FanPost

Jackie Robinson Day - April 15, 2007

Bumped from the diaries. It is funny to me. Imus (who I do not feel sorry for) can get fired over "making jokes" (according to him and his apologists), while Pom Pom gets to skate by dismissing graphics of black babies in chains and swastika as a "mistake". Is something off here? GO BRUINS. - N

Major League Baseball is set to celebrate Jackie Robinson on April 15, the 60th anniversary of his monumental and courageous trot out to his position in a major league game.  He was carrying the aspirations of many, and breaking down the barriers that existed then and which now shame all of us.  He was in many respects the greatest Bruin ever.  

We all know his history.  As to what he had to endure, we can't "know" it - all we can do is "know about" it.  We all know his legacy - a legacy of equality and merit and tolerance.  And always a legacy of courage.

Actually, I exaggerated just a bit.  His legacy is apparently not particularly well known at justsc.  If it is known, it is not embraced.  I refer, of course, to the "White Nation."  We discussed that website and the aftermath of its disclosure at some length, but then tabled the issue because of the NCAA tournament.  (In retrospect, I wish we had not done so -- it's as big an issue as banner number 12 in my opinion.)

I have since looked at some justsc blogs.  The incident has been totally forgotten.  It is totally under the rug as far as I could determine.  There is no mention of it anywhere that I could discern.  I do not choose to subscribe to the Daily trOJan (either the justsc campus version, or the one with wider circulation (i.e., the fishwrap)), so I cannot personally state that nothing has been written in those august publications.  But it stands to reason that if any trOJan, either officially or unofficially, wanted to lodge some sort of protest or start some sort of investigation, we would all have heard of it by now.  

But what have we heard?  Nothing.  Nothing from the administration of the school.  Now a word from the faculty.  Dead silence from the student body.  Nothing new from the athletic department or the team.

I will not pretend to understand what goes on in any trOJan's mind.  I will not pretend to comprehend how anyone could willingly attend that institution, or could willingly allow a loved one to do so.  (I have made my position on that clear, and have invited legitimate debate on those points of conscience.  No one has accepted that offer.)  

The point of this post is Jackie Robinson.  I cannot let a day honoring him come and go without issuing a challenge to everyone who is connected with justsc (or even one person connected with justsc) to take some sort of action to address the "White Nation," the players behind the "White Nation." and most importantly the mindset that allowed the "White Nation"  ever to come into existence in the first place.  Have you no sense of decency?  Where is the outrage?  Where are the calls for action?  WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU PEOPLE?  

The unwillingness to do anything about the "White Nation" - either on an institutional or on an  individual level - speaks volumes about justsc.  It is the ultimate condemnation of that contemptible place.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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