Comments on: NBA Star John Amaechi on Diversity & Inclusion: Hate Speech Goes Beyond N- and F-Words

By: danielle

danielle — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:17:52 +0000

i think that people are just showing more of their ignorance and true nature because of fear. to call someone out of their name is a sign of fear. that is why i tell anyone i may assocaite with friends or faamily call me my birth name. because if its easy to give a nickname then its easier to call you deraogatory name.

By: alicia

alicia — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 02:46:51 +0000

Someone should ask Kobe, What’s worse, being gay or being a cheater? Remind him that he is not perfect and not to judge others.

By: Curtis Fitzgerald

Curtis Fitzgerald — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:37:51 +0000

I enjoyed listening to this speech. It is a good reminder about the power of words and how we can impact others with our words. I think it would be good to have a message about how to deal with the negative words. He touched on that in his speech but I think people can deal with negative words better once they understand that those insults only have as much power as we give them. That is not to excuse the use of the words discussed in his speech, offensive slurs should not be accepted but we can learn to reject the negative feelings they cause in us.

By: Tamiko

Tamiko — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:32:28 +0000

It is refreshing to read the above article and to hear someone else express the intense power of words. I was also thrilled to hear Amechi explain the way in which one can call another person the “N” word without ever using the word.

Words do indeed have tremendous power and we can use them to make positive changes. As Amechi explains they can be used in a positive manner. As harmful as they can be, words can also provide hope and encouragement.

In my line of business, post-secondary preparation, words ae the tools we use to motivate our youth participants. We help the students change their outlook on their lives simply by using positive words to invoke positive thinking.

I live in Milwaukee, the most racially segregated city in the United States. Diversity training should be on the top of the list of every organization in this city. In all the time I have lived in this city (most of my life), I have found it to be very commonplace to use negative language when referring to a person of a particular race or cultural background. I do not, but I hear it often.

I suppose the forefathers of this country never anticipated it truly becoming a melting pot. Perhaps if they had, diversity training would have been mandated centuries ago.

By: Jake

Jake — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:03:42 +0000

Amechi was lucky he had a strong family to help him have the courage to get through the slurs thrown at him because of his color and sexual orientation, without it he could have grown up as an angry man with a poor self image. It’s unfortunate that he didn’t have a strong coach as well, he really could have used a good a jump shot. I think diversity in Western Civilization at least the future for all of us and especially our children. It should be and must be embraced by all of us. Thank you Mr Amechi.