Chat Room Racism?

The other day while I was in a trans social media chat room someone commented on the passing of Muhammad Ali. Since this was within a few days there was nothing unusual about a comment on this subject. What was unusual is that this person was either stupid or looking for trouble. Let me explain, he commented that he didn't care for Ali, as many people do and he sited his reasons. He said he didn't like him because he was a draft dodger and a black Muslim. He also questioned his character referring to the story where Ali supposedly threw his Olympic gold medal into a river. He also said that Ali was a hypocrite because after tossing the medal, later in life he accepted to light the torch at the opening of the Olympics.

I knew immediately that he had made a grave error and would no doubt be trashed in short order - which he was. The reason I knew is because of the politically correct society we live in today. Although you have the right to speak your mind you also have the right to be verbally attacked if your views do not conform the with the current climate of society. His views did not fit what is PC today, plus let's face it even the lowest of celebrities suddenly become more popular once they die. In this case he was labelled as a racist instead of not just liking Ali because of the previous reasons. Even though he gave what he thought were valid reasons, the issue immediately turned into a racial one.

It appeared to me at least that if it had been, just say Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull), a famous and popular white boxer from the forties that there would have been no problem because the reasons for the dislike were clearly stated and racism would never come up, even if the person making the statement was black. If the person that said he didn't like Ali had not stated his reasons then I could see some comments about racism. So I concluded that at least in this chat room that a white person cannot say anything negative about a black person without being labeled a racist. If we are truly equal then we should be able to say we don't like someone of another race without necessarily being a racist.

Now the two things are not mutually exclusive and perhaps this individual was indeed a racist. But to label a person for these reasons is fundamentally flawed but accepted because of the current state of things in this country today. I also noticed how fast so many piled on in order to inflict maximum damage to this individual who merely stated his opinion. I could see him being asked if he was a racist and he was and replied that he was not and pointed out his reasons again. However, it was too late and he was branded as a hater as I knew he would. Although this was a chat room with approximately 300 people in it I think it represents enough people to gauge the barometer of society.

So by these standards all white people have to like all black people, no matter what kind of person they are or else they are a racist. This is a double sided coin however and this also means that all black people have to like all white people or they are also racists. Of course this is absurd but this is the society we live in today. As long as you are politically correct you not only have the right to give your opinion but you can count on the PC zombies to defend you in the name of the greater good of course. If you choose to disagree with them  you do so at your own risk. Now please notice that I have not rendered my opinion as to whether he was a racist or not, nor will I since this is not the point I'm trying to make.

No matter what I think I believe that this guy should have been given the benefit of the doubt here. He did give valid reasons, and he also stated he was not a racist. So in the eyes of the PC crowd he was guilty because Ali just happened to be black. Does me not condemning this guy also mean that I'm a racist, well of course not but many would perceive me as such because I didn't jump on the bandwagon. Ali was a controversial person back in the 1960's and many people didn't like him for many reasons, among them in some cases, racism.

No matter what my opinion is I had enough sense to just sit back and watch the brawl. There are a few things I won't discuss in these chat rooms such as politics, racism and I find myself not to be particularly PC. There are plenty of other forums out there to discuss controversial topics that are designed to do just that so the atmosphere is different in that it takes place in a different setting. Lets face facts, no race is immune to hate as it has always been and I don't see this changing anytime in the near future. Personally I think that this will exist until the there is no such thing as races because we will all be the same one because of the unstoppable blending of the races which we see gaining momentum.

What do you think, was he a racist based on what I told you, was he treated fairly and where do you weigh in on this incident? Unlike what happened in the chat room I personally would recognize any reasonable opinion that was based on  fact and not just a knee jerk reaction. I may not agree with you but that's ok, right? This is by far the most controversial thing I have written and it all depends on the readers reactions if I will visit these kinds of topics again.