Bradley Sure He Can Handle Chicago Cubs Fans' Taunts (Dawson: home, stadium)

[quickdraw]

Bradley was a known piece of s*** before he got here. Cubs gambled and lost.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

...I think those unsanctioned vendors on Sheffield need a shirt that says, "Hey Milton, we're not racist! We just hate you!". Or something to that effect.

How about "We don't hate you because you are black Milton-we hate you because you SUCK?"

[Manigault]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

If someone yelled out the n-word at Wrigley, they would probably be asked to leave or attacked. I've never heard anything close to a racial slur at Wrigley in the dozens of Cubs games I've attended.

I seem to remember an incident of a black woman subjected to racial taunts from the Wrigley stands last year, if you wanna be accurate.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Manigault

I seem to remember an incident of a black woman subjected to racial taunts from the Wrigley stands last year, if you wanna be accurate.

Link?

[whinniethezen]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Keep it up. Really. How childish. You are purposely attacking/mocking me by spelling my screen name wrong.

Sorry about that Avenger, I was typing too fast. Are you always this sensitive and defensive? Has the big city life taken a negative toll on your soul?

[whinniethezen]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Link?

Why do you even ask for links? Whenever they are provided you either don't acknowledge them or dismiss them in any way you can. There have been SEVERAL incidents of racism at Wrigley Field in recent years. That is a documented fact. Just because you don't pay attention at games and are on your cell phone!!!

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by whinniethezen

There have been SEVERAL incidents of racism at Wrigley Field in recent years. That is a documented fact.

If you had said "alleged incidents of racism", then you could call that a documented fact. Otherwise you can't.

I still don't believe that overtly racist behavior is typical at Wrigley, and certainly don't think the label of "racist" should be attached to Cubs fans even if a few racist people happen to buy tickets now and then. I've personally never seen anything remotely close to a racist incident at Wrigley Field in the dozens of games I've attended, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I think some of us remember that Wiener's Circle video from This American Life, and it would not suprise me to hear that some young drunk people get out of line in the bleachers. I'm sure many of the people in the linked video attend Cubs games.


YouTube - The Weiner Circle

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by whinniethezen

...Are you always this sensitive and defensive? Has the big city life taken a negative toll on your soul?

Not at all. It is more a case of your ridiculous posts taking a toll on my patience with YOU.

[SJaye]

Originally Posted by whinniethezen

I appreciate your post and I sincerely apologize if I came off wrong.
I am not some whack job extreme left activist looking to poke the bear. I was however concerned and very appauled when I heard these ugly stories on ESPN and online of African American baseball players being demeaned from the stands at Wrigley Field in Chicago. In my book it doesn't get much lower than that and yes it should be chatted about online, and everywhere, because this is probably going on in other cities too. There didn't appear to be anyone in this forum even talking about it before I posted this!!!???? I'm also sorry you think I'm trying to make you feel gulity. Simply not the case. Despite what avergerfir said, I'm Irish as a shamrock and my husband who also posts here has Latino roots. I am not African American!? That said....
I feel like you might be have been reading into this just a wee too much. There is no "tactic" here. This is a city forum. Discussions of social issues like racism are held here for every city every day. It is just a discussion, not meant to make someone feel guilty or to put down the Cubs fans, and in no way should Angelfire or anyone else here feel that this post reflects poorly on the entire city of Chicago. It is very interesting that these people, probably white, get so defensive. You'd think I posted a thread that said "So is Chicago really the underground headquarters for the KuKluxKlan"
It's far from that. It's an observation that for the last few years at Wrigley Field, players are hearing racial slurs yelled at them. Particularly black players. I'm not saying it was you or anyone here. What are the odds of that in a huge city like Chicago haha? The thought behind the post is just to ask why do you suppose this is being reported out of Chicago so much??? I think I even started the thread wondering if the media was conspiring.
No hard feelings?

No hard feelings. My suspicion that you were one of those race baters who wanted hear the white guilt routine was primarily based on past associations/ interactions with people who have claimed to be activists against racism, or something like that. This forum came across to me as one of those *here we go again* type moments, like when your wife accuses you of getting too many crumbs on the kitchen counter, and you just think -okay, this conversation again, I'll apologize, pretend to feel guilty and move on. As I said before, I am willing to have a real discussion about race. I even admit having heard people make racist comments, so it is not too terribly hard to believe that there are some baseball players that have encountered it.

That being said, Milton Bradley, though, is a loser. In the Sun Times article, he complains about people commenting about him behind his back at resturaunts, etc. I can't help but think he has assumed that their comments are about his race when they are really about his poor performance. As a Cubs fan, I am embarassed when he loses baseballs in the sun given that he makes $3 million. They need to create something that represents the opposite of "Web Gems" just for Bradley. Cubs great Ernie Banks, was known for saying "let's play 2". This was in the 1960s, when racism was probably more prevelant and more tolerated than it is today. He WANTED to be out there for 18 innings. Now, Bradley is PRAYING that he only HAS to be out there for 9!

Anyways, I think the hard feeling are based on the asumption that there is some kind of acuzation that Wrigely Field is quite racist. I've heard racist slurs yelled at both Wrigley and the Cell, and in both cases, the offender got removed from the Stadium. As we have seen with the gentleman who poured beer over Shane Victorino's head on the 12th, the Wrigley Field crew is not always correct, and doesn't always remove the right person from the game. There are probably some incidents that go unpunished.

My goal would honsetly be for less emphasis to be placed on race. Ignoring that fact that there are different races, different cultures in this diverse city would be bad, but I think it is also bad for someone's race to be the primary contributor to their identity as percieved by others. Last weekend, I was walking down Clybourn and I saw a black man wearing a Cubs hoodie. I thought of this forum, and the issues we are discussing. I would like my first impression of the man to be "fellow Cubs fan" rather than "black man". I am not going to be unrealistic about this, but I believe there are some tactics that help move society in the right directions and others that move society in the wrong direction. Your thoughts??

[whinniethezen]

Originally Posted by SJaye

Last weekend, I was walking down Clybourn and I saw a black man wearing a Cubs hoodie. I thought of this forum, and the issues we are discussing. I would like my first impression of the man to be "fellow Cubs fan" rather than "black man".

Glad we can now have a more productive conversation.
You and I and others "would llike" it to be that way in a perfect world of sunshine and rainbows, but admittedly the first thing you saw was "black man". That's the way the world works is it not? Politically correct people talk about things like "being color blind" but here it is--you saw a "black man" first, then fellow Chicago Cubs fan. Not that it is wrong, it's just the way it is right? You weren't necessarily judging him because of his skin. It's also sometimes the first thing a black man sees--this guy is white, do I trust him? Is he just another racist cracker?
But getting back to the original question. Why is this reported so much out of Chicago????????????????????? Are these numerous black ballplayers conspiring to allege that they are being verbally attcked by racists? This is like the fourth story I've heard about this happening in Chitown and we live in CA.