The Most Hated Athletes

As I read several sports articles and watched television shows regarding the NBA Finals, it dawned on me that LeBron James has become one of the most hated, scrutinized and criticized athletes ever.  In 2010, CNBC stated that LeBron is one of the six most hated athletes.  The crazy thing is that he used to be one of the most liked NBA players on the planet.  Over the past 11 months, we have witnessed everything from people burning his old Cleveland Cavaliers jersey in the streets to questioning his manhood and even those who suggest he's a quitter.  The simultaneous realities of one TV show ("The Decision") turning so many Americans against Lebron –many who are not even engaged in sports as entertainment- while his Miami Heat jersey overtook Kobe Bryant’s as the top-seller, reminds me of a quote from the movie Gladiator: "Brother, the mob can be quite fickle."  

The venom being spewed at LeBron made me wonder if he has become the most hated athlete in America.  As I pondered who would give LeBron a run for this infamous title, it dawned on me that all of the most hated athletes in America are Black men.  The other candidates are Tiger Woods (I know he says he's Cablonasian, but few would dispute that America sees him as Black), Michael Vick, Terrell Owens, Kobe Bryant, Chad Johnson/Ochocinco, and Barry Bonds.  

There are several White athletes that deserve consideration for the most hated list: Brett Favre, Mark McGuire, Lance Armstrong, Ben Roethlisberger, Pete Rose, Roger Clemens, Matt Jones, Ryan Leaf, and Jeremy Shockey (to name a few) all stand accused or guilty of saying and/or doing really terrible (and in some cases criminal) things, but haven’t come close to receiving the same level of negative attention, and actually remain beloved by a majority of Americans.  These men are just as arrogant, shady, unethical, untruthful, womanizing and disrespectful as their accused Black counterparts, but you would never know it based on the type and scale of media coverage.  

When I consider the transgressions of all of these people, I have a few questions:  Why aren't any of these White athletes on the most hated list?  Why are all of the most hated athletes Black?  Why are some of the Black athletes with no criminal record or accusations of unethical behavior on the most hated list, and even more hated than some of the White athletes with criminal records?  Does the fact that 97% of American sports editors are White have anything to do with the perception of Black and White athletes?  These are all questions that should be answered, and racism, bias, and white privilege should be at the forefront of those discussions.  

There will be those who cannot bring themselves to admit that race has anything to do with the hate. They will point to LeBron's "Decision" or Owens' constant need for the spotlight as the seeds of arrogance/selfishness that sowed the hate.  However, Brett Favre displayed his own “selfishness” and “arrogance” in Lebron and T.O. fashion when he “decided” to leave the Green Bay Packers, along with his on-going “decisions” regarding retirement or suiting up for another team all while "sexting" his manhood to a NY Jets reporter who is not named Mrs. Favre. (It’s noteworthy that Lebron’s “Decision” would be a nonissue if it hadn’t been ESPN’s brain-child of an attempt at ratings, or millions of people hadn’t actually watched it.)  

Lance Armstrong has just as many unanswered questions regarding performance-enhancing drugs (and drug masking agents) as Barry Bonds.  However, the media lightly scrutinizes Armstrong’s allegations and his accusers are often labeled as jealous competitors.  One reason often cited for the light reporting on Armstrong is that Americans don't really care about cycling.  If that’s so, why is Armstrong a celebrity at all? Why are we “living strong” and wearing his bracelets? It’s not just the comeback from cancer. Thousands of people comeback from cancer, but only Armstrong has won repeatedly on cycling's biggest stage, the Tour de France.  So, cycling does matter in the U.S. if you're winning and setting records.  Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault more times than Kobe Bryant.  Tiger Woods cheated on his wife, but Roger Clemens cheated on his wife, used performance-enhancing drugs, and lied to Congress, but somehow he escaped the Tiger treatment.  The comparisons could go on and on, but the question remains: why are the most hated athletes all Black men?  Below are just a few reasons why Black athletes are more hated than Whites.  

Racism: People will undoubtedly say that none of this has anything to do with race and the usual accusation of "pulling the race card" phrase will appear.  Funny thing is that unless someone with a white hood, burning cross and hurling the N-word is caught on YouTube, racism can never be the cause for anything remotely racist anymore. It’s like racism has been limited to racial epithets and acts of violence, while everything else can (and will most likely) be explained away.  Well, I'm sorry to say that racism still exists and to think that somehow sports is immune is really wishful thinking and just plain ignorant.  Every one of the Black athletes I've named in this article has received some sort of communication (i.e., email, standard mail, in-person comments, etc.) from someone calling them the N-word, other racial slurs, or general comments containing racial undertones.  If you ask any of the White athletes listed if the negative communications they’ve received involved their race, I'm willing to bet your annual salary that it never comes up.  This is not to say all of the negative comments and feelings directed at the Black athletes involve only race, but this does point out that none of the criticism of White athletes has a racial component.  

Lack of Interaction:  A large amount of White people in America have little to no interaction with Black people.  When I was in high school, we had a very diverse student body.  One year, we had a young (White) girl transfer to our school from Idaho.  She was acting weird one day and the teacher (got to love conscious and intuitive educators) asked her if something was wrong.  She answered that she’d never seen a Black, Latino, Asian or Middle Eastern person except for television.  She also admitted that the only Black people she saw were on sitcoms like "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times", along with sports on the news.  Needless to say, she was a little disturbed when she arrived at our high school since her only reference points were J.J. Evans, George Jefferson or Magic Johnson.  So, if you have no experience with different communities in a meaningful way (besides eating Chinese, Soul, Mexican or Indian food), then chances are you're going to view different people as "others," and we don't usually have a positive reaction to "otherness."  Even if Whites have some real interaction with people of color beyond exposure through TV, it's usually not a reciprocal relationship, meaning, there is very little equal understanding, empathy and experiential learning shared.  

White privilege/bias in the media:  For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, please see the following short essay by Peggy McIntosh: White Privilege  As I mentioned earlier, the majority of sports writers are White.  Of course, many in the media will be defensive because they do not feel they have any bias or prejudice.  I’m sure each can claim that, "one of my best friends is Black," however that’s as odd and irrelevant as ever.  There are plenty of men who have wives and daughters, but they can be just as sexist as single men with no kids.  The point is that we all have biases and prejudice, so the first thing we have to do is realize our biases in order to control or eliminate them. We have to ask ourselves if we are receiving facts, or opinions based on someone else’s factual interpretation.  Receiving unbiased facts allows us to generate our own viewpoints and opinions, while accepting another person’s opinion as fact tells us what to think and may reinforce a preconceived thought with little to no factual analysis done by the reader or the author.  (Please see Fair and Accuracy In Reporting's (FAIR) short memo on how racial bias persists in the media.) To really illustrate the point of conscious and unconscious bias, consider this scenario:  Just imagine if women's sports were mostly (90%) covered by male reporters.  Do we really think that male bias and privilege would not be a part of the information we receive?  Do we really think that some of the female perspectives wouldn't be lost by having 90% of the information and news reported by men?  Now couple that unintentional bias with generations of sexism and gender discrimination in American society, which we’ve all been exposed to at some level. Under this scenario we would receive quite a bit of gender bias within the coverage of women's sports.  The same is true in the media coverage of major sports involving men – Black men who are reported about and analyzed by mostly White men.  

Identity Politics: The majority of white reporters/editors and White Americans identify with other Whites. This is one of the main reasons why they do not vilify White athletes in the same manner as Black athletes.  Whites see other Whites as a reflection of themselves no matter how different they may be, and consequently desire to be and identify with those White athletes. These are things that they can never do with Black athletes regardless of how many jerseys they buy or how many times they watch black athletes play. So what does this mean?  It means that White athletes are given the benefit of the doubt, not scrutinized as hard, and reported about in a much more relative manner than Black athletes, because White athletes are viewed differently than Black athletes. 

Bias and hypocrisy against Black athletes can be traced back to Jack Johnson, Jim Brown, Muhammad Ali, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, and many others.  Sports, like Hollywood and the military, needs a bad guy.  The American psyche needs a villain so that it can invent a hero or Great White Hope.  It is true that there are a lot of reasons to dislike a particular athlete, but it is no coincidence that all of the most hated, scrutinized and vilified athletes are Black men.  As I reflect on the disproportionate amount of “hate” almost strictly reserved for Black athletes, I’m reminded of an old African Proverb:  "Until Lions have their own historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter."  

A Black History Month Retrospective

A BLACK HISTORY MONTH RETROSPECTIVE: WILLIE LYNCH WIN, LOSE OR DRAW

Whether you believe the Willie Lynch Letter (WLL) is real or fake is really not the point of the post.  Even if the letter is fake, that shouldn’t stop us (especially black/African heritage people) from examining the concepts within the letter and looking at where we are today. Black people are not a monolithic group and just like there are many shades of black people, many of us think differently about issues and aren’t representative of some of the negative characteristics mentioned in the WLL.  There is always something about generalizations that set people off and the observations in this post are not intended to represent every black person you know or have come into contact with on this earth.  However, there are some general attributes that are common to a large majority of black neighborhoods/communities and that’s where the greatest hits will focus on today.  

As you can see from the WLL, the whole point of Willie’s method was to have black people self-impose mental, physical, emotional and spiritual chains on each other for hundreds of years. Here is a question for you to consider: Did Willie, Whitey, slave master, and countless shady Negroes succeed in their objective?  

Light vs. Dark

We can all agree that this has been an enormous issue for hundreds of years and is still an issue today.  However, it’s pretty debatable as to whether black people carry disdain or distrust based on the various shades within our community.  Some still think light, damn near white equals good, while black, darker skin equals bad.  If we happen to see black people as models, up until recent times most of them have been light skinned.  Along with other industries besides modeling, lighter complexion often opened up doors closed off to darker skinned blacks.  It’s no secret that many black people continue to internalize American/European beliefs that lighter skin blacks are smarter and safer to be around than darker blacks.  I want to say this issue has improved over the years, but it’s hard to remove hundreds of years of internalized oppression just because white people “allowed” black people to go to school with them.  VERDICT: WILLIE WINS

Old Blacks vs. Young Blacks

The WLL states you must pit the old black person versus the young black person.  It would be easy to say that Willie and the crew didn’t succeed at this endeavor because black people tend to revere and defer to our elders, especially “Big Momma”, “Madere”, “Poppa” and so on.  Often, older members of our families lived with us and because they cared for us as child, we naturally cared for them in their golden years.  However, as times have changed, families are less connected and we have sections of town rather than neighborhoods and communities.  Young people believe older people can’t move forward because they are stuck in the past, while older people can’t understand a younger generation that doesn’t seem to care about its history that may lead them down a path to repeat a terrible past.  Leadership opportunities within black communities often mean a person must have some gray hair (or no hair) in order to be considered a legitimate and essential stakeholder.  Young blacks only know of integration and believe anything less would be taking a step backward, as if all-black neighborhoods, schools, universities, and communities didn’t yield some of the greatest achievers (despite the obstacles) the world has ever known.  I think it’s too early to say whether Willie and crew succeeded in pitting young versus old, but it’s not looking good.  VERDICT: DRAW

Female vs. Male

Black men and women love one another and that can be seen in many black families across the nation.  Are there issues between black men and women?   Yes, but that can be said for men and women throughout the United States.  Regardless of race, divorce rates are 50% or higher in most areas; domestic violence statistics seem to get worse every year; and, there remains a gender gap in terms of annual income.  Despite the fact these are universal American issues, the negative aspects within each category are magnified within the black community.  The divorce rate among black people is higher than the national average; domestic violence-related crimes are reported at a higher rate within the black community; and, the income gap between black men and women still remains albeit not as large as other groups but these numbers do not include the staggering unemployment rate of black men as compared to the rest of the population. The number of single-parent households (for whatever reason) within the black community is disheartening and debilitating at times.  In no way are marriage, heterosexual and/or dysfunctional relationships the only answer because as mentioned earlier, people get divorced all the time; but that’s no excuse for both parents not to be in their children’s lives.  If we analyzed the type television images or music lyrics that often portray black men and women as dysfunctional and natural enemies, the situation looks even worse. When did “pimping” women or cultivating a “sponsor” replace love and respect?  The categories mentioned in this section are not all encompassing and they are limited in terms of measuring the strain or animosity between black women and men.  However, they do illustrate that the division between black men and women exists and has major ramifications on and within the community.  VERDICT: WILLIE WINS

Distrust and Envy

Again, these two concepts are not uniquely housed within the black community.  That fact alone doesn’t mean Willie loses.  We have to ask ourselves: Have distrust and envy distinctively affected our community in such a way that perpetuates a cycle of stunted growth and in some cases, death?  Am I my brother’s (or sister’s) keeper?  There are several issues and areas within the community that should give us pause.  First, the unconscionable number of black-on-black crimes, especially murder, in the U.S. is truly astonishing.  Do we do these things to each other for “justifiable” reasons or are we conditioned to distrust and hate one another in a manner that suggests that black lives aren’t worth much to us?  Second, the level of distrust among black men and women is mentioned above, so no need to rehash that subject. Finally, in this area of distrust and envy, we have to really examine how integration or at least our attempts at integration leave us distrustful of our own community.  Many of us growing up in the U.S. have been conditioned to believe black is bad and white is good.  This inferior-superior complex we have internalized has made us look for truth, goodness and justice outwardly rather than within ourselves.  Since the end of segregation, we don’t support (i.e., trust) black businesses anymore; we don’t support Historically Black Colleges and Universities anymore; we don’t support black news media and outlets anymore; and many of us are often afraid to live in own communities anymore.  We envy what other communities have, but we aren’t willing to sacrifice to obtain those goals.  Before integration, black communities depended on each other.  We had our own doctors, attorneys, retail stores, auto dealerships, colleges, parks, etc.  When integration became the new law, we immediately ran to the other establishments to the detriment of our own.  Somehow, we were led or wanted to believe that the non-black establishment, item, perspective, or whatever was better.  We trust others to do for us what we used to do for ourselves and at the end of the day we have ask ourselves, are we any better because of it?  VERDICT: WILLIE WINS

Final Thoughts

White flight, school segregation, racism within the entertainment industry, and the lack of positive black male and female images everywhere demonstrates on a daily basis that other groups directly or indirectly would prefer not to integrate with us.  We continue to trust that the “good” ones in those other groups will become enlightened and all of the ills within our community will change rather than trust ourselves to be the change we want to see in others.  How can we change the vicious cycle from repeating itself?  

In the spirit of Black History Month, we must do what our ancestors did everyday to sustain their communities.  First, we must love each other.  Yes, I’m fully aware of the old adage that states, “All of my skin folk, ain’t my kin folk.”  There are members of our community who must be held accountable for their actions.  However, we must start from a place of love with them and ourselves if we want to make a positive change in the black community.  Our ancestors loved, trusted and respected themselves and one another and we are a living testament of those principals. That brings me to the second way we can make a change and that’s with taking responsibility for loving, educating and developing our children.  If we continue to expect others to educate, develop and love our kids, we are doomed to repeat these cycles.  If you don’t have any children, become a mentor, tutor, big brother/sister, godfather/mother, role model, coach, friend or any sort of positive influence within a child or teenager’s life. Those acts of giving are the best examples of love and will help our younger generation understand the true meaning of their value not only to themselves, but also to our entire community.  

They say there are only two emotions in life: love and fear.  Black people have had enough self-inflicted and external fear directed at our community, but we have an opportunity to love ourselves individually and collectively in order to heal, as well excel in the future.  So, as we reflect on past failures, achievements and successes during Black History Month, let’s learn from previous mistakes and love each other so that Willie Lynch can be a thing of the past.

“I AM BECAUSE WE ARE” (African Proverb)

Ready, Fire, Aim...

“Power is no blessing in itself, except when it is used to protect the innocent.”
--Jonathan Swift--

How much is your life worth? Are all lives worth the same? Are the lives of people of color worth less than the lives of white people?  If you ask those questions to law enforcement officials and their supporters, they might answer, “I don’t know” or “I don’t care.” That may be a harsh characterization of the police, but what else can explain the daily, weekly and monthly killings of innocent and unarmed Black and Latino people in this country at the hands of law enforcement?

Justice, integrity and service. That’s the motto of the United States Marshalls and in every police department in this country there is a similar slogan describing their commitment to the community. Law enforcement officers have a very difficult job and often it’s a thankless profession. Anyone who says that police officers have an easy job has not spent time on the street or in crime-laden areas of any metropolitan city. It is not a stretch to say that law enforcement may be the toughest and scariest public service job.

However, law enforcement officers are supposed to be trained professionals. Amateur or “toy cops” need not apply. Being a professional means that you adhere to certain standards of conduct, honor and ethics at all times.

In other words, the power associated with law enforcement means officers have a higher responsibility to serve than the neighborhood watch group or boy scouts. No other government official has direct and immediate access to deprive citizens of their civil liberties like law enforcement. Police officers are permitted, and are often expected, to use deadly force in certain situations. However, make no mistake, there is a difference between reasonably using deadly force and police brutality. This difference is often debated when the victim is Black, of African heritage or Latino.

We all know about the stories of Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant and Sean Bell, but what about other disturbing stories? Who knew being in college was a prime location for being killed ; or, being autistic; or being an elderly man at your own cookout ; or being a woman sitting in your car ; or, God forbid (no pun intended) being in church. To be fair, I did find two stories of unarmed white men being killed by the police. One of them was intoxicated and pointed a water hose at the officers before they opened fire and the other was butt-naked in his car when an undercover officer approached him without announcing he was a police officer and a fight broke out between the two men resulting in the victim’s death.

There are several people who believe police officers are justified in using deadly force regardless of race because victims are often criminals or exhibit criminal behavior. Okay, maybe it wasn’t fair to quote this guy as an intelligent source on this subject, but he publicly states what a lot of people privately think. Given the danger of such misguided attitudes, it is important to add some factual context to the use of deadly force by law enforcement.

Although Blacks represent approximately 13% of the U.S. population, in several areas of the country they represent 60% to 85% of police shootings. On average, Blacks are more than six times as likely as Whites to be shot by the police, and in large cities are killed at least three times more often than Whites. Latinos are about twice as likely as Whites, but only half as likely as Blacks, to be shot and killed by the police. There is not enough data on other historically underrepresented populations (Asians, Native Americans, Arab-Americans, etc.) but Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch believe these groups are still disproportionately targeted by police relative to their overall representation in this country. For more statistics and analysis, please see Cynthia Lee’s University of California at Hastings Law Review article entitled, “BUT I THOUGHT HE HAD A GUN”, Race and Police Use of Deadly Force.

Since many unarmed black and brown men are losing their lives on a weekly basis, we have to question whether just being Black and Latino makes you the common enemy of law enforcement. A better question given the incidences of unwarranted deadly force may be whether law enforcement is the common enemy of Black and Latino people. I argue that police officers are not upholding their oath as trained professionals to “protect and serve” and if they happen to uphold that oath, they are doing so in a discriminatorily deadly manner. If that’s not the case, why don’t we hear about unarmed white males being gunned down by the police at an alarmingly rate?

In one of the most egregious and unexplainable examples of racially biased policing leading to death, even being a cop couldn’t save a black man from being on the wrong end of a police officer’s gun. Cornel Young, Jr. was a three-year member of the Providence Police Department (PPD) and his father, Major Cornel Young, was the highest-ranking black officer in the PPD. Two white officers were called to address a disturbance near a restaurant where Cornel Young, Jr. was eating. The two white officers started chasing a suspect (Aldrin Diaz) on foot and Officer Young came out of the restaurant with his firearm to assist his fellow officers. Well, one of the white officers turned to Officer Young and told him to drop his weapon. It is not clear whether Officer Young identified himself as a member of the PPD or why the other officers didn’t recognize one of their own; however, what was clear was that when Officer Young didn’t realize the white officer was talking to him, he was fatally shot by the white officer. If a policeman who is the son of the highest-ranking black officer in the same department can’t escape being profiled and killed by his “brothers,” there is little to no hope for the everyday black citizen.

It’s important to note that Black and Latino officers kill other unarmed and innocent people of color. Racist and discriminatory views about people of color are often internalized by the very members of those communities, but that in no way should be used a reason to justify the killing of innocent people by any police officer regardless of race. What’s clear to me is that no amount of communication, prestige, power or status will prevent a Black or Latino person from being on the wrong on the end of a police officer’s bias and gun. It’s so bad that even innocent black children are getting shot and killed by the police. When is the last time you heard of a white child being killed or even shot accidently by the police?  Yep, last time I checked I couldn’t remember when or if that ever happened either. Unarmed Black and Latino people are getting shot down by the police so often that it’s like the police have melanin-seeking guns and bullets!

Before reading this post and some of the referenced articles, you may have sympathized with some of the stories; however, now you should realize that this post and the imbedded articles could have easily been your story on any given night. All it takes is one instance of miscommunication, a biased police officer and a gun. So what can we do to change all of this? I have five recommendations. Many of them are not new, but several seldom practiced requirements within the law enforcement community.

1. Mandate annual cultural competency training for all officers, regardless of rank, experience or title.
2. Hire more officers from the communities they serve, this includes recruiting and retaining more female officers.
3. Equip officers with non-lethal options and encourage them to utilize those before exercising deadly force options.
4. Require community service projects for all officers (either while on or off duty).
5. Promptly and appropriately address complaints of police misconduct.

These recommendations will not guarantee the police will not kill more unarmed and innocent people of color. As long as there is racism, bias and a culture of fear, innocent people of color will die at the hands of the police. My goal is to reduce the number of people of color dying and develop a better relationship between law enforcement and communities of color. Implementing the recommendations above may save your life or the life of someone you know.

Tea Parties, Health Care and Post-Racial America

I know calling someone ignorant is not the best way to start off a discussion of serious issues facing us in the 21^st century; however, what else can you say about people who use their 1^st Amendment right to free speech as a tool for misinformation and propaganda? 

This past weekend, several thousand “Tea Party” members came to Washington, DC to protest anything associated with President Obama.  The signs and statements from the self-proclaimed tea partiers range from health care, Nazis, Obama is not a U.S. citizen, taxes, and of course guns.  When I hear conservatives, Republicans, and independents say that opposition to President Obama’s political agenda is not about race, I think about the sign that read: “Impeach the Long-Legged Mack Daddy" or this sign: 

 

Now these signs or the people that made them may not represent the entire Tea Party movement, so rather than discuss the unabashed racists at this past weekend’s tea, let’s discuss some of their “legitimate” claims. Please note, all signs/images are from the event in Washington. 

First Claim: Health Care Reform (including a public option) is too expensive.  WRONG.

From what I can tell, the debate about the costs of health care always center on how much a new plan will cost, but never about how much the current system costs.  The main question is not whether health care reform is too expensive but rather will a new plan cost the same or less while increasing the quality of life and life expectancy of most people in this country?  In other words, are we currently receiving adequate care based on the amount of money we put into the system and if not, will a new plan improve the care we receive at the same or lower costs? 

 Currently, we are not receiving adequate care based on what we spend. 

http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm010307oth.cfm   This data was released in 2007, but the news is actually worse now.  In 2007, the U.S. ranked 30^th among developed countries in terms of health cost-benefit ratio.  In 2009, the U.S. is now 37^th according to the World Health Organization.  Even as one of the richest countries in the world, the U.S. only ranks 24^th in terms of life expectancy. 

People should think about health care coverage the way we think about car insurance coverage.  We all have to pay for it and some pay more than others and some have better coverage than others, but the entire pool of funds covers all of us when an accident happens.  In the end, a plan that covers more people and spreads the cost to more of us will be cheaper not only in the long run but also in terms of cutting down the costs for those who do not have health care or have limited access to care. 

 

Second Claim: “We” are fine and the federal government should not be involved in our lives.  WRONG. 

Who am I to tell someone that they are not fine?  Well, I’m assuming they are fine because the federal government is in their lives and life without the feds wouldn’t be pretty for about 99% of the tea partiers.  How can I say that?  I would like all of the tea partiers to stop paying taxes to the federal government; but when they do that, please stop using Medicare, Medicaid, any interstates, roads or airport runways, schools, social security, unemployment compensation, food stamps, VA benefits, GI benefits, disability payments, federal student loans, mass transit, electricity, police, fire department, military (the “war on terror” is on you so use that tax money wisely), parks, post office and anything that has to do with science and medical research since all of these items are supported by the federal government.  If the tea partiers can do without all of those things, which I don’t think they can, more power to them. 

The ironic part of all of the talk about taxes and spending is that 30 states (including almost all of the states in the south) and District of Columbia receive more money from the federal government than they pay in federal taxes. http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/article_fe4108c4-803d-5e07-9d60-e833f2f70ea1.html 

Third Claim: U.S. is based on capitalism and Obama wants socialism. BOTH WRONG.

The U.S. and most of its citizens like to say that capitalism is better than any other system in the world.  That may be true for some things, but health care is not one of those things.  At no point should living, dying, getting prescription drugs or just plain feeling better have anything to do with making money.  What kind of place prides itself in profiting from life, death, or illness?  

I could spend hours and many more blog postings on all of these socialism myths, but Salon.com has done a great job of discussing all of the sources of this nonsense, as well as what’s actually true.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/06/08/obama_myths/print.html

Final Claim: Many U.S. citizens fear the “otherness” Obama represents. ABSOLUTELY!

Subjects, such as health care and taxes, have been debated in the past and the protests, discussion and opposition had to do with what was actually in the particular piece of legislation or proposal coming from the White House.  In the case of President Obama, the discussion, opposition, and protests have absolutely nothing to do with what is actually in any proposed legislation or policy.   I know that a lot of people had issues and disagreed with G.W. Bush but I don’t remember any U.S. protests referring to his or wife’s race, or calling him a fascist or dictator.  

What is the root of the opposition?  Obama’s political agenda?  Economic recession? Race?  I would say that all of those contribute to the opposition’s concerns, but the racial component is really hard for a lot of people to accept.  Race has always been and continues to be America’s self-imposed mental illness. So are all of the people who disagree with President Obama or were at the Tea Party racists?  Probably not.   Is there a racial element within the opposition to Obama.  Absolutely.  Does the racial animosity come from a “fringe” element within the opposition?  That’s hard to say when the “fringe” parades as the elected leadership of the opposition and the elected leadership within the conservatives and Republicans sit in silence when the “fringe” promotes overt and covert racial statements or images.  Silence is acceptance and there is a lack of leadership within conservative movement.  

Finally, I want to end with a question that everyone should consider: If another 9/11 type of event occurred in the U.S. within the next few months, would the majority of Americans rally around President Obama as they did for George Bush?  Your answer will determine how much faith you have in the same people who didn’t even want the President to speak to children and encourage them to do well in school.  Welcome to a post-racial United States.  

The New BCS

Everyone loves a beauty pageant.  The talent, swimsuit and question/answer portions often pit the audience against the judges.  The television and in-person audiences ask with indignation, “Are the judges watching the same event?”  More often than not, beauty pageants, as well as gymnastics, figure skating and boxing, create controversy because the rules are setup where the participants cannot decide a true champion and must depend on judges. 

Let’s add the artist formerly known as the Bowl Championship Series to this list and provide a new name that fits: The Beauty Contest Show or BCS for short.

Polls (quasi-judges), computers and “style” points decide a champion in Division I FBS football.  That doesn’t sound like a beauty contest to you?  College football already has a talent portion attached to their events.  Coaches, players and analysts are all asked numerous questions, so that could serve as the question/answer portion.  The only thing missing is the swimsuit portion of the BCS…O.K., maybe that’s a good thing but you get the point. 

The defenders of this seriously flawed football pageant like to point out there is a playoff every week. Really?  Every week?  If that’s the case, then shouldn’t the national semifinals include Alabama, Utah, Boise State and Ball State?  They are the only teams without a loss during the regular season.  Those who enjoy this Beauty Contest Show turn their noses up to the idea of those teams (except Alabama) being in the conversation probably because they weren’t the favorites or their evening gowns were too long… 

Next the supporters of this football pageant say that a playoff would make the season too long and would hurt the student-athletes academically.  If the season is so long, why did the football decision-makers decide on adding a 12^th game? I wonder how those student-athletes in Division I FCS, Division II and Division III football continue to do well academically despite being involved in a playoff system.  Basketball and Baseball student-athletes are on the road and away from campus three times as much football student-athletes, play games during finals and still balance their academic workload. 

Still think the BCS is not like a beauty pageant?  There are judges/voters/supporters of this athletic beauty show actually using words like “style” and “hot” to describe teams they feel should be moving on to the next round.  Seriously, people say that Oklahoma is hot right now and marveling about their offense prowess.  That really sounds like someone drooling over who looks hot as they parade across the stage.  Oklahoma plays excellent offense.  What ever happened to defense?  The Sooners are number one in offense, but only #61 in total defense.  Alabama, Florida, Texas and USC are all in the top 20 on both sides of the ball.  Translation: those teams are well rounded.  The Sooners are the equivalent of the beauty queen who falls apart on question/answer and talent portions of the contest but boy do they look good…

In the end, just because something is unique doesn’t mean that’s a good thing.  Despite all of the fan fair, college football doesn’t enjoy more success than the NFL, NBA or NCAA basketball.  So as these college football teams walk around the stage waiting for the judges’ scores and the public waits anxiously for the judges to tell us who the champion will be, we might as well watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show because they choose their champion the same way as Division I FBS college football. 

One Vote?

Even though I've already taken advantage of early voting here in Indiana, I received this clever video regarding the impact of not voting in this election.  Keep in mind Gore "lost" Florida by by less than 600 votes, so every vote does really count...even if they all aren't always counted if you live in Florida or Ohio...

At any rate, you can customize this video to send to your friends or individuals who you suspect may not vote on November 4th. If you have trouble customizing it via the video, click on the link below the video and that should take you to the customization page. Enjoy!



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http://www.cnnbcvideo.com/taf.html?id=&nid=QMRoL6mDca4Js2qsQRB2PzE1NzMx

Mental Health Alert!

Yesterday, Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for president.



Several political pundits see the former Army general and secretary of state’s endorsement as significant since Powell is a Republican; spoke at length during 2000 Republican convention; and, supported both Bush 41 and Bush 43. Also, Powell has known John McCain for 25 years and they both served in the military during Vietnam so supporting Obama was a difficult but well-thought out decision. Despite Powell’s detailed and genuine explanation of why he decided to go against his own party to support Obama, there are numerous reports that say Powell is only supporting Obama because he’s black.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_10/015268.php

In other words, white people who support Obama do so based on his policy positions or white guilt while black people support Obama because he looks like them. It’s as if white people vote with their brains and black people vote with their eyes. The people who believe that all black people think alike and therefore support Barack Obama suffer from two mental disorders: convenient amnesia and white paranoia.

In this case, convenient amnesia can easily be cured by doing a little history reading or through a simple Google search. A quick fact check would show that black people have been supporting white people through various means even when supporting a white person was not in their best interest.

(See, Blacks fighting for the Confederacy: http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/blackcs.htm)

Further, history illustrates that since blacks have been allowed to vote, they have supported numerous white candidates for president. As a matter of fact, blacks historically supported Republicans up until the 1970s based on Abraham Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation. Just over a year ago, 70% of black voters supported Hillary Clinton, not Barack Obama.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2007/11/28/2007-11-28_black_voters_support_hillary_clinton_ove.html

Why did black people support all of these white candidates? Black people could have chosen not to engage in the process or only support blacks like Frederick Douglass, Barbara Jordan, or Jesse Jackson. Why weren’t the majority of black people supporting Clarence Thomas, Alan Keyes or Ward Connerly? At least they are “100%” black, while Barack Obama is biracial. Could it be that black people actually look at the policies, campaigns and platforms of all candidates just like whites? What’s interesting about this form of convenient amnesia is that with all of the evidence of blacks supporting whites in general and often times over other blacks is that all it takes is one black person (or biracial in this case) to get a majority of black support to trigger white paranoia.

Before diagnosing someone with white paranoia, one must be able to spot the symptoms. Similar to basic paranoia, the main symptom of white paranoia is permanent delusion. Related symptoms of delusion can reveal that the white person is suspicious, irritable, depressed, jealous, selfish, and bitter. Doesn’t that sound like Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, Ann Coulter and George Will? So what’s the cause of white paranoia? The main cause of white paranoia is white privilege, but that’s another disease that’s a silent killer.

http://mmcisaac.faculty.asu.edu/emc598ge/Unpacking.html

Sure there are other similarities between basic and white paranoia like feelings of inferiority, emotional composition and genetics; however, one of the most significant causes of white paranoia is what Colin Powell displayed: independent thinking by blacks. Historically, whites have frowned upon and often killed blacks for thinking for themselves. Self-determining black people that exercise independent judgment will always produce white paranoia. (See, Malcolm X, Sojourner Truth, Stokley Carmichael, Martin Luther King, etc.)

So as we get closer to November 4th, I’m asking everyone to have patience for those people who are displaying increased mental instability as the likelihood of Obama presidency looms over the horizon. If they can turn on one of their own in Colin Powell, just imagine how the disease could effect you…