Andrew Harrison and Reverse Racism
You may not follow college basketball, but you need to know about this. On Saturday night the Kentucky basketball team was knocked out of the Final Four by Wisconsin, and during the post-game press conference Kentucky's star point guard Andrew Harrison, without realizing that his mic was on, said of one of Wisconsin players, "F--- that n-----." One more thing. Andrew Harrison is black, and the Wisconsin player is white.
Here's the problem. Andrew Harrison is getting a free pass, essentially. Perhaps a metaphorical slap on the wrist. However, if the white Wisconsin player had been the one who uttered those words against Andrew Harrison, he would be crucified. He would be labeled a racist and have to carry that mark with him for the rest of his life. The NBA might refuse to draft him, and companies might overlook him for endorsements.
That's called a double standard. It's called reverse racism. When black people are allowed to say certain words that white people aren't allowed to say because of the color of their skin, that's racism. And the outrage is understandable.
The solution is not to punish the Kentucky player in the same way that a white player would be punished. The solution is to cool down on the accusations of racism. Many in our culture are on a witch hunt for racists, and any time somebody says or does anything that could possibly be interpreted as racially motivated, they are condemned as a racist and cast out -- forever!
But when a person says or does something that is offensive to another race, that doesn't mean they are a racist through and through. That doesn't mean they should be branded a racist for life. That doesn't mean they should be politically and professionally destroyed. Most of the time it means they said something dumb without thinking it through, or said something out of anger that they didn't really mean. Rather than labeling them a racist and destroying their life, they should be given an opportunity to explain themselves and apologize. And we should accept their apology. That's what happened in this situation. Harrison apologized, the apology was accepted, and it is water under the bridge. Nobody needs to be labeled a racist. Let's just move on and learn from our mistakes.
A racially offensive remark shouldn't be the unforgivable sin in our culture. We are all sinners. Let's give Andrew Harrison grace for his insensitive, racially offensive words. He knows he blew it. He apologized. And at the same time, let's extend the same grace the next time a white public figure says something really dumb, especially when they offer a sincere apology and ask for forgiveness. Isn't that the way we all want to be treated?
Here's the problem. Andrew Harrison is getting a free pass, essentially. Perhaps a metaphorical slap on the wrist. However, if the white Wisconsin player had been the one who uttered those words against Andrew Harrison, he would be crucified. He would be labeled a racist and have to carry that mark with him for the rest of his life. The NBA might refuse to draft him, and companies might overlook him for endorsements.
That's called a double standard. It's called reverse racism. When black people are allowed to say certain words that white people aren't allowed to say because of the color of their skin, that's racism. And the outrage is understandable.
The solution is not to punish the Kentucky player in the same way that a white player would be punished. The solution is to cool down on the accusations of racism. Many in our culture are on a witch hunt for racists, and any time somebody says or does anything that could possibly be interpreted as racially motivated, they are condemned as a racist and cast out -- forever!
But when a person says or does something that is offensive to another race, that doesn't mean they are a racist through and through. That doesn't mean they should be branded a racist for life. That doesn't mean they should be politically and professionally destroyed. Most of the time it means they said something dumb without thinking it through, or said something out of anger that they didn't really mean. Rather than labeling them a racist and destroying their life, they should be given an opportunity to explain themselves and apologize. And we should accept their apology. That's what happened in this situation. Harrison apologized, the apology was accepted, and it is water under the bridge. Nobody needs to be labeled a racist. Let's just move on and learn from our mistakes.
A racially offensive remark shouldn't be the unforgivable sin in our culture. We are all sinners. Let's give Andrew Harrison grace for his insensitive, racially offensive words. He knows he blew it. He apologized. And at the same time, let's extend the same grace the next time a white public figure says something really dumb, especially when they offer a sincere apology and ask for forgiveness. Isn't that the way we all want to be treated?
