Concerning the Donald Sterling feeding frenzy, NBA Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban may have said it best: “It’s changed everything for everybody for the foreseeable future…The world has changed. And everybody better realize it. Now you know the consequences of lack of privacy.”
Cuban further warned: “I think you’ve got to be very, very careful when you start making blanket statements about what people say and think, as opposed to what they do. It’s a very, very slippery slope.” Yes, indeed it is. Sterling displayed racism long before this but was given a pass because of his money. This change is frightening, especially with invasion of privacy seeming to be of no concern.
This certainly should frighten Orlando Magic owner Rich DeVos. He has taken a strong stance and spoken out against gay marriage in the past and that’s considered akin to racism by many hardcore progressives. If Sterling can be spied, tried, and fried for voicing an opinion that the NBA considers unacceptable, DeVos could easily be next.
In the 90’s, Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was taken to task for comments made about blacks and Jews. She was punished but she was not stripped of ownership. She eventually sold the team, but it was her decision to do so. Who, then, made the decision that punishment must now be more severe?
Is public opinion, which always sways in the political winds, enough to make that decision? What happens if this society changes? Would it be acceptable for a right-leaning society to determine which opinion should be punished? Will thoughts become punishable?
Slippery slopes certainly do exist and ideological zealots cannot see past their convictions to avoid them. Thought police, much like spaceships, satellites, and holograms, were once the purview of science fiction novels. They may now be coming all too real.
David J. Hentosh
Thomas Jefferson Club Blog 