I said that I wouldn’t do this. This is not an easy article to write and one that will undoubtedly draw some negative comments. However, there seems to be an appetite for a continuing discussion of the events that occurred during the game on Thursday night.
In my opinion, the two guys who turned up at the Bell Centre in blackface and costume have already received more than enough attention.
Do the two deserve criticism? Absolutely! They have received universal condemnation, and deservedly so.
But, if their intent was to offend, the last thing that should be done is to repost the photo of their faces everywhere to assist with the mission.
Having said that, I don’t believe that their intent was to be hurtful. It appears that it was a botched attempt to show their support for P.K. Subban. That statement shouldn’t be misinterpreted as excusing their behaviour.
The lads have been labelled as racists for their actions. I’m not sure that I’m ready to make that call simply based on their poor choice of costume. They are certainly guilty of being insensitive, and ignorant to how their actions would be received.
Did they really have racist intentions or is it a case of terrible judgment and overzealous support of Subban?
I understand that the two guys called a Montreal radio station on Friday morning to explain themselves. I did not hear their comments directly so will refrain from offering an opinion.
It is somewhat ironic to me that this discussion is taking place in a province where discrimination is built into its legislation restricting personal freedoms and choices under the guise of protection of culture and language. But let’s not wade into that political debate. That’s a topic for a different forum.
I will state, however, that I am equally disturbed by self-righteous comments from so many who are quick to point fingers but blind to less obvious forms of discrimination that surround them everyday.
People outside of Montreal have taken a ‘never in my backyard’ stance to somehow assert their moral superiority.
Some in Montreal have taken it upon themselves to criticize their fellow media members for putting the two guys on camera during the television broadcast. Apparently they fail to see the hypocrisy that their criticism appears next to a photo on their website placed with the knowledge that it will drive traffic to their site.
It seems to me that we should be careful not to overlook more subtle but more dangerous forms of discrimination. That is to say, shouldn’t less obvious prejudices with a root of ill-intent be more disturbing than two jokers who did something stupid without malice?
On the very night of the blackface incident, there was an interesting exchange between two veteran reporters posted on another Habs’ blog site. It was in reference to the excellent play of the two Kostitsyn brothers – Sergei was selected as first star, and Andrei had the winning goal in the shootout – complaining about having to interview the two Belarussians after the game. (Names have been removed)
- “A game like that,” H sighed, “and now we have to interview the Kostitsyn brothers.” I didn’t stick around the room long enough to hear clichés tumble out of the mouths of Sergei and Andrei in halting English.
I doubt that anyone even blinked reading these comments. Does anyone believe that the two reporters were approaching the interviews in an open and non-judgmental way? Can you imagine the firestorm if the same words were ever said about someone with similar linguistic difficulties from the ‘home province’?
I think it’s reasonable to state that the Kostitsyns have received less than fair treatment by some fans and the media and that much of it is based on language and ethnicity.
But here’s the question: is this discrimination? And is it a more serious deep-rooted form of prejudice than the misguided stunt of two kids?
I’m not sure that I’m ready to pass judgment but the questions deserve attention. Perhaps the outcome of this unfortunate incident should not be to be to pile on and point fingers, but to examine our own less obvious attitudes of prejudice.
well said Rocket.
the 'never in my backyard' comments across the rest of Canada are hypocritical and a bit much.
Montreal is still a class act city in my books!
Great blog. It's sad that on a habs blog, we have to even discuss these types of incidents. We should be talking about our love of the game, our love of the habs; yet we are forced to talk about racism and discrimination. It's almost disgusting. Though maybe their intent wasn't to be hurtful, or to cause question's of racism, it really doesn't matter; because we (the fans and the media) are left questioning their integrity and their intent, and isn't that what matters to the masses?
Let's hope we don't see another incident like this–let's focus on our team: bleu, blanc et rouge.
Go Habs Go
A fellow blogger and fan, Derek Lachine
Oh yea, I did blink when I read that comment by "H" about the pain of having to go interview the Kostitsyns…and promplty closed the HI/O site (I was just so tired from it all). What, half our team doesn't speak English as their first language, so I was confused how this would be a problem.
Ignorance, discrimination, prejudice… From the journalists to the fans who think it's absolutely normal. I've seen a few "go back to your reservation" tossed at Price… People just don't get it.
Great post.
I felt uneasy seeing the two guys on tv and I blinked reading the other post you were referring to.
Its all a question of respect.
It's at times like this where I wish we had a goaltending controversy to talk about. Oh wait…
I've had to laugh as a few bloggers have made this the subject of their blog, and cried foul…yet posted the picture on their site. The defense? So that everyone else can see what they're talking about. What hollow nonsense. As you said, it's a tactic to bring traffic to their own site. The hypocrisy would be delicious if it weren't so sad.
your reference to the treatment of the brothers by h. and b. is right on. I've said as much on b's thread. It was really disappointing to me.
The two fellows with their "support" of P.K. is disturbing. We don't necessarily have mens rea, but sometimes ignorance isn't much of a defence. I mean honestly, to do something widely considered to be vile, discriminatory and dehumanizing (I didn't use the r word)and then say it's okay because you didn't mean it the "other way", the "bad way" is more than just embarassing. It's more than just embarrassing when you adopt the actions of a people or a place considered racist. So everybody who helped perpretate this one (the two fellows, the Cameraman and others involved at the station, the bloggers and columnists who ran this photo) I'd be careful just who you choose to associate with.
WV: HERTC. As in blackface hertc, jackasses
These actions, racism,prejudice, call them what you will, disturb us not because of what these people have said or done, but because they remind us of our own feelings. We look down at them so that we might feel better about our own short-comings.
Everyone has feelings of prejudice, deep down we are all racist to one degree or another. Ah, but how nice it is to forgive our own failings while we look down on others.
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