Thursday, May 15, 2014

The Triumph Of Self-Censorship

Discretion being the better part of valor, I wrote a blog post this week and decided, oh! Hell no! can’t post that! 

It concerned the recent frisson around Donald Sterling and Magic Johnson.  There were two main points, one mild but rather controversial and the other one heartfelt and also rather controversial. 

As I was writing about Donald Sterling, I kept expanding the disclaimer to avoid misunderstandings regarding my motives.  I’m no apologist for racism, and whatever the man has actually said there are many in a position to know who firmly believe that the man has some funny ideas on the subject.   Mostly because too much of a disclaimer is often a sign of guilt, or at least a sign of a guilty conscience, I decided to forget it. 

Magic Johnson was the object of the second point.  My feelings about Magic are on record herein, and they haven’t changed.  (An old post on the subject, “Magic Johnson Is Not Who You Think,” has had ten hits in the last week, since he’s in the news and all.) 

But people obviously love Magic, people including Anderson Cooper.  They love Magic with an uncritical love that borders on adoration.  Maybe it’s not my place to explain to people just how cosmically wrong that is.  I don’t have to join them in their worship, but neither do I have to rub my opinions in their faces.  It would just make me look like a cranky outlier.  Let people be people, let them have their heroes.  Worse people than Magic Johnson have huge fan bases.  He did beastly, reckless things, but at least he’s no O.J.  So forget that one too. 


Former President of France Nickolas Sarkozy once told another head of state that he had just “missed out on a wonderful opportunity to shut up.”  Self-censorship can be your friend!  

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