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Mr. Sterling may be the greatest douchebag alive today, but it is somewhat amusing to see that somehow saying something somewhat "racist" now trumps felony wiretapping laws. Didn't we once impeach a president over wiretapping? Of course, he was an evil white guy, but...
First of all this wasn't a case of wire-tapping which is a third party surreptitiously electronically listening into the private conversation of two or more individuals. What we do possibly may have is a case in which one party recorded a conversation between themselves without everyone consenting which in California is a misdemeanor.
What about all this kerfluffle makes me think that this was a shakedown by a jilted ex at her former sugar daddy? This girlfriend who was sued in court by Sterling's wife to return the Lamborghini and Ferrari and pricey apartment given to her by Sterling.
The only sympathy I have is for people that are deceived by those they trust. The GF had been with him since 2010 and suddenly she wants to coerce him into making non-PC comments that she can record and give to TMZ? It sounded like she was reading a script and Sterling was like "why the hell are you asking this crap". That's pretty slimy - especially when it's done to the elderly. And yes, even though the media has made him a monsterous villain - he is still an elderly person that was deceived and financially harmed by a much younger person.
And I'm also sure that 99% of people have said things in private that if recorded could have them in Sterling's position if they owned a business.
In the State of California, don't both parties have to give consent to a phone call? Shouldn't this lady and TMZ be held liable?
I bet the NAACP is PO'd. They had a pretty good gig going with Sterling. Sterling could remain a racist as long as he kept writing them checks. I hope they kept the receipt from the trophy store they contracted to make his NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award they were going to present him in 2 weeks.
The big question will be whether the Democrat politicians who took his money will give it back.
It sounds like you are confusing survival instincts with racism. Should people stroll around totally blind to the world around them?
I think your response says it all. The mere fact that your feel survival is threatened when you see a black person is exactly my point. Of course you shouldn't ignore that, you should react. But if asked if you are a racist, say "yes" and accept it. I'm not saying being a racist is bad or good. I'm just making an observation that in my opinion, everyone (sure there are exceptions) has some fear/animosity/hate towards people of races other than their own that exists solely because they are different. that means whites are racist no more or less than black or Hispanics. I think we could all get along much better if we simply accepted our differences and quit trying to hide and saying it doesn't exist. In the old days we admitted it, but we went too far when it became physical. Nowadays we just lie about it and say we have changed. I call bull****!
I think your response says it all. The mere fact that your feel survival is threatened when you see a black person is exactly my point. Of course you shouldn't ignore that, you should react. But if asked if you are a racist, say "yes" and accept it. I'm not saying being a racist is bad or good. I'm just making an observation that in my opinion, everyone (sure there are exceptions) has some fear/animosity/hate towards people of races other than their own that exists solely because they are different. that means whites are racist no more or less than black or Hispanics. I think we could all get along much better if we simply accepted our differences and quit trying to hide and saying it doesn't exist. In the old days we admitted it, but we went too far when it became physical. Nowadays we just lie about it and say we have changed. I call bull****!
You make a number of good points. The bolded part is why I find true racism (regardless of race) disgusting. Race is something that cannot be changed. It is something that is determined from the day you come out of the womb. It is truly incomprehensible for me to blindly hate (or even just merely dislike) someone merely because they are White/Black/Hispanic, etc. This is also the reason why I don't like blanket statements that just because you are a minority, you agree with racial hatred involving your fellow minorities.
If the taped conversation was made illegally and that isn't addressed, then the lesson learned will not be anything regarding racism but that the ends justify the means.
A lot of people hold views that are contrary to the basic principles of equality for all human beings but does that provide for using illegal means to make those views public without their consent? If we hold that is acceptable, then I say there isn't a person walking the earth that if their private views were exposed for all, we'd hold many of them in an regard higher than the person being discussed in this thread.
If we have taped conversations of most of those up in arms over this, we'd probably find that few if any didn't say things equal to or worse than that reported in this situation.
When the ends justify the means, the ends mean very little. We can deplore this individual's comments and views on Blacks but if we then also embrace the illegality of how those comments were recorded, what we've done is taken away the civil rights of one person because it was expedient to reveal their personal views, which unless they are implemented as actions are not illegal.
If the taped conversation was made illegally and that isn't addressed, then the lesson learned will not be anything regarding racism but that the ends justify the means.
A lot of people hold views that are contrary to the basic principles of equality for all human beings but does that provide for using illegal means to make those views public without their consent? If we hold that is acceptable, then I say there isn't a person walking the earth that if their private views were exposed for all, we'd hold many of them in an regard higher than the person being discussed in this thread.
If we have taped conversations of most of those up in arms over this, we'd probably find that few if any didn't say things equal to or worse than that reported in this situation.
When the ends justify the means, the ends mean very little. We can deplore this individual's comments and views on Blacks but if we then also embrace the illegality of how those comments were recorded, what we've done is taken away the civil rights of one person because it was expedient to reveal their personal views, which unless they are implemented as actions are not illegal.
Donald Sterling is a racist moron and a cheap bastard to boot.
This Guy for years was allowed to run the clipper organization like one of his slum buildings
A short history of Donald's racist rants
Quote:
Donald Sterling's tenure as owner of the Los Angeles Clippers has been loaded with allegations of racism and generally deplorable behavior.
While the overtness and tone of the racism on the tape that leaked this weekend are shocking, it's no surprise that Donald Sterling said horrible things about black people.
The NBA, under David Stern, tolerated it for years.
In a 2009 wrongful-termination lawsuit that was eventually rejected by a jury, former Clippers general manager and NBA legend Elgin Baylor claimed that Sterling had a "plantation mentality."
From Baylor's lawsuit:
“[Sterling] said, 'Personally, I would like to have a white Southern coach coaching poor black players.' And I was shocked. And he looked at me and said, ‘Do you think that’s a racist statement?' I said, 'Absolutely. That’s plantation mentality.'"
In the suit, Baylor also claimed that three top Clippers players — Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, and Corey Maggette — complained to him that Sterling was bringing women into the locker room to look at the players, and once said to one of the women, "Look at those beautiful black bodies." In 2006, the Department of Justice brought housing-discrimination charges against Sterling for allegedly refusing to rent to African-Americans at his Los Angeles residential complexes. The suit was settled three years later for a record $2.75 million, with Sterling avoiding an admission of liability.
In sworn testimony, one of Sterling's top property supervisors Sumner Davenport claimed he made racist comments about black people living in one of the buildings he had just acquired:
"That's because of all the blacks in this building, they smell, they're not clean. ... And it's because of all of the Mexicans that just sit around and smoke and drink all day."
Davenport also told a story about Sterling saying "just evict the b----" when a black tenant complained about water damage (via ESPN's Peter Keating):
"Kandynce Jones' refrigerator dripped, her dishwasher was broken, and her apartment was always cold. Now it had flooded. Davenport reported what she saw to Sterling, and according to her testimony, he asked: 'Is she one of those black people that stink?' When Davenport told Sterling that Jones wanted to be reimbursed for the water damage and compensated for her ruined property, he replied: 'I am not going to do that. Just evict the b****.'"
In a 1983 incident, prospective Clippers coaching candidate Rollie Massimino says that Sterling used the N-word in an impromptu interview at LAX (via Jeff Pearlman):
“Here’s this guy, and he has this blonde bimbo with him, they have a bottle of champagne, they’re tanked. And Don looks at me and he says, ‘I wanna know why you think you can coach these n*****s.’”
Sterling also has a history of saying strange and insensitive statements about women. In a 2003 lawsuit against a former mistress, Sterling talked about paying the woman $500 every time they had sex:
"When you pay a woman for sex, you are not together with her. You're paying her for a few moments to use her body for sex. Is it clear? Is it clear?"
There's also this absurd exchange, from that same deposition
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