Penn State basketball coach

[dystopiamembrane]

So, I know I am probably behind the times on this, but I am confused.

It’s certainly a strange way to phrase personal improvement, but I question whether the coach was referencing lynching in his conversation with the player. I assume he was trying to use some sort of liberatory metaphor, like an evangelical might use when describing how their life changed – terms like ‘freed from bondage’, ‘breaking the chains’, etc.

This sounds like the cancel culture thing y’all talk about?

espn.com article

[gUrthBrooks]

So he wanted to help the kid, as his real intent, right? He chose a poorly worded metaphor in doing it. The intent was to help, not to harm. It may have harmed, I’m not saying that it didn’t, I’m just saying that the intent was to help.

In the end I think that people who get offended should be offended because that is what they choose. The rest of us can move on and try our best.

[dystopiamembrane]

Agreed.

[Stone]

“Coddling of the American Mind” is a great book addressing this topic.

[Charlie]

Incidents like this may discourage coaches and teachers to have zero conversation about any subject outside their hired roll. I don’t know what the other issues are however; this single issue should not result in anything other than some offline advice to improve sensitivity. The older generation is very accustomed to graphic metaphors to enhance conversation. The younger generation that has not been spanked, has not even been scolded, is very sympathetic to any complaint. That coupled with an attitude by some to take any complaint to the point of a movement may create an unhappy world. I think it is very important to look below the surface of a single sentence to determine the difference between an attitude of hate and hurtful intention and simple conversation with no malice intent.

At work during problem solving, I once indicated there was more than one way to skin a cat. A lady in the group asked me offline to not reference something that would hurt a cat. Thankfully, she made that request to me rather than a complaint to HR. The world I knew as a draftee in the army and the world we live in now are actually worlds apart. Can we improve our sensitivity to others somehow without a hurtful intent to make ‘slow to change’ folks pay such a great price?

[Utah]

Your story is not a bad one. I’m glad you listened to your co-worker and adjusted your language. It’s that simple. 

The problem here is the coach used the poor word choice then didn’t apologize and instead made excuses for his bad behavior instead of correcting it. BIG difference. 

[PhiladelphiaUte]

I disagree.  The problem wasn’t that the coach used a poor word choice.  The problem is that Bolton is just a complete total pussy!  In the Chambers-Bolton case, it sounded like the coach was trying to help the young man, and that young man turned around and bit his head off — accusing him of being a racist.  Chambers never used the word “lynch”.  That was just Bolton putting words in his mouth.  And it’s not like the gallows were exclusive to Black slaves.

Plus, Bolton was never a slave.  Ergo, the only “racist” here, was Bolton himself.

Complete. Total. Pussy.

[Utah]

Jesus. And people upvoted you? Christ. 

[Utah]

No. Not at all. This is such a simple, stupid thing that it STUNS me that people can’t understand it. 

Black people were hung. For being black. That’s it. Murdered. Is it so hard to not use that metaphor? Homosexuals have been killed for being gay. Is it so hard to not us the word “gay” as a slur? Same with the word retard and many, many other words. 

This doesn’t restrict your job. It doesn’t hamper the way you can help out kids. It doesn’t change the ability to give good advice and teach and nurture and spread good. 

But it does create an environment where all are welcome and instead of a kid feeling so uncomfortable and uncared for he transfers, then that is a good thing. 

You’d think a message board full of people who don’t want to be called mormon anymore, would get this simple, simple concept. 

Don’t make references to murdering black people. Don’t use slurs. Respect the wishes of other by saying LDS. 

We all need to be better about this. Myself included. It’s so simple and how anyone can be upset over this stuns me. 

[Author]

Posts