![\"blackface.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/www.rachelstavern.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/10\/blackface.jpg\" "\\"blackface.jpg\\"")
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In yet another case of blackface racism, a group of white Ohio football fans<\/a>, including children, taunted their black opponents. The racist fans, including this white boy on the left, yelled racial slurs, painted their faces black, beat on frying pans, and wore Afro wigs when their team played a predominantly black opponent. This is really disturbing to see young children engage in this sort of behavior, which really challenges the whole kids are colorblind argument. The coach of the predominantly black team, Jeffrey Saffold, called the head of the youth football association for the white team to complain. Here is a quote from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:<\/p>\n “I think this was a way of supporting the team by showing up in bigoted costumes to mock their minority opponent,” Saffold said.<\/p>\n Saffold said he twice previously complained to Hudson coaches about the use of the N-word.<\/p>\n He said after Sunday’s game, he complained to John Elffers, president of the Hudson Hawks Youth Football Association, who sent him a letter apologizing for the fans’ actions.<\/p>\n Elffers, however, said the first complaint he heard came Monday when Saffold called him and said parents of Shaker players were offended. Elffers said he doubted supporters meant to be offensive.<\/p>\n “Their actions, albeit unwise, foolish and insensitive, were meant to be totally supportive and not intended to insult or offend anyone in any way,” Elffers wrote in his letter to Saffold. “We regret what occurred and apologize for any righteous indignation these actions may have caused to the coaches, players, parents and family members of the Shaker football organization.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What I found very disturbing is not only the actions of these kids, but also the most insincere pathetic apology I have ever seen. John Elffers tries to argue that these actions were not meant to offend or insult, and I don’t see how else this behavior could be interpreted. Using the n-word and painting your face black is insulting, no matter how you try to frame it. Moreover, in the statement above he is apologizing for the righteous indignation of the black kids and their fans when he needs to be apologizing for the racist behavior of these white children and their parents. (FYI–I am not the one who edited out the white child’s face. The the local TV station did that.)<\/p>\n This case also seems to follow the typical pattern in these blackface cases. The whole “we didn’t mean to offend them argument” is the standard defense in these cases. However, this clearly should not be taken at face value. If any news reporters are reading this, I would recommend asking people who makes these claims two questions 1) What did you intend? 2) How do you expect blacks to respond to this sort of behavior? I’d love to see these white people’s responses to those questions. Reporters, and people in general, need to go a little deeper, and not just accept these sorts of claims. Let’s not be so quick to let the “we didn’t mean to offend” argument slide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In yet another case of blackface racism, a group of white Ohio football fans, including children, taunted their black opponents. The racist fans, including this white boy on the left, yelled racial slurs, painted their faces black, beat on frying … Continue reading