Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Time I Needed a White Person

By Victor J.Ward

Some random thoughts:

I am writing, in part, to keep my sanity. The things that I have heard from so-called smart people are either totally asinine -- or I am a fool or crazy. Maybe it's a little bit of all of the above.

Ray Rice and his wife: Everyone wants to condemn Ray Rice for hitting his wife, everyone, that is, except for his wife. If she has accepted his apology, isn't that the end of the story?

There are going to be battered women and all kinds of people who will say that Ray Rice should go to jail and that Ray Rice should never be allowed to play football again because he is a serial abuser. These people will wonder how his wife can live with him. They will warn her that one day he might kill her.

I just love how people who have never met Mr. or Mrs. Rice feel so comfortable telling them how to live their lives.

To all busybodies, know-it-alls, and do-gooders: Mind your own business. You act like there are no skeletons in your past. Please stop. Someone once said:
"Let him who has not sinned cast the first stone."

Please listen to that advice before you continue to spew your nonsense.

Sure, Ray Rice may do something worse. Or he won't. What difference is it to anyone other than Mrs. Rice?

Bruce Levenson, Owner of the Atlanta Hawks: My wife and I go to a fairly diverse church. For those who don't know, my wife is Chinese and I am Black. In the last month, we have had fellowship with couples of the following stripes:

1. Jewish White man/Ethiopian woman
2. Black man/Black woman
3. Pacific Islander man/Pacific Islander woman
4. Half White/Half Hispanic man/Hispanic woman
5. Chinese man/White woman
6. White man/Black woman
7. White Russian man/White Russian woman
8. Black/Puerto Rican man/Philipino Woman
9. Chinese man/Chinese woman
10. Korean man/Japanese woman
11. White man/Vietnamese woman

In regards to the time with the White man/Vietnamese woman, it was the woman's birthday. They invited us and a lot of people over to their home for barbecue. And guess what? I wasn't on the grill; it was a Chinese guy, and the food was great -- better than I could do.

The minister of our church is Black. He is married to a White woman. We meet in Palo Alto, CA. That's in the heart of Silicon Valley, not the Land Of The Urban Primitivism.

Around 20 years ago, I used to work as an intern under the minister's direction. Before our Sunday services, he would meet with all the people who had a role in the service. One of the things that he would regularly discuss was the races of the people on stage. In short, he did not want a lot of Black people on the stage before he got there because he said that we did not want to come across as Black congregation -- which we were (and are) not -- but that it could seem that way if you had too many Black people on stage before the main lesson -- and then had the lesson given by a Black guy.

As the Bible says, we were (are) trying to appeal to "All nations." The minister obviously understood that.

Levenson also wants to appeal to All nations, because All nations have money. Since he can't diversify the players because, well, White men can't jump, he is trying to diversify the crowd. This makes total sense.

With the Atlanta Hawks, Levenson is 100% right: There are certain people, White, Black, etc. who will not go to games because they don't feel comfortable in a predominantly Black setting. Levenson is betting that if he makes his crowd more diverse, he can get more high net worth individuals to come to his games.

I don't know if he is right, but I bet he is.

A couple of months ago, a business partner, who is a Black guy from England (they do exist!), and I were going to make an offer to someone to buy their home. The person that we were going to talk to was an older White woman.

So, my partner contacted one of his friends that was an older person of fairer complexion. This person was able to come into the deal because we thought we needed someone White.

Jesse Jackson was recently in Silicon Valley using his poor rhyming skills in an attempt to arm-twist Silicon Valley firms into hiring more minorities. (Sorry, Asians, you don't count.)

Why is it mandatory to have a diverse workforce in Silicon Valley, but anathema to have a diverse crowd at an NBA game?

More on the Atlanta Hawks -- Danny Ferry, the GM of the Hawks: In a scouting report, Ferry made the following comment about a Black player named Luol Deng: "He has a little African in him. Not in a bad way, but he's like a guy who would have a nice store out front but sell you counterfeit stuff out the back."

What is wrong with what Ferry said? It's his opinion that Deng is a little bit of a hustler. Can't a guy have his own opinion?

Maybe the problem is that Ferry talked about Blacks being hustlers and con-artists.

That reminds me of this past summer. My wife and I were on vacation in the Canary Islands. (It's a nice place, but I prefer Hawaii.) Our trip was winding down, and we wanted to bring back some stuff for our friends. (Actually, that was my wife's idea. I was happy to come back home empty handed.)

As we were walking around, we found some people selling Ray Ban sunglasses. We got a deal: 10 pairs for $70.

I am sure those glasses were legitimate -- straight from Ray Ban headquarters.

What was the race of the people selling us those authentic Ray Bans? Do I even need to say it?

Why do people act like Ferry's comments are not rooted in some truth?


Back to football -- Roger Goodell: This guy is a joke. What he should have done was bring the hammer initially, and then, if facts warranted it, lessened the penalty. It doesn't take a genius to see that it's infinitely easier to go from hard to soft than it is to go from soft to hard.

Although I disagree with the way the NBA handled the Donald Sterling situation, the NBA commissioner made a decision that if he was going to make a mistake, he was going to make the mistake being hard-nosed rather than weak-willed. That was smart. Goodell has totally mishandled this whole thing.

And, in conclusion, back to Ray Rice: This goes to all athletes that might read this: If you are in a PR nightmare, you need to hire me. I will handle your case. I am like Ray Donovan -- except for the killing, the battery, the adultery, and the lying. I will be your male version of Olivia Pope, again, without the obvious moral lapses.

But, you may not be able to handle what I require. It's not that I charge that much; it's what I require of you if you want to be my client: You must be totally and absolutely honest.

Ray Rice should have been the first to admit what he had done. He should have released the video with a statement that said: "This video is disturbing. I have turned myself in to the police, and I am voluntarily suspending myself from the game of football until I have sought treatment for my violent actions. Furthermore, I am going to give $2M to battered women shelters and, after my treatment, I am going to offer to speak to abusers and the absued during my year away from the game. I have told my fiancee that if she leaves me, I will still financially support her as if she were my wife. She has graciously, and lovingly, agreed to stay by my side. I am not worthy of her."

When you are in the public eye, either you will come clean now, or you will come clean later.

Thanks for reading. The world is still crazy, but the loss of my sanity has been slowed.

Victor J. Ward  first came across libertarianism by reading Murray Rothbard's Ronald Reagan: An Autopsy and Walter Block's Defending the Undefendable. He holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

2 comments:

  1. " I am like Ray Donovan -- except for the killing, the battery, the adultery, and the lying."

    lol, great line! I love watching Ray Donovan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Well, because White Men can't jump..."

    Lines like this are what make me love your articles, VJW.

    ReplyDelete