straight left
01-28-2009, 05:02 AM
I read this boxingconfidential.com and then Elias Vic's manager sent a pretty harsh reply. Have a look and see what you guys think. I think this is going to blow up BIG TIME ! !
Go the BULL !
Raging Fool: Darchinyan's Ethnic Namecalling Deserves Muzzle!
Michael Marley
1/27/2009
[Only registered and activated users can see links] the outcry if another boxing promoter said that Big Gary Shaw is a disgrace to all Jews.
Imagine the outcry if Omar Sheika, a boxer with Palestinian parentage, called a rival a disgrace to all Israelis.
Imagine the outcry if a boxer blasted Vic Darchinyan saying he’s a disgrace to all Australians in general and to all Aussies with Armenian roots in particular.
Imagine if Manny Pacquiao said he will give Ricky Hatton a beatdown because “those Limeys” are a bunch of colonizing, exploitative MFers.
Imagine if Darchinyan said that Jorge Arce, a Mexican fighter who is a proud warrior, is a disgrace to all Mexicans.
You don’t have to imagine the latter because Darchinyan, or at least his quotemaking publicist Fred Sternburg, has labeled the Lollipop Cowboy as somebody who has shamed his entire nation.
That takes me back to the first one. Imagine if someone said the creative Sternburg was a disgrace to all those of the Hebraic persuasion.
This is the Age of Obama. It’s a time when multiethnic, multiracial people are coming into something approaching widespread societal acceptance.
Hey, what about Darchinyan managerElias Nasser. What is he a disgrace to all Muslims if he is, indeed, a follower of Islam?
You get the point. Hype is hype but the days of race-baiting, nationality-baiting, should be done and gone in boxing circa 2009.
Let’s draw a distinction.
I see nothing harmful in Sternburg penning a release in which Darchinyan calls Arce “Schlepalong Cassidy,” although I bet Darchinyan never heard the Yiddish term “schlepper” in his 33 years of life.
And boasting is fine also, having Vicious Vic say he likes fighting Mexicans “because of the way they bounce off the canvas.” I don’t see that type of braggadocio inflaming ethnic dislike or hatred.
But a line has to be drawn.
Darchinyan’s “Raging Bull” persona fits his aggressive ring style. But it does the fighter and boxing a disservice when he is portrayed as a Raging Bullshitter who insults entire countries or ethnicities.
No one is saying to get rid of the Mexican flag or the Armenian flag. No one is saying that stirring up national passion behind a boxer is a bad thing. Personally, I get a chill when I see a fight ushered into the ring by the wail of makestic bagpipes or a terrific mariachi group.
What I am saying is that I don’t see King Arthur Abraham, an Armenian fighting and living in Germany, calling Edison Miranda is a disgrace to every man, woman and child from Colombia.
For those of you who think this kind of namecalling is funny or amusing, get back to me the day after someone gets stabbed or shot at ringside.
Check soccer and its flag-waving hooligans and lager louts if you want examples of where excessive nationalism or insulting other nationalities has gotten way out of hand.
Let Darchinyan insult and belittle Arce all he wants. That’s mere puffery.
But going beyond that is an invitation to outside the ring violence.
([Only registered and activated users can see links])
Go the BULL !
Raging Fool: Darchinyan's Ethnic Namecalling Deserves Muzzle!
Michael Marley
1/27/2009
[Only registered and activated users can see links] the outcry if another boxing promoter said that Big Gary Shaw is a disgrace to all Jews.
Imagine the outcry if Omar Sheika, a boxer with Palestinian parentage, called a rival a disgrace to all Israelis.
Imagine the outcry if a boxer blasted Vic Darchinyan saying he’s a disgrace to all Australians in general and to all Aussies with Armenian roots in particular.
Imagine if Manny Pacquiao said he will give Ricky Hatton a beatdown because “those Limeys” are a bunch of colonizing, exploitative MFers.
Imagine if Darchinyan said that Jorge Arce, a Mexican fighter who is a proud warrior, is a disgrace to all Mexicans.
You don’t have to imagine the latter because Darchinyan, or at least his quotemaking publicist Fred Sternburg, has labeled the Lollipop Cowboy as somebody who has shamed his entire nation.
That takes me back to the first one. Imagine if someone said the creative Sternburg was a disgrace to all those of the Hebraic persuasion.
This is the Age of Obama. It’s a time when multiethnic, multiracial people are coming into something approaching widespread societal acceptance.
Hey, what about Darchinyan managerElias Nasser. What is he a disgrace to all Muslims if he is, indeed, a follower of Islam?
You get the point. Hype is hype but the days of race-baiting, nationality-baiting, should be done and gone in boxing circa 2009.
Let’s draw a distinction.
I see nothing harmful in Sternburg penning a release in which Darchinyan calls Arce “Schlepalong Cassidy,” although I bet Darchinyan never heard the Yiddish term “schlepper” in his 33 years of life.
And boasting is fine also, having Vicious Vic say he likes fighting Mexicans “because of the way they bounce off the canvas.” I don’t see that type of braggadocio inflaming ethnic dislike or hatred.
But a line has to be drawn.
Darchinyan’s “Raging Bull” persona fits his aggressive ring style. But it does the fighter and boxing a disservice when he is portrayed as a Raging Bullshitter who insults entire countries or ethnicities.
No one is saying to get rid of the Mexican flag or the Armenian flag. No one is saying that stirring up national passion behind a boxer is a bad thing. Personally, I get a chill when I see a fight ushered into the ring by the wail of makestic bagpipes or a terrific mariachi group.
What I am saying is that I don’t see King Arthur Abraham, an Armenian fighting and living in Germany, calling Edison Miranda is a disgrace to every man, woman and child from Colombia.
For those of you who think this kind of namecalling is funny or amusing, get back to me the day after someone gets stabbed or shot at ringside.
Check soccer and its flag-waving hooligans and lager louts if you want examples of where excessive nationalism or insulting other nationalities has gotten way out of hand.
Let Darchinyan insult and belittle Arce all he wants. That’s mere puffery.
But going beyond that is an invitation to outside the ring violence.
([Only registered and activated users can see links])