Being An Ally

Kind of out of nowhere, here's a great think-piece by a white ballplayer for the Utah Jazz on how he discovered his own privilege:

"There’s an elephant in the room that I’ve been thinking about a lot over these last few weeks. It’s the fact that, demographically, if we’re being honest: I have more in common with the fans in the crowd at your average NBA game than I have with the players on the court.

And after the events in Salt Lake City last month, and as we’ve been discussing them since, I’ve really started to recognize the role those demographics play in my privilege. It’s like — I may be Thabo’s friend, or Ekpe’s teammate, or Russ’s colleague; I may work with those guys. And I absolutely 100% stand with them.

But I look like the other guy.

And whether I like it or not? I’m beginning to understand how that means something."

Let's face it -- nine times out of ten in 2019, rooting for any professional sports team means supporting an owner / ownership group that is filled with unrepentant, overly wealthy, and racist assholes.  So a piece like this goes a long way to make me more optimistic that things are changing for the better, and that being an ally doesn't take any huge moral leaps -- it just requires you to shut up and think about the experiences of others, and to re-align yourself accordingly.