Miklasz leaving Post-Dispatch

[RamzFanz]

what about our media girl who bailed to Tampa Bay?

(The name that shall not be spoken so -X- can heal.)

...but we got Dani, so all it's all good.

 

[Prime Time]

In the end, I think we're all just a little too thin-skinned I guess. Everyone's words are put under a microscope now, and even the slightest slip of the tongue can cause you ruin. Like others have said in this thread already, such is the world in which we live.

Words of truth to live by, unfortunately.

My problem with BM is that he's way too thin-skinned to be doing what he's doing. Taking criticism well as a columnist is part of the job description. His too often snarky remarks about the fanbase were at times unprofessional to say the least and elitist in its tone. Hope that radio is a better fit for him and that he does well in his new assignment.

 

[RamzFanz]

That's cool. To me, it's all about the nuances when you try to decipher someone's motives. Do I think Cowherd is racist and has the balls to SAY something racist knowing full well he's racist? Ehm, no. I think he just chose his words poorly, but I knew what he meant. He meant to imply that the Dominican Republic is not known for its academia.

And they're not.

In the end, I think we're all just a little too thin-skinned I guess. Everyone's words are put under a microscope now, and even the slightest slip of the tongue can cause you ruin. Like others have said in this thread already, such is the world in which we live.

Hey, how about we don't judge people by the thickness of their skin?!

 

[-X-]

Hey, how about we don't judge people by the thickness of their skin?!

Sorry.

 

[Prime Time]

Hey, how about we don't judge people by the thickness of their skin?!

Yeah, I guess now I'm a skin-ist.

 

[RamzFanz]

Off to skin thickness sensitivity reeducation camp for you two.

 

[Irish]

I have never understood the vitriol on this forum for Bernie. The dude is a St. Louis institution, and he is respected and admired in his industry across the country.

I will take the opinion of hundreds of sports writers who understand what he means to sports journalism as a whole over a bunch of people on a forum who seem to be in the real and actual minority when it comes to their opinions on Bernie. Whether it was the Cardinals, Rams, or Blues, he always treated the games and the teams with dignity and professionalism.

Just my .02

 

[RamzFanz]

I have never understood the vitriol on this forum for Bernie. The dude is a St. Louis institution, and he is respected and admired in his industry across the country.

I will take the opinion of hundreds of sports writers who understand what he means to sports journalism as a whole over a bunch of people on a forum who seem to be in the real and actual minority when it comes to their opinions on Bernie. Whether it was the Cardinals, Rams, or Blues, he always treated the games and the teams with dignity and professionalism.

Just my .02

...I would just point out that his job is all about impressing the fans and not at all about impressing his peers. I personally think he has no emotional or personal connections to the team, is overly negative, and uninformed.

 

[blue4]

I don't think he was negative toward solely Kroenke

I've read him a lot and I can't say I've detected much animosity towards anyone else. And until Stan decided to try to uproot our franchise I don't recall much directed at him either. I realize his tone is negative somewhat now, but when you spend 10 years being optimistic and defending the team only to have the owner pull stakes while the rest of the football world bashes your town, it can make one a bit testy. I don't think a lot of people take that into account.

 

[Alan]

Elmgrovegnome misunderstanding the underlying premise:
I also know that many poor countries cannot afford a strong educational system. Big Deal. He spoke the truth.

ESPN will miss him.

So lets see if I can answer this without offending you and I apologize in advance if I fail. I'll start with your last point first.

No, ESPN will not miss him , as another poster already mentioned, he was already on his way out the door.

On to your main point. But before I do, let me point out that not only did everyone else see it as racist, so did Cowherd himself. That's regardless of whether or not he meant it that way. You, on the other hand, are arguing that the statement that he made, as written, wasn't racist. A contention that even Cowherd doesn't agree with and he said so.

There are two different defenses people use when they say something offensive. The first A) is to try and cloak it in the "I worded it badly and what I really meant was this" defense. Whereupon they try their best to convince people that they really didn't mean what they said.

The second defense B) is the "that was taken out of context" defense.

In this case and your Limbaugh example, the context is all important and makes defense A a nonstarter. Defense B is of course also a nonstarter because he didn't claim that.

What is the context in both these cases.

In the Limbaugh case, he was trying to provide a reason why blacks are so often superior to whites athletically that didn't contradict the racist claim that blacks are genetically inferior to whites. The use of that "truth" as you call it, belies their real racist agenda to wit, blacks aren't inherently more athletic than whites, they are only superior because of the outside intervention of whites. To contend that blacks are for the most part superior to whites when it comes to some athletic endeavors because they were bread to be superior is not only wrong (look up fast twitch vs slow twitch muscles for part of the real reason), it's offensive to blacks and non-racists alike. One need only look at the performance of blacks in other countries to see how ridiculous that contention is. The use of these so called "truths" only fool those who wish to be fooled because it fits their preconceived prejudices. In addition, how can anyone who is even slightly aware of Limbaugh's and known racist attitudes not look for underlying reasons for why he would be talking about these "truths?" Bottom line though is that you can easily see that context is all important. I hope that after reading what I just wrote you now understand exactly why that "truth" wasn't actually a truth and how racist he was when trying to use it.

Now let's get to what Cowherd said.

OK, I've written this paragraph 4 times and I've deleted what I said 4 times because I can't figure out how to say this without being offensive to some. So I'm going to leave why the context of what he said makes it racist at what I've already said in an earlier post. I will add that Cowherd is using that same kind of "truth" that Limbaugh used. A truth that seems true and is true in another context but is not true in this context. Just as the fact that breeding for certain characteristics can increase the amount of offspring who carry that trait is a "truth" in both animals and man (Hitler would agree with that premise eh?) but does not make his contention true and is merely an effort to obscure the actual pertinent facts.

 

[-X-]

Just as the fact that breeding for certain characteristics can increase the amount of offspring who carry that trait is a "truth" in both animals and man (Hitler would agree with that premise eh?)

I knew it would happen eventually.

Godwin's law.

 

[Alan]

True @-X- and it deserves to end now.

 

[kurtfaulk]

I have never understood the vitriol on this forum for Bernie. The dude is a St. Louis institution, and he is respected and admired in his industry across the country.

I will take the opinion of hundreds of sports writers who understand what he means to sports journalism as a whole over a bunch of people on a forum who seem to be in the real and actual minority when it comes to their opinions on Bernie. Whether it was the Cardinals, Rams, or Blues, he always treated the games and the teams with dignity and professionalism.

Just my .02

really? i'll take the opinion of a bunch of people on a forum over a blow hard flip flopper who doesn't seem to have any opinion at all. he flip flops so much on about every subject it can't be coincidence. i haven't read him for years but when i did i came to the conclusion the man only wanted reaction. and this bunch of people know far more about the rams than blow hard.

.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I've read him a lot and I can't say I've detected much animosity towards anyone else. And until Stan decided to try to uproot our franchise I don't recall much directed at him either. I realize his tone is negative somewhat now, but when you spend 10 years being optimistic and defending the team only to have the owner pull stakes while the rest of the football world bashes your town, it can make one a bit testy. I don't think a lot of people take that into account.

He is very critical of the entire coaching staff too. He really seems to dislike everything about the team. Sure, he doesn't have to be a happy, joy, joy all the time but always having a negative slant to all of his articles gets quite tiresome. If he hates the team so much he needs to find a new town and a new team. JMO

 

[Akrasian]

...I would just point out that his job is all about impressing the fans and not at all about impressing his peers. I personally think he has no emotional or personal connections to the team, is overly negative, and uninformed.

His job was to help sell newspapers and advertising. Easier long term if he doesn't offend all the customers but it's well established that being somewhat controversial at times is a help. I didn't read him that much not being in SL but he struck me as a writer who would write some heartwarming stuff and sometimes would cut loose otherwise trying to strike a balance. He sometimes failed of course - it's hard to do. Unless the Pd is both smart and lucky his replacement won't be as good at achieving the balance though

 

[jrry32]

Can't say I'm disappointed Bernie is leaving. Wish him the best at ESPN.

Of course.
He is black.
This is how it is now in America. Cowherd could have said (using an earlier posters example) something attacking the French or the Polish and nothing would have come of it because the people of those countries are perceived as white.
Worse than getting fired for saying something offense, Cowherd was attacked for saying something accurate. The DR is a poor, corrupt, third world country for the most part. The reason a lot of pro players come from their is they have schools set up, run by baseball scouts, that are baseball schools. Generally, it costs the kids nothing and they do get schooling, food ect., but, the real focus in baseball. So, if a kid shows some talent the parents Im sure are thrilled for them to go because they get an education and food ect. is provided for. If a kid eventually signs a pro contract the scout running the school gets a cut of the bonus (and I would suspect future earnings).
This age of PCism has to come to an end or America is doomed.
Trying to control thought through language is so dangerous. Being offensive is not against the law....and very hard to determine....being accurate is now under attack.
Bruce Jenner wins the "courage" award over a vet who had limbs blown off....I rest my case.
We are doomed.

What he said wasn't accurate. Alan has explained it well. He didn't say, "It's a shame DR players didn't have educational opportunities." He said, "Baseball isn't a complex game..."

The implication here is that baseball can't be complex if all these "stupid" people from the DR can pick it up. It had nothing to do with education and everything to do with implying that people from the DR are not intelligent.

It was an idiotic comment from an idiot. And it gave ESPN an excuse to pull him off the network when he's already leaving. I'm the last person to defend ESPN but they're in the right here. I don't want to hear any bullcrap about politically correct. It's called tact and decency.

 

[blue4]

He is very critical of the entire coaching staff too. He really seems to dislike everything about the team. Sure, he doesn't have to be a happy, joy, joy all the time but always having a negative slant to all of his articles gets quite tiresome. If he hates the team so much he needs to find a new town and a new team. JMO

He is critical of a coaching staff who have yet to field a .500 after 3 years. Following the mess we had before that. I don't see why this requires him to find another city and team. Criticism shouldn't be confused with hate.

 

[jrry32]

He is critical of a coaching staff who have yet to field a .500 after 3 years. Following the mess we had before that. I don't see why this requires him to find another city and team. Criticism shouldn't be confused with hate.

In his case, his criticism was hate. It was very obvious from the bitter, sardonic tone of his articles. The guy wasn't enjoyable to read. He was like that one friend we all have that's always whining about something. He/She is always negative and there's always something unfair/wrong in their life. And then they project that thing onto you and basically marginalize any of your accomplishments.

Nobody wants to be around that person. And that's why I had no interest in reading Bernie's articles. I don't care to read constant negativity. Life is too short to bitch and moan all day.

 

[Stranger]

He is critical of a coaching staff who have yet to field a .500 after 3 years. Following the mess we had before that. I don't see why this requires him to find another city and team. Criticism shouldn't be confused with hate.

his criticism is generally unfair or unsupported. additionally, his criticism morphs into campaigns, not statements of fact. it's all well beyond any sense of reasonableness.

 

[Alan]

jrry32 with what I wanted to say but couldn't:
Can't say I'm disappointed Bernie is leaving. Wish him the best at ESPN.

What he said wasn't accurate. Alan has explained it well. He didn't say, "It's a shame DR players didn't have educational opportunities." He said, "Baseball isn't a complex game..."

The implication here is that baseball can't be complex if all these "stupid" people from the DR can pick it up. It had nothing to do with education and everything to do with implying that people from the DR are not intelligent.

It was an idiotic comment from an idiot. And it gave ESPN an excuse to pull him off the network when he's already leaving. I'm the last person to defend ESPN but they're in the right here. I don't want to hear any bullcrap about politically correct. It's called tact and decency.

Thank you jrry. That's what I wanted to say but couldn't. My emotions were probably keeping me from having a clear head.