Letters to the Editor
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Sorry, one reality
Reality is what it is. Perceptions, however, can be varried and even be (gasp!) wrong. White people don't want to believe that racism is still alive and well. It is. Black people want to blame the (white) messenger for bad news about black people like Bonds or OJ. Tough. Don't blame conflicting realities for what are simply irrational and/or self-serving motives on the part of whites and blacks in this country. Instead of throwing up our hands about "differing realities" we have to rub people's noses in reality. That means hard-hitting reporting with no punches pulled and fact-finding over repeating (or flattering) people's opinions. Telling the truth (that Bonds is a cheater and an egomanic AND that many white people root against him out of racial spite--they are not mutually exclusive) is our only way out of this mess.
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Thanks for caring
I wonder what the breakdown is for fans who don't care one way or the other what happens to Bonds? I'm also curious about the breakdown for Mark McGwire. Is he more or less pilloried than Bonds?
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I guess I am a "racist"
Because I don't want a cheating black man to break a non-cheating black man's home run record.
While we're at it, I am willing to say that Roger Clemens is a cheating white man as well, and I am sick of him and wish he would also go away before he breaks the records of some of the racist white men who came before him.
On second thought, I think I'll just watch hockey instead.
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What about Hank Aaron?
I wonder if pointing out that the home run record was already held by a black man would have affected the poll results at all. For example, after asking all the questions about Bonds and fairness, ask
"Did you know that Hank Aaron -- the man who currently holds the home run record -- is black?"
And then repeat some (or all) of the questions again if they say "no". I honestly have no idea if this would change anything. However, it would be interesting to see if some people who support Bonds are doing so because they feel the media is attacking Bonds because they (the fans) are under the mistaken impression that (a) the record is held by a white man, and (b) the media is motivated in part by preventing a black man from holding the record.
Again, I have no idea if this would change anything. But it would be interesting (IMHO).
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The O.J. Jury Was Correct
The cops lied their asses off, and the jury rightfully rejected their entire case.
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I think Bonds is a dick
And he's not someone I want my own kids to emulate, either in interpersonal style or choices. I think he most likely knowingly took steroids, and I think he's most likely very much the kind of person he seems to be in media depictions: petulant, narcissistic, etc.
And. I hope he surpasses Hank Aaron, and I think he should be voted into the Hall of Fame, because I think he's arguably the best baseball player ever. Certainly a top-ten.
Oh, and I'm a white guy.
Here's the thing. I love baseball. I love watching it, and I love playing it -- though at my age I can only manage a little softball now myself. Whatever.
What I don't buy into is the epic mythos of the Grande Purity of Baseball.
Professional baseball is like everything else in America: fundamental grasping and greedy, looking for any edge in making a buck. Bonds is only doing what most Americans do -- looking out for himself. The myth of sportsmanship and fair play is laid bare for the farce it is before we ever get to the level of professional sports, so the fact that Bonds probably cheats and we're all collectively waving our hankies in alarum is just a joke.
What he does is sometimes hit the hell out of the ball, and it's cool to watch. And it's not like the rest of them aren't juiced as well. And it's not like dicks and grasping cheaters aren't a fact of life in the whole history of baseball, and the whole history of America. Hell, the whole history of the world. Who are we fooling by pretending otherwise? Only ourselves.
In the big scheme of things, I think it would be great if sportsmanship really did matter. But it doesn't. It's a pretty word we trot out to rationalize our willful blindness.
So you know what? I don't care. Bonds has been amazing to watch, juiced or otherwise, dick or otherwise. And if Ty Cobb is in the Hall, keeping Bonds out would only be evidence of our hypocrisy. He's good entertainment. He does what he's paid to do, and juiced or not, dick or not, he's done it better than anyone else.
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Is it really racism?
What would prove ESPN (and by extension your)point is showing that how Mark McGwire is viewed. If white people are more forgiving towards McGwire then there is racism. Or, perhaps, maybe the racism comes from the facts that black fans are more forgiving of a black athlete? There are so many ways that this question can be posed and framed. Anyone who wants to find racist intent can very easily do so.
Maybe it's just that Barry Bonds is a cheater and a jerk-off, who happens to be black.
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It is always about race
I lived in Pittsburgh when Bonds came up, and I lived in the Bay Area when he signed with the Giants. Bonds' treatment in the media has always been about race. Yeah, Bonds has been a jerk to sportswriters, but at least part of that comes out of his experience as the son of Bobby Bonds. He wasn't exactly predisposed to believe that a sportswriter was going to give him an even break.
Yes, I believe Bonds took steriods, knowingly. He probably also took amphetamines; those have been around baseball since at least the 60's. It wouldn't shock or surprise me to find out that Aaron took greenies. I also believe that Bonds was far from alone in taking steroids; I suspect they have been pretty widely used, and not just by sluggers. One of the benefits of steroids is quicker recovery; think that might be useful to a pitcher?
And has anybody noticed that after all this, with testing in place and potential indictments still hanging over his head, Bonds still happens to be leading the league in OPS?