Barry Bonds and Identity Politics

I spend a lot of time at Pac Bell, SBC, AT&T Park each summer and have witnessed quite a few historic Barry Bonds momments. I was there the night he hit 600, and the night be surpassed his Godfather, Willie Mays's all-time mark. I've seen more than my share of "splash hits."

Watching Bonds on the playing field during this time was pretty spectacular and, although steroid allegations were pretty rampant, it was as situation that clearly wasn't only affecting Barry Bonds. It just happened to be that steroids were combined with a guy who hit .300 and blasted 44 HRs (this was done in Candlestick Park mind you) the year before the alleged steroid use began. It was akin to enriching uranium--the result wbeing a power that the game has never seen before, and naturally, the baseball world focused in on him.

Barry was an easy target. For all of his amazing prowess on the field, he's a pretty lousy guy. It's not about sports reporters either (who are a pretty loathsome bunch in general), it's about how he's treated his teammates and those around him who, as a ball player, he is obligated to play nice with.

So, Tuesday night I went to the Giants/Cardinals game. It was a game where I could possibly witness him pass the lengendary Babe Ruth. They always refer to Yankee Stadium as "The House That Ruth Built," however I think it might be far to say that baseball itself is "The Game That Ruth Built." It is arguable, but not entirely farfetched to think that the reason this sport is where it is today has a lot to do with what Babe brought to the game 80-90 years ago.

Our tickets were 8 rows behind home plate. Clearly they were some tasty seats and usually a place where you see celebrities and other people of semi-royal dignity. This time was no exception. Sitting right down in front of us was none other than Jesse Jackson.

Why the hell was he at a Giants game? Ah, it was probably because there was an opportunity to do some race baiting:

During his quest to overtake Babe Ruth's home run total, Barry Bonds complained that racism was the reason so many fans were rooting against him. That may be so, but it doesn't explain how divided African Americans are about the validity of Bonds' claims of racial enmity or why some of them, too, might be unhappy to see Bonds surpass the Yankee slugger.

Not since the O.J. Simpson trial have blacks seemed so polarized about whether a well-known African American has been subjected to unfair treatment. On blogs, in conversations and in other public forums, black Americans are talking not about Bonds' homers but about whether he deserves empathy or contempt.

Bonds is now playing the victim. Here is how he feels about the reception that he is getting from fans during his chase to pass the Babe:

Bonds, however, has his own take on the subject. "If I was a long ways from Babe Ruth, this wouldn't be the same," he said in February 2005, according to two published accounts. "Because Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players ever, and Babe Ruth ain't black. I'm black. Blacks, we go through a little more, and that's the truth. Unfortunately, I said it. And I'm not a racist, but I live in the real world."

Barry has it right. He is being "singled out" because he is about to surpass Babe Ruth. But like almost all pleas to identity politics, it isn't because of a white and black thing. Forget the fact that he cheated, and forget the fact that when Hank Aaron surpassed the Babe that he dealt with threats against his life specifically because he was black. He has to realize, that the first major victim of Ruth's shadow was white: Roger Maris.

Roger Maris was seeking to break Ruth's single season homerun record, and was repeatedly hammered on by his own fans because they didn't not want Ruth's record to be broken (unless it was fan favorite Mickey Mantle). Maris, in his quiet demenor, barely managed to pop-out of the dugout for a "curtain call" when he knocked number 61 out of the park.

Now, all the race baiting sociologist have an issue that they can use to pile on their theory that whitey is still out there tryin' to keep the black man down:

(Professory Leonard) Moore, who teaches courses on black nationalism and the civil rights movement at Louisiana State University, says anti-Bonds sentiment is not part of a conspiracy but reflects a widespread hope among "white America" that the slugger wouldn't surpass Ruth, who is one of baseball's most revered players. Moore says the feeling is both conscious and subconscious.

"When it comes to baseball ... there's a deification of Ruth, and they want to protect that image at all cost," Moore said in a phone interview. "White America has so much racial baggage that sometimes they don't even understand when they're being racially biased."

Moore, the former director of LSU's African American Studies Program, says, "The only black folk who really are accepted into society by and large are African American entertainers -- like musicians and athletes. Whenever an African American entertainer steps outside that box of entertainer and has the audacity to speak and have opinions, (they're punished). Barry Bonds doesn't want to give autographs. He could care less about the media. In many ways, the feeling (among Bonds' detractors) is, 'Look at this Negro. We've created this good life for him, where he can make all this money in the greatest country in the world -- how dare he not want to sit down and talk to us, how dare he not cater to us, how dare he criticize what we do.' When you look at the history of American sport, name one (other) athlete who's been vilified to this extent."

Ok, I can name another sports figure (not an athlete, but same deal) that treated people like shit, was villified, and paid for it: Bobby Knight. Bobby, just like Barry, thought that he was better than everyone else. He knew that he was a genius at what he did, and he constantly let people know it. Unfortunately, whether sports reporters are idiots or not, if you slap them around on a daily basis, they're going to get you. They finally got Bobby and he was pounded just as hard as Barry was, and he didn't inject steroids or cheat to win.

This is a perfect example of the fallacy of identiy politics. With Barry Bonds appeal to his identity group and his accusation of bad faith among his detrators, he has in turn attempted to remove any personal responsibility that he has over his own personal actions. As Jeff Goldstein would say, this is at it's root an illiberal view, and one that takes the focus off an individual's rights and liberties, and groups them together in classes of people who are deemed protected by those powerful enough to influence the narrative.

In the realworld that Barry Bonds claims to live in, he wasn't the only cheater, but it is really hard to get your dander up about a like Ken Caminiti, or Matt Lawton. I still enjoy watching Barry play even with the steroid accusaions, but I don't like watching someone who can't take personal responsibility for something that he has done wrong. Not only has he not taken responsibility, but he has shifted the blame onto to white people.

----

One other comment about Professor Moore's statement when he claimed that white people only respect celebrities and atheletes. I'm not trying to gain credibility by identifying with a black man, but I think it is notable that one of my personal heros is family friend, Luther Smith. I guess you could say he's a celebrity, but clearly not in the condescending accusation that Moore meant. Luther was a Tuskegee Airman, who flew 133 combat missions over Europe before he was shot down and captured by the German Army. He shattered his leg in the incident, and then spent the next seven months in a POW camp until he was repatriated. This is a man who lived his entire life with the same resilience, tenacity, perseverance and intelligence that allowed him to survive this ordeal.

But Professor Moore shouldn't let little ,inconvient anamolies such as this to cloud his broad, brushed-stroked scholarship on the subject.

Posted by 10 fingers 6 strings at May 25, 2006 12:40 PM | TrackBack