Boston Massachusetts, known for being historically racist, lives down to it’s past in the wake of the loss by the Boston Bruins Hockey team in their bid to defend their Stanley Cup crown. Joel Ward, a Black man, scored the winning goal for the Washington Capitals and simultaneously brought to an end the season of the Bruins. For this act of sports heroism, he was showered by a torrent of racial hatred by the Boston Bruin fan base.
Kudos to the white people who quickly stood up and denounced the racist vitriol of the rabid Boston fan base. The Boston Bruins organization, the National Hockey League and the Washington Capitals organization all published statements distancing themselves from these comments and equally condemned them. It has been noted that white individuals took to the Twitter universe to also condemn the racism of the Boston fan base. While we are critical and challenge the minority of white supremacists and their supporters, we must also credit, encourage and support the white men and women who stand up to these racists. Although change is forced from the outside, it must be accepted on the inside, and white people who value right and justice over racism have an integral role in ending racism in the white community.
While it may be self soothing to claim it is only kids hiding behind the anonymity of the internet , the problem is that these “kids” learned their racism from someone, and will in all likelihood teach it to their children. Additionally, claiming that these outbursts are the result of drunken disappointment misses the point. The alcohol and disappointment did not create something that was not there, it merely lowered the inhibitions that held the racist feelings in check. These people were always racist; the alcohol just allowed their mask to slip and the ugliness was revealed. This is part of the sham that is America, this is why a Black guy and a white guy can be drinking beer together one minute, and the Black guy is shot to death and his body dragged the next. It is not enough to simply be tolerant, to merely act politically correct. That attitude only places a band-aid on a festering wound; any unexpected movement or jostling will reveal the infected mess in all its infamy. While some may say it is better to have the person to suppress their murderous urges than to be with an overt murderer, isn’t the person who is suppressing their murderous urges in reality a ticking time bomb? Until there is a fundamental shift in the society and the attitudes of the individuals in it, we will never be past racism and we must always be vigilant.