Hank Aaron Would Have Faced Worse Racism Today

Time ^ | April 7, 2014 | Jon Friedman

[EveningStar]

The home-run king is lucky he didn't have to contend with the ubiquitous bigots and haters on today's social media ...

We might conclude that Aaron got off easy four decades ago, long before social media dominated every facet of our lives and removed any shred of privacy.

Just try to imagine how much more intense and challenging his predicament would have been. Can you picture the potential for incessant racist taunts on Facebook and Twitter, not to mention the blogosphere? In the 1970s, the haters reached Aaron by what we call “snail mail.” Today, in our sped-up-world of modern communications, Aaron would have had no escape...

[Tulane]

Being serious...is this satire?

I refuse to click on time...

[Dilbert San Diego]

Can someone refresh my memory? Was Hank Aaron the target of racists when he broke Babe Ruth’s all time home run record?

[2ndDivisionVet]

I tire of this. I’ll bet we could raise the money for one-way tickets for all these disgruntled people.

[KoRn]

This is just bullshit.

Why pollute this forum with it?

I guess it does serve a purpose to display what warped people might be thinking, or lack thereof.

[Mears]

And he’d probably be earning $10,000,000.00 per year which would make it easier to handle.

.

[fhayek]

Not content to publish "news", Time wades rudely into pure conjecture .

[Tulane]

Yes, he had death threats leading up to the record...I saw an interview with him back in the 90s, he was scared silly after he hit 715 beacuse as he rounded second and the Atlanta fan raced onto the field...he wasn’t sure if the fan was friend or foe...

[discostu]

I don’t know if it would be worse racism, by and large I think there’s fewer racists in this country. But thanks to social media a very small number of people can make a very large amount of noise.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Oh wow, as if anyone has to actually read everybody else’s Facebook, etc.

This is so shrill.

[Amagi]

I can believe it.
Racism in recent decades is a tool that has been gaining momentum as the left wields it in their agenda to divide people. (Just as they use gender, sexual orientation, income, etc., to divide the people.)
Race pimps like the Rev Al and Jesse Jackass are only bit players getting filthy rich in the process.
You see Obama and Holder fan the flames of racism at every opportunity.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Why of course. They aren’t reporters now. They’re preachers.

[WilliamRobert]

This child was probably not even alive when Milo Hamilton called 715. He also probably never witnessed the Civil Rights movement and only has knowledge from the propaganda he was spoon fed by his communist educators.

[moovova]

I hope Mr. Friedman doesn’t take this as racist...but he seems to have a very black heart.

[kidd]

The only way Hank Aaron would be threatened worse today is if he is in favor of traditional marriage.

[thefactor]

10? At least 20.

[Enten]

“I tire of this. I’ll bet we could raise the money for one-way tickets for all these disgruntled people.”

I’m in! And I’ll drive them to the airport.

[Ancient Man]

Here a strawman, there a strawman, everywhere a strawman.

[ColdOne]

Bingo!!!!

[alloysteel]

Haters? Who are these “haters”? Is it the soft prejudice that is the driving force of “low expectations”? Is it the implied belief in inferiority that is behind “Affirmative Action”?

The old-fashioned belief that one can, by sheer strength of will, overcome what some may see as “limitations”, and expand far beyond “expectations”, is an ingrained article of faith with those of us who believe in the innate dignity of every human being, and the transcendence that shows through commitment to faith in that which cannot be seen, or to the inner voice that speaks to the individual alone.