GREENSBORO, N.C. — Over the last few weeks, we've seen a number of people receive backlash for comments made against people of color--racist comments that deserve recourse.
But when it comes to anti-Semitic comments, the outrage isn't the same. Why is that?
Kareem Abdul-Jabar even touched on this topic in a column published on "The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday.
He specifically mentioned Hollywood and sports. And he made some really valid points.
First, he talked about anti-Semitic comments made by Ice Cube and NFL player DeSean Jackson.
Yes, they did apologize, but it seems they got a pass.
And yes, people should apologize for offensive comments.But I don't think they should get let off the hook so easily, especially celebrities.
Sometimes things just come out the wrong way, maybe. Abdul-Jabar says celebrities have a responsibility to get the words right.
I agree. Because words matter no matter the intention.
We've seen companies drop sponsorships for athletes for hateful comments.
And just today news was released that Viacomcbs is cutting ties with Nick Cannon for his anti-Semitic sentiments on a recent podcast.
But here's the problem when all hateful comments aren't treated the same.
It could lead to apathy and an apathy towards all social justice movements like Black Lives Matter.
Abdul-Jabar refers to it as an Apatholypse saying," If it's OK to discriminate against one group of people by hauling out cultural stereotypes without much pushback, it must be OK to do the same to others."
Hateful speech is hateful speech no matter what group it's against and that's unacceptable.
Abdul-Jabar ended his piece with a famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote saying "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
And this thought, if we are going to be outraged by injustice, we have to be outraged for injustice against anyone.
I wholeheartedly agree.
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