ESPN is at rock bottom...

Who decides whether RG3 meets authenticity standards (besides Harvard)?

Are there televised meetings?

 

Rob Parker, for one.

 

So far, Rob and Harvard.

 

Alma, only Rob can speak about what he said. As for my friends (a few more who are African-American have read the posts), they have found the conversation along here interesting. One pointed out that it's amazing how clueless some non African-Americans are and how gullible they are to believing stereotypes.

 

Snarky, but not answering what I asked.

If you don't want to engage in the question at hand, don't. But I think it's rude to sit there and crap on anyone trying to be intentional about it.

 

Alma, I'm not trying to be snarky. I thought I answered your question.

 

I want to engage. I think it is fucking ridiculous in 2012 to question whether a black guy has a white wife.

Is that non-snarky enough for you?

 

That's a safe answer for you and for your friends, quite frankly, a copout answer. Sorry, but we engage in reading comprehension all the time as adults and, additionally, we're smart enough to know that most people, once they say something controversial or unfortunate, will suggest they meant something else entirely, when, in fact, they probably didn't.

It's easy to sit there and say "clueless" and "gullible." Deadspin does that all day, then suggests the old "fuck all this shit" solution to thinking and being, which, of course absolves them of any real responsibility for a position. But it's not so easy to sit there and actually provide a thoughtful, intricate answer and deal with the consequences of what might be incorrect.

 

Of course it is.

So why did Rob Parker - himself African-American - question RGIII's standing as an authentic black man by ever mentioning it?

 

I'll engage it. Yes, obviously Parker was talking about the authenticity BS. But, why, I have no idea. It's just stupid. It has absolutely nothing to do with RGIII as the quarterback of the Redskins. So Rob might not like him personally because he doesn't think he acts black enough? Who gives a shit, that's Rob's problem.

With the example of the rap performer, like Azrael mentioned earlier, there at least is tangential relevance to his career. If a rap star is perceived to be faking his street cred, it can quickly ruin his career. So, in that context, it might be relevant discussion for someone in that profession. But RGIII ain't a rap star, he's a football player, and that BS doesn't have a damn shred of relevance to a football career. So why the hell are you even talking about it, Rob?

 

Is the answer "Because he's an idiot"?

 

Because ESPN pays him to bark like a Hawaiian Monk Seal - knowing that there is a very small percentage of viewers - like you and the symposium at Harvard, who will rub their chins, and go "Hmmmmm.... Maybe he's got something there.."