Tiger Woods sacked his long-term caddy Steve Williams in July and when Steve Williams was asked why he celebrated his current employer's win so exuberantly he replied "It was my aim to shove it right up that black a*******."
Are those words racist? Is Steve Williams a racist? I cannot answer the latter question for sure, although it seems unlikely that a man who worked so closely with Tiger Woods for 12 years is a racist. I will however attempt to answer the first question. To my mind the insult in the comment was the word a*******, the word black was purely descriptive. Would I be more insulted because someone called me a "f***ing c***" as they did this weekend or a "f***ing Jewish c***"? I think that if I did not know the person then I would be more offended by the latter insult as I would wonder if they were anti-Semitic and if that was a reason for the insult. I have plenty of old friends who would use the word Jewish in a jokey insult but none of them are anti-Semitic.
Are those words racist? Is Steve Williams a racist? I cannot answer the latter question for sure, although it seems unlikely that a man who worked so closely with Tiger Woods for 12 years is a racist. I will however attempt to answer the first question. To my mind the insult in the comment was the word a*******, the word black was purely descriptive. Would I be more insulted because someone called me a "f***ing c***" as they did this weekend or a "f***ing Jewish c***"? I think that if I did not know the person then I would be more offended by the latter insult as I would wonder if they were anti-Semitic and if that was a reason for the insult. I have plenty of old friends who would use the word Jewish in a jokey insult but none of them are anti-Semitic.
And who really gives a flying fuck about what goes on between a professional golfer and his ex caddy. I some times boil with rage at the prominence given to such events when, for Jesus Christ's sake, there are far more important things going on in the wider world, not even the principle of who can say what to whom is worth the candle.
ReplyDeleteIf somebody says something hurtful or offensive to somebody else they will, eventually, pay.