The Opportunity America Lost in the Sterling Hoopla

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http://thrivalroom.com/mainstream-media-missed-mark-sterling-racist-hoopla/

The Opportunity America Lost in the Sterling Hoopla

 Dawud Walid
 May 1, 2014

In the recent controversy surrounding Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, there have been some missing pieces that have not been discussed much in the media coverage which we were bombarded with.  Sterling getting a lifetime ban from attending NBA events, his being fined $2.5 million and some corporate sponsors cancelling and suspending support for the team are nice steps.  The lack of discussion regarding the incessant nature of misogyny and structural racism in our society relating to this incident is what disturbs me.

In all of the hoopla regarding Sterling’s racist statements, his sexist statements received little to no attention.  In the leaked audio, Sterling stated to his girlfriend, “If my girl can’t do what I want, I don’t want the girl. I’ll find a girl that will do what I want. Believe me.”  He also said, ““I’m not you, and you’re not me.  You’re supposed to be a delicate white or a delicate Latina girl.”  By these statements and those in which he dictated to her that she couldn’t be seen or photographed with black people shows that Sterling viewed her as a piece of property.

Those who dismiss this by saying that she asked for this treatment because she’s an adulteress are also part of the problem.  One reflection of misogyny in our society is that the standard of morality is squarely the burden of women.  Thus, his misogyny and infidelity have gotten an overall pass on tv talk shows.

The other issue that has been by-passed is the lack of discussion about the deeply saturated and structural nature of white supremacy and racism in America.  To depict Sterling’s comments as those of an old school bigot is an elementary analysis at best.  His justification of how he sees his black players by invoking how black jews are treated like dogs in Israel reflects a greater dehumanization of blacks that is beyond individual bias.  It involves power.

It’s easier for many Americans to get upset about Sterling’s comments than the grosser expressions of it that negatively impact millions of people of color on a daily basis.  Where’s the outrage over Native Americans continuing to be the poorest of this land and suffering the highest numbers of unprosecuted sexual assault (not to even mention the racism they face in our sports culture)?  Where’s the outrage over selective enforcement and prosecution of drug laws, which has our country having the largest prison population in the world with a disproportion percentage of black and Latino inmates?

Unfortunately, no such outrage exists en masse because white privilege allows for non-effective people to not see these expressions of racism that have far greater social costs than boorish comments from a multi-millionaire white racist thug.

When such situations arise again, we should center our conversations on these being symptoms of greater social diseases, not remnants of our so-called sexist and racist past.  We had an opportunity to create a dialogue about deep societal issues and we failed.  The only way we have a chance of defeating misogyny and racism in America is to focus on dismantling and dis-investing from male chauvinist and white supremacist structures instead of primarily focusing on individual bigots like Sterling.

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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