Should ESPN's Bernstein be suspended for comments?

[Ballings7]

she's not even that cute.

fire her.

Wow

[Harry Heinous]

The Aztecs?

The Aztecs were essentially THE civilization in their region until the conquistadors arrived. If you're referencing human sacrifice, you've probably seen that formulaic piece of trash, Apocalypto, too many times. Human sacrifice is incredibly exaggerated. They actually were pretty peaceful they had a hell of a lot more respect for their natural surroundings that we do.

If you want to look at a warlike civilization, try the last 50 years of American History. We're averaging a war each decade and they have all been fought for geo-political reasons.

The Aztecs main God was the God of war. They began the conquering before the Spaniards did (in fact the Spanish even kept some of the same labor, slave systems the Aztecs had already set up).They had killed millions of indians before the Spaniards even stepped foot on the land. They had thousands and thousands of indian slaves too. Before them it was the same thing. Many indian cultures and civilizations were constantly at war and enslaving each WAY before Europeans arrived.
And no, human sacrifice is not greatly exaggerated. The numbers were increasing exponentially until the Spanish arrived.

And please...does anyone over the age of 5 generate their opinions from hollywood movies?

[Yadadimean]

Savasrevenge, we were united in Blazerfandom first, but I knew I liked you for a reason! Not only are you a person of superior intelligence, but you're a Blazer fan too. If you were a woman I'd marry you!lol

[Yadadimean]

The analogy seems pretty fair if you restrict it to "terrorists are indoctrinated into a belief from a young age" instead of generalizing it to Palestinians.

White kids killed a bunch of innocent children in Columbine. Lets murder all white people in the public school system because they are terrorists.

[Yadadimean]

The analogy seems pretty fair if you restrict it to "terrorists are indoctrinated into a belief from a young age" instead of generalizing it to Palestinians.

You want to tell me that some of the high schools in the US, and parents who push their kids excessively aren't doing a very similar thing? It takes a massive amount of effort to get your game good enough to be at the pro level regardless of your natural talent. A lot of players clearly have the motivation to do it themselves, but more than a few of them do it because they buy into a very flawed concept that they are worthy of the NBA. Look no further than some of the stories about the guys on the end of the bench in college hoops. You aren't even playing in the games, but there are more than a few of these guys who don't go to class, are barely passing their courses and are wasting an eduction opportunity because they care more about the basketball, or at least the adoration of being a basketball player.

The comments are a tacky way of talking about a legitimate issue though. She very easily could have thrown in a comment about any religion, cultural group, parental adivisory group, PETA, Greenpeace, military, etc. and had the same argument. The comments were made, most likely with intent, to draw off a hot button issue to make her argument more legitimate. The problem is, the comment should be legitimized on its own.

Agreed. My problem with the whole situation is still way deeper than high school and college sports though. In terms of the bigger picture, my problem is the indoctrination of the American general public into a mentality that demonizes minorities and seeks the approval of the American public to go to war against brown people of all cultures and countries. I suppose Bush doesn't mind Mexicans though since they have been turned into the modern era slave of the agricultural industry. I'm sorry, is this "too PC" for some of you redneck-peckerwood-devils? (intended for irony, not antagonism)

[Koosh]

Bernstein eh? The fact that a Jewish person would make these sort of comments about Palestinian people is probably just a coincidence... right?

[CellarDoor]

So many blindingly ignorant posts I don't even know which ones to quote; the biggest culprit being writerman who makes some sensationalist post then fades into the background. A couple key points: to the people talking about 9/11 and whatnot....the palestinians had nothing to do with it, so if you want to generalize like that, then lets start making inferences about America based off of Mexican values. Also, my two main problems with BB's comments are this: She references Palestinians explicitly, and her speech implies that this is true of all Palestinians. If she corrected those two errors then it becomes in poor tast and I can shrug it off. As is, especially coming from a person with a Jewish background, that's Pandora's Box...you don't go there.


PS, free speech doesn't extent to you workplace....An employer is not your country, they are your employer, they have the right to project whatever image they want and I am completely fine with that, so enough with the first amendment crying.

[SabasRevenge!]

They began the conquering before the Spaniards did.

Of course, they were the indigenous population.

They had killed millions of indians before the Spaniards even stepped foot on the land. They had thousands and thousands of indian slaves too. Before them it was the same thing. Many indian cultures and civilizations were constantly at war and enslaving each WAY before Europeans arrived.

90% of the population of just what is now Mexico was obliterated once the Spaniards arrived. Part of their strategy was also to rape the indigenous women.

And no, human sacrifice is not greatly exaggerated. The numbers were increasing exponentially until the Spanish arrived.

It's almost a consensus that human sacrifice was greatly exaggerated. Some western estimates of how many people were killed during monthly festivals had people being killed at a higher rate than Auschwitz was capable of.

And please...does anyone over the age of 5 generate their opinions from hollywood movies?

Yes, people often form opinions based on the media we consume, even historically inaccurate movies. Many viewers of Fox News still think Saddam was behind 9/11.

[87BlazerMan]

I think the issue here is that so many Americans just don't have any idea what is really going on in the Middle East. They don't know Palestinians from Israelis or Iraqis from Iranians. They are all "Arab" to us. Their are a lot of countries and a lot of religions in that area and they all believe different things and have different philosophies.

Sabas' story about New Jersey and Delaware is very relevant, and my guess is that a lot of the people who read through that whole thing thought to themselves "Ohhhhhhh, so Palestine is .... and the Israelis are .... and they .... ok, I see, ahhhh. I get it." So many Americans are quick to form opinions without actually understanding whats going on. Maybe you read a news article or saw a news story, but that does not mean you are educated on the topic. I don't for one don't know much more than the basics, and for that reason I don't feel comfortable forming, let alone announcing my opinions on the subject.

The problem we have is that so many Americans just don't know what they are talking about. Even are "educated" journalists don't know whats up, especially if their career path is in sports, or fashion, or business, or local news. People on this board clearly have strong opinions, but based on what?

I think the issue we have with Bernstein is not that she is a racist who set out to attack Palestinians. What we most likely have here is another clueless American talking about things she doesn't know (but thinks she does because she "read an article"), and didn't realize the gravity or severity of her comments. Even in her apology she clearly doesn't get what the deal is. Maybe the fact that she is (or might be?) Jewish makes some people suspicious, but what I think is more likely is that she is just another ignorant American spouting off in the media. She may be smart, she may be educated, but that doesn't mean we should take her comments as well-informed opinions. She doesn't need to be suspended or fired. She needs to really educate herself. Just like the rest of our country does.

[erdamon]

I think a lot of folks are getting overly sensitive. For one, she's relating an article she read about Palestinian suicide bombers. So it makes sense that she would mention Palestinians specifically. Also at no point does shes say all Palestinians are suicide bombers. She says "Palestinian suicide bombers" and "people in Palestine". Unless you are going to say, the article was wrong and no one in Palestine is indoctrinated at a young age into the idea of suicide bombing, then she just speaking the truth.

Was the analogy needed. Probably not. But it certainly doesn't warrant a suspension.

[The Main Event]

She was not speaking about Palestinians in general at all. She simply compared the specific instances where Palestinian children are raised to believe that dying in the name of God is the ultimate achievement to that of American kids who are raised to believe that playing in the NBA is the ultimate achievement. VERY GOOD analogy. PALESTINIAN suicide bombers do exist, get over it. Her point was that cross-culturally nurture is stronger than nature and that the ideologies and values that we teach our children directly effect their future goal setting.

Both scenarios are very real and most of you guys are the ones crying foul when she calls out the truth.

[The Main Event]

First of all, if you can say Muslims are backwards as a religion than you can say just about every other religion is too, but that's not the point. Your post is a pretty good example of the way the media has conditioned many Americans into a mentality of paranoia. They have demonized Middle Eastern people and Muslims and this mentality in the public's eyes makes it ok to murder and go to war against them. If you've ever taken a college history class you can see that this is not a new tactic. They did the same type of thing to the Japanese a few decades ago. And I have serious doubts about the official account of 9/11 (false flag ops, anyone?). She basically inferred that all Palestinians are terrorists (never mind that Isreal could be considered a terrorist state by their actions against Palestinians). That to me is racist. I concede that some middle eastern people have done some terrible things, but not anywhere near the scale that the media would have us believe. Lets also not forget that many white people have done terrible things, but that doesn't mean a majority or even a large portion of them are bad people. This constant barrage of association between the Middle East and terrorism we see in the media disgusts me. its not just this one comment by some lady, its everywhere. On the news, the movies, on tv, on the radio, even in many textbooks. Its surprising how more people dont see what's going on. people just buy whatever crap story is being sold.[/quote]

The media shows countries at war bombing eachother all the time and viewers are left to speculate as to the true agendas behind these tragedies. When somebody straps a bomb to their chest and walks into a public place to kill people, they have proactivel demonized themselves.

How did she call out "all" palestinians? Ezzz there pal. She specifically referenced the terrorists, not palestinians in general.

Israeli soldiers that bomb Palestinians can be considered terrorists . Palestinians soldiers that bomb israelis can be considered terrorists. Palestinians that strap bombs to their chest to kill Israelis can be considered??? Israelis dont do that. That's the difference.

I don't have to buy the crap from whatever story is being told. Truth is, the majority of the world is bitter toward jews in the first place let alone palestinians. So don't think for one minute that if an israeli were to suicide bomb a palestining market it wouldn't be all over the news.

[87BlazerMan]

I don't have to buy the crap from whatever story is being told. Truth is, the majority of the world is bitter toward jews in the first place let alone palestinians. So don't think for one minute that if an israeli were to suicide bomb a palestining market it wouldn't be all over the news.

You're not the first person I've heard this from and I want to know why you and others think this? I've never seen anything that would support that, but maybe I'm just not paying attention. Maybe Mel Gibson is bitter toward Jews, but the majority of the world? Seriously? Pleas explain. If you're comfortable telling me, I think I also want to know if you yourself are jewish.

[The Main Event]

I don't have to buy the crap from whatever story is being told. Truth is, the majority of the world is bitter toward jews in the first place let alone palestinians. So don't think for one minute that if an israeli were to suicide bomb a palestining market it wouldn't be all over the news.

You're not the first person I've heard this from and I want to know why you and others think this? I've never seen anything that would support that, but maybe I'm just not paying attention. Maybe Mel Gibson is bitter toward Jews, but the majority of the world? Seriously? Pleas explain. If you're comfortable telling me, I think I also want to know if you yourself are jewish.

I am Jewish as a matter of fact. And no, i don't run around with the mentality that everybody hates on us; however, from my personal experiences i can cite countless incidences where people (usually aquantinces) make sarcastic remarks geared toward the jewish faith. Joking or not, i sense bitterness and jealousy.
If you aren't jewish and don't have many jewish friends then i wouldn't expect you to notice this type of behavior.
I don't even get offended by these stereotypical mocks, because they are merely hyerboles. Jews do tend to be frugile but that is a trait that has led us to be some of the most successful people on the planet.
If you have seen Borat then you know what i'm talking about. Sascha Baron Cohen mocks the jew haters by mimmicking them when he in fact is jewish. The whole movie he is speaking a mix of Yiddish (old jewish dialect) and jibberish as a representation of Kazakhi native language.
If you notice, most of the people in the audince of that movie laughed hysterically at those stereotypical jokes because most people have heard them several times before.

[87BlazerMan]

Well I'm not Jewish, but I do have a handful of Jewish friends, including my very best friend growing up. I still can't say that I've noticed the "Jew hate" that you speak of. I've heard the dumb racist jokes, but those exist about every single race and religion under the sun. To take them seriously or as personal attacks is silly. I've seen Borat, but I took his "Jew hate" to be a shot at Kazakstani (?) beliefs or something. His views weren't shared by the Americans he encountered (as far as I can remember), although homophobic, sexist, and racist American views were definitely highlighted in the movie.

I want to know why when you hear sarcastic remarks you "sense bitterness and jealousy." What are people bitter about, and what are they jealous of?

Sorry if this has gotten off topic, but it is something I've always been curious about. From my experiences Jews are one of the least hated on or discriminated against groups of people (in America), yet most of my Jewish friends don't feel that way. I've heard from more than one person that "everyone still hates Jews". My favorite was when a friend told me "You'd be surprised how many people still blame the Jews for 9/11." Huh? Its like they feel like they are under attack by society, and if any group has the right to feel that way, imo, its not Jewish people.

This may be way off base, but it seems like my Jewish friends act a lot like my Red Sox fan friends. They had been the underdog and "cursed" for so long that despite two recent World Series titles and the deepest roster in baseball, they have trouble accepting their role as favorites. They still are trying to play the underdog card, and paint the Yankees as the bad guys.

Anyways, I know this is way off topic, and you don't have to respond if you don't want to, but this is just a dialogue I've been wanting to have for a while.