The Thought Police

The NBA bans Donald Sterling for life.  The sanctimonious crowds cheer and claim another scalp in the quest for "racial tolerance."  This is social justice on the cheap because it costs no one anything - except, I suppose, Donald Sterling.  And another creepy case of The Thought Police going after jobs and reputations much in the way of the Hollywood Black List of the 1950s.  Note -- the CEO of Mozilla who just got fired for "supporting traditional marriage," Armond White, the film critic who got banned from the NY Critics Circle for "heckling,"and now, Donald Sterling for racism.  You could also toss Alec Baldwin and Michael Richards into the mix for saying "offensive" things.

Bret Easton Ellis calls this "outrage culture." And the trend you'll notice is none of the people actually did anything illegal or immoral.  They merely thought wrong, or uttered wrong, or supported an unpopular political position.

The Donald Sterling story is not about white master culture and black slaves.  The Donald Sterling story is about outrage culture and the horrible glee with which we like to take people down.  This is a reflection of misery and anxiety about the future (ie economic) and taking these "scalps" gives a temporary sense of satisfaction that others are "worse people" and being punished.

You ask how I think society ought to handle the situation? Do nothing. Ignore him. He's a doofus, not a threat to the social fabric.  But Big Brother won't stand for it.  Orwell was wrong about one thing - he thought Big Brother was the government - but it turns out - Big Brother is us.