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Nshima & Curry

Melvin's  Blog

Nshima & Curry

IF ONLY RACISM COULD BE TREATED

Atlanta Braves reliever John Rocker
recently sparked a furor when he made
several scathing comments against
foreigners and gays. As a result, Major
League Baseball ordered Rocker to
undergo a psychological evaluation, just in
case he’s a little off his rocker. So to speak.

But racism and bigotry, as persistent as
they often seem to be, are not mental
disorders. That’s too bad, because it would
have been fun to see Rocker going through
a little shock therapy. Especially on national
television. He could have appeared on
Regis Philbin’s new game show "Who
wants to be a normal human being?"

Philbin: "Mr. Rocker, what do you think
about foreigners?"

Rocker: "I hate every single one of them.
Even Claudia Schiffer."

Philbin: "Is that your final answer?"

Rocker: "Yes."

Zzzzap!

Rocker: "Aaaah! Wait! I’m beginning to
think clearly now. Foreigners are good
people. I like them all. Especially Adolf
Hitler."

Zzzzap!

Rocker, who made his inflammatory
remarks in a Sports Illustrated article, said
he would never pitch for a New York team
and offered an explanation: "Imagine
having to take the (No.) 7 train to (Shea
Stadium) looking like you’re (in) Beirut next
to some kid with purple hair, next to some
queer with AIDS, right next to some dude
who got out of jail for the fourth time ... It’s
depressing."

As you can imagine, that comment
offended a lot of people, including gays,
kids with purple hair and Mike Tyson. Even
the Lebanese government protested.
"Mr. Rocker is ignorant to compare New
York to Beirut," a spokesman said. "People
in Beirut do not have purple hair. And our
homicide rate is much lower."

Trying to be an equal-opportunity bigot,
Rocker offended immigrants with his other
comments. "The biggest thing I don’t like
about New York are the foreigners," the
25-year-old Georgia native said. "You can
walk an entire block in Times Square and
not hear anybody speaking English. Asians
and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians
and Russians and Spanish people and
everything up there. How the (heck) did they
get in this country?"

It’s good to know that Rocker is smart
enough to distinguish between Koreans,
Vietnamese, Indians and Asians. As a
native of India, I must admit that I always
hate being mixed up with Asians. They
don’t look anything like me.

Rocker should know that most immigrants
come to America in a similar way that his
forefathers did. His ancestors probably
came by ship, but today there are several
modern alternatives, including planes, cars,
and tunnels.

Foreigners come here for opportunities
lacking in their native lands. Most are
hard-working, productive members of
society. And most, like me, speak English
or at least know a few key phrases such as
"How ’bout them Cowboys?" and "Would
you like fries with that?"

Rocker later apologized for his comments,
saying, "I should not have said what I did
because it is not what I believe in my heart."
But the apology seems hollow, considering
the hostility of his comments.

Still, he has the right to say what he wants.
This is a free country. That’s why many
foreigners come here.

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