As both a Sox fan and a human being, I'm incredibly disgusted to hear about what happened at the game last night, and I'm heartened to see so many fellow SOSHers condemning this behavior, as well as engaging with other posters attempting to downplay, minimize, deny, or even outright excuse it.
As others have correctly pointed out, Sox security staff can only do so much. It's up to US (I'm white, and I'm speaking mostly to white people here) to confront people directly when they use racist language or make racist gestures, whether it's at the ballpark or ANYWHERE. People need to hear from their friends, family members, co-workers, and fellow fans that it's not OK. The same goes for homophobia, misogyny, and any other type of discriminatory or offensive language. It's not easy, and it's uncomfortable, but we have to do it if things are ever going to change.
It doesn't matter if this happens in other cities. It's happening HERE, in our city, with our team, with our fans, and it's time to stop ignoring it or dismissing it. I understand that people want to share their own experiences of going to Fenway and not hearing this kind of language, because people think it shows that it's not a widespread, pervasive issue, but we're past that at this point. It's a real thing, and we have to confront it head-on.
For those still denying that this happens, or discounting the stories from the growing number of players attesting to these incidents, or attempting to explain away bad behavior ("they didn't mean it," "they're not really racist," etc.) or accusing Jones of "playing the race card," you need to look in the mirror and start asking yourself, "Why don't I believe this?" Why is it so hard to accept the experience of a person of color when they say they've been on the receiving end of racism? Why don't we want to believe them? What does that say about ourselves?
It sucks that this shit still happens. And looking in the mirror is uncomfortable. But we have to accept that it exists, accept our own complicity (not speaking up, explaining away, or making excuses), and confront these attitudes directly.
I sincerely hope Adam Jones gets a prolonged standing ovation tonight. He deserves it for what he's had to endure, and for having the courage to speak up about it.