We just passed the 40-year anniversary of the night, in Atlanta, when Henry Aaron broke not only the home run record, but a winter of racial hate toward himself, when he lifted his 715th major-league home run into the night.
The clip is audio-only, but a very intelligent man had this to say when Aaron did it, after the moment that two white kids (doing something they said later was "very stupid", and for which they were fined $200) made a statement they probably still don't realize they made today when they congratulated Aaron as he rounded second base...
After letting the moment speak for itself for almost two minutes, Vin Scully spoke:
"What a marvelous moment for baseball.
What a marvelous moment for Atlanta and the state of Georgia.
What a marvelous moment for the country and the world.
A black man is getting a standing ovation in the Deep South for breaking a record of an all-time baseball idol.
And it is a great moment for all of us, and particularly for Henry Aaron, who was meant at home plate not only by every member of the Braves, but by his father and mother."
We need Vin Scully to speak again. We know he still works for the Dodgers, but a lot of what has happened to Aaron during this retrospective of the 40th anniversary of that night needs Vin's perspective again, and a lot of people to JUST SHUT UP!!
It all started when Aaron talked to USA Today last week.
And he said something that only a man with his perspective would truly be able to understand...
You see, he still has all the hate mail from that vitriolic winter of 1973-74. He reads it, to keep perspective all these years later.
Why does he do it, when most other people wouldn't? Aaron answers that himself in the article:
"To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There's not a whole lot that has changed.
We can talk about baseball. Talk about politics. Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he's treated.
We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go in the country.
The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts."
And you know what? He's RIGHT.
And how does he get treated for this? Deadspin aids USA Today in chronicling the shit...
""Hank Aaron is a scumbag piece of (expletive) (racial slur)'' a ["]man["] named Edward says in an e-mail to the Braves front office and obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Edward invokes the epithet five times in four sentences, closing with, "My old man instilled in my mind from a young age, the only good (racial slur) is a dead (racial slur).""
Three others are quickly noted: "Marion calls Aaron a "racist scumbag.'' Ronald won't attend another Braves' game until Aaron is fired. Mark calls Aaron a "classless,racist.'' David says that he will burn Aaron's I Had A Hammer autobiography."
Sorry, boys, the shoe fits.
And, once again, Hank Aaron is vilified for the color of his skin, and his wish to be above the fray.
Unlike another jackass who needs to Just Shut Up -- if not have it done to him forcibly, as someone with the propensity to open his mouth and vacuum up the entire rest of his body had this to say to someone who had a lot of words for him when he last famously opened his fat trap in 1999...
"Well, after reading what Aaron recently had to say about Republicans and those who disagree with President Obama, allow me to take the home run king’s words and put them in my own mouth:
“To be honest with you, I’m very sick and disgusted with the whole situation. For someone in the situation of Mr. Aaron to make those statements is ridiculous. I have no place in my heart for that.”
What was it Aaron said? That’s right, he compared Republicans that oppose President Barack Obama’s ruinous policies and agenda to Ku Klux Klan members. He blamed Republicans for hindering Obama’s job performance, telling USA Today:
“Sure, this country has a black president, but when you look at a black president, President Obama is left with his foot stuck in the mud from all of the Republicans with the way he’s treated.
“The bigger difference is that back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts.”Yes, world, John Rocker has opened his fucking mouth again.
We are getting dangerously close to racial violence in this country. And it's ignoramuses (ignorami?) like these e-mail writers and Rocker that are feeding it.
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