Emerson Etem and the Buffalo beef.
by Floyd Gondoli on Dec 28, 2010 2:54 PM PST
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PrintYesterday, while in Buffalo, NY for the World Junior Hockey Championships, Emerson Etem took to his twitter account to express his feelings about his current surroundings:
While the local media in Buffalo took offense to this, the national media chose to cover their reaction and Emerson's polite backpedaling. It has even been covered on Puck Daddy. Emerson has since deleted the tweet and seems to have properly handled his public apology, but I wanted to chime in as a (totally unnecessary) advocate for Emerson as well as react to the coverage of the reaction to the original tweet (and you thought Inception had a lot of convoluted levels of complexity).
First of all, Emerson Etem need not back away from his feelings on visiting Buffalo, NY near the end of December. Our own Bobby Ryan shared very similar thoughts on Buffalo not but three weeks ago. Does anyone else remember the radio broadcast of the Ducks-Sabres on the 21st? Wood and Carroll were conversing about how the Ducks all playfully tease Todd Marchant about his hometown whenever they play in Buffalo. The point I am trying to make is that this is not an opinion that is unique to Etem. It is similarly held by several of his future teammates, and while the tweet may not have been the best way to say "thanks for having me" to your host city, it isn't completely unwarranted. He's a young kid that can't go out to the bars (not that I would advocate THAT) and the town seems to close down at 5 p.m. on a weeknight. Oh, yeah, and there's been a blizzard, too. Everyone has had nice things to say about HSBC arena, and the few fans that have shown up are, by all accounts, great. It's just tough to get excited about playing in a tournament when as a town, Buffalo does, in fact, suck.
Secondly, the many tiers of offense-taking that have stemmed from this tweet are quickly bordering on the ridiculous. The Buffalo media seem to be trying to make this into a news event, while the national media are attempting to make the Buffalo media's reaction into a news event. Greg Wyshynski (whom I usually enjoy quite a bit) has the worst line in this whole thing. I really want to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that this was unintentional and just not thought out:
Whatever. When he comes to play the Sabres as a Duck, show up dressed as a ghost or something.
Really, Wysh? You think that's a good plan? Tell the Sabres fans to put on a white sheet and go to the game when the african-american hockey player comes to town? Like these guys?
Yeah, I'm going to list that in the hall of fame for bad ideas.
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I would like to say that all that real estate that surrounds Anchor Bar is atrocious. And best Duck dig on upstate New York goes to Lupul:
JLupul Joffrey Lupul
Getting some ideas for my new house in Syracuse… It appears boards over the windows is a popular look.
28 Nov
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 28, 2010 6:15 PM PST reply actions
Every once in a while, Lupul produces a real gem from that account.
This one drew a chuckle from me.
"I looked down and saw my shaft in his hands."- b-_ryan9
by Floyd Gondoli on Dec 29, 2010 10:33 AM PST up reply actions
Look if someone things a town is shit, then why can’t they tweet it? Freedom of speech people. In a country where you can say some really shitty things and get away with it, saying that Buffalo sucks really isn’t that bad.
This is main theme of my first point.
I think that Etem is justified in his opinion, but even if he isn’t, nobody should be jumping all over him for having one. If someone were to express a similar opinion about my home town and I took objection to it, I would respond by trying to prove them wrong.
“You think it sucks here? Well, I’ll be your new tour guide.” Tell him where there is a decent restaurant that’s open late. Maybe see if there’s an all ages music club that has somebody playing he may like. I think that Buffalo got called out for sucking and they didn’t have a good response so they just took offense and snipped at Etem.
"I looked down and saw my shaft in his hands."- b-_ryan9
by Floyd Gondoli on Dec 29, 2010 10:41 AM PST up reply actions
What was really shitty though of Buffalo was when he scored his goal last night for Team USA and the Buffalo fans booed him. I don’t care what someone thinks of a person but when he is playing for the Stars and Stripes you should be behind him. When he takes off the USA jersey then go ahead and boo him all you want. I think he will fit in well as a Duck someday. We are not the most liked team and the NHL and the Ducks really don’t care what people think. Alot of people call Perry a bastard for his style of play to me all the time. I usually reply, well he may be a bastard but he is our bastard and we as fans have his back. Etem keep on tweeting man. We still like you and have high hopes for you back home.
by Newport Rebel on Dec 29, 2010 11:37 AM PST up reply actions
They booed him?
That’s some BS.
"I looked down and saw my shaft in his hands."- b-_ryan9
by Floyd Gondoli on Dec 29, 2010 1:48 PM PST up reply actions
I think it’s okay for him to retract it, though, because it was just an offhanded comment. I doubt he fervently believes it such that he wants to defame the city and convert its supporters to his opinion.
And I can see why people jumped all over him for it. Buffalo’s struggling, so it’s just kind of mean to ridicule it. Of course you CAN. Skinny girls can talk shit about fat girls all day. Rich people can roll through the slums and laugh at poor people or make them dance for money. I mean, you CAN. It’s just kind of bad form.
But I don’t think that’s what Etem was doing. He wasn’t being some skinny bitch then waving the Freedom of Speech flag on his fat girl punchlines. He was just making an observation, one he was invested in so little that he was happy to retract it.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 29, 2010 12:12 PM PST up reply actions
Skinny girls can talk shit about fat girls all day. Rich people can roll through the slums and laugh at poor people or make them dance for money. I mean, you CAN. It’s just kind of bad form.
Stealing from Chris Rock’s stand-up routine? Good examples nonetheless. But I find that it’s a double standard when group A can talk shit on group B, but group B can’t talk shit on group A because it’s “bad form.” Though I don’t see how the former isn’t bad form either.
It’s still a funny observation.
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
Well, if you actually understood what Chris Rock was saying, it’s bad form because you’re passing judgment on a struggle you’re not experiencing. As I said, Etem is not at all invested in the struggle of Buffalo. It’s just inappropriate for him to make a judgmental statement. For him to retract it is to say it was an observation, and he doesn’t pretend to have a vested opinion in the city. Were he to stand on the principle of being allowed to say it, it would be bad form.
Observations are more than funny when you understand them.
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 29, 2010 9:12 PM PST up reply actions
Does my ignorance annoy you? Because I sense some irritation in your post.
I guess I just don’t understand why Etem was getting all the flack when the statement he made appeared to be true. So if the statement is true, why is it bad form?
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
Truth is usually a matter of interpretation. I defer to the old saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. As such, you can’t definitely say that that Etem’s words are a fact, except. Buffalo might shut down early, but that doesn’t mean it’s a ghost town. That is just his interpretation of what a ghost town is.
As to bad form, that mostly has to do with power. It’s bad form to demean a person for a situation which he/she, for the most part, cannot control. Buffalo is having a tough economic time. People have lost their jobs and as a result don’t have the resources to change their situation. Etem kicked them while they were down. Since he’s not a member of the community criticizing or lamenting his own position, his comments serve only as a reminder to those in the Buffalo community that their community is inferior to others. You don’t go into someone’s house and tell them how it’s not as good as yours. Even if you perceive it as true, that might not be the case to that person. As such, in our culture, it’s bad form to do such a thing.
Criticism free of consequence is a privilege enjoyed by dominant cultures. In this case, Etem is one of the privileged who can come and go from Buffalo as he sees fit. He is, albeit on an extraordinarily small scale, taking up the attitude of a dominant group and passing judgment without understanding the full context of the situation. But, props to him for recognizing he said something rude and apologizing.
This makes sense
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me.
As I just explained to Arthur, I’m learning so I appreciate your patience and apologize for any future ignorant remarks.
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
Not annoyed by the ignorance, but Chris Rock doesn’t consider himself an observational comedian in the Seinfeld vein, there’s more Pryor-esque social commentary than daily life storytelling, so it does annoy me that you took from his routine the sentiment, “funny observation.”
Die By The Blade made the simple comparison of saying it’s like someone calling your father cheap, assuming your father is actually cheap. If you were to challenge someone who called your father cheap, and they decided not only to stand by their statement but attempt to prove its veracity, wouldn’t you consider that bad form? I mean, what possible stake do they have in whether or not your father is cheap and whether or not you or other people know it or admit to it?
by Arthur from Anaheim Calling on Dec 31, 2010 11:17 AM PST up reply actions
It's tough to say..
because if my father were cheap and someone attempted to prove its veracity, I would stop them before they got to that point and admit to its truth (if it were true). I suppose that’s why I don’t understand why people are making such a big deal about Emerson’s tweet. If it’s true, shut the fuck up and take it. And if you don’t like that it’s true, then shut the fuck up and do something to change it. Seems pretty straightforward to me..
But thanks for admitting to the fact that my ignorance can be annoying to you. I apologize for that and for what future ignorance that any of my posts may contain that may annoy you. One of the ways that I learn is to speak out and learn from when more intelligent people talk down to me. It’s very humbling, but also very effective :]
I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell
Haha, i like the other tweets from the journalists covering the tournament.
Channel 7 also found hockey websites trashing Buffalo. Two sports bloggers from Sweden who are here covering the tournament had this to say.
"Coming to Buffalo was like falling into a scene from the movie “28 Days Later” minus all the zombies. The streets were horrible fate," bloggers said.
A fan from Finland also had negative comments. “Downtown is like a ghost city after six p.m. so all you can do is sit in a hotel lobby bar. HSBC is a nice arena but take one wrong exit from the highway and you find yourself in a very, very, very scary ghetto,” the Finland fan said.
Don’t you love slow news weeks, so “journalists” blow shit out of proportion to generate site hits/tv ratings? Let’s call a spade a spade. Buffalo is a shit hole. If I lived in Buffalo, I’d have no problem calling it a shit hole. Because it’s a shit hole! Jeebus.
"Whenever I’m suffering from insomnia, I just look at a picture of a Toyota Camry and I’m straight off."
by Morbo on Dec 30, 2010 1:20 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
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