I may only be 31, but I remember when "gay" meant happy. Anyone else? Throughout society, with the way words, change, or add, meanings, "gay" has become synonymous with homosexual. "Gay" is now adding on the definitions of stupid, idiotic, and so on. But really, what's the problem here? By the NBA, Grant Hill, Steve Nash, & Jarred Dudley making these 'gay-mercials', they are showing a distinct lack of tolerance while simultaneously pretending to endorse it!
I think the most important lesson here is the one we were taught as children. I believe it goes something like, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me". But don't take my word for it, I'm really gay.
We could probably all name a ton of sayings we are tired of, and I certainly have my fair share. But one lately has vaulted to the top of the list for me, and needs to go, post haste. It's not just a saying, but a specific use of it with a punchline.
