This has got to be some sort of perverse irony, after 40 years of marriage, Al & Tipper Gore decide to split. Yet the man he served as Vice President for Bill Clinton, remains married to Hillary despite his philandering & public affair. Talk about irony? In today’s society how much does faithfulness really matter?
Now that the DA in Georgia has decided against prosecuting Ben Roethlisberger with criminal sexual assault charges, Kobe Bryant’s case has been in mind all the while. Back in 2003 when Kobe was accused of sexual assault he was immediately presumed guilty in the court of public opinion & arrested by the police. Now in comparison to Bryant, the Roethlisberger allegations were coddled by the media and the level of outrage was mild at best . What’s most disturbing is that this 2nd time Ben was accused of abusive sexual behavior.
Law enforcement also treated these two athletes differently: Case and point, once the allegations were levied against Bryant he was arrested with in 24 hours (see his mug shot below), DA pressed charges, and he had to go on trail.
Once the police were notified about sexual misconduct against Ben, before writing the report the officer took pictures & received an autograph. Furthermore, he was merely interviewed by the police and never formally arrested. The DA using better judgement decided against taking this case to trail.
It’s obvious and apparent that both of the situations were handled differently. Why did the media treat Kobe & Ben differently? Why was the public so quick to condemn Bryant but hesitant with Roethlisberger? I have my natural assumptions but I’m going to spare you & challenge you to give me a reasonable explanation. I’m not condoning either one of their actions, but I am calling out the self-righteous hyprocisy and selective moral stances of many people who judge. I will say, it’s 2010 and we still can’t get equal treatment from law enforcement, and the media clearly saves vitriol for certain persons of interest. Will this ever change, Lord knows?
March Madness has begun and consumed most of the US population. There is certainly a madness to people filling out brackets across the country & wasting millions pieces of paper predicting results that will certainly be incorrect. We are in the 2nd weekend and I have seen my alma mater fall to a “mid-major” & there has plenty of upsets across the board. Perhaps the only way to characterize the “upsets”, the enthusiasm, the lack of productivity of work, and throwing away of discretionary income is madness. Considering that the best team or most talented one doesn’t always win is sheer madness. However, this madness is what makes this tournament so special: The buzzer beaters, the David vs. Goliath battles, conference vs. conference match ups, stars that fall & the new stars that are born… all of which augment the 3 weeks of college basketball where student athletes have their chance at “One Shining Moment”. At this point my bracket is shot, yet I still watch. I continue to watch because the games only get more entertaining as we go. I watch because I love college basketball and organized athletic madness is entertaining.
Let me lament for a moment, college basketball is certainly down this year and none of the teams are great. This point has been proved when most of the top seeds fell to mid-major lower seeds; in some instances fluke games. I am not impressed with any of the remaining teams, but I tip my hat because they have successfully employed tournament strategy: Survive & Advance.
Yesterday, I caught one of my favorite movies on TV & the scene captured a moment that no one should endure in America. More importantly it touched on a debate that has been going on in Washington for more than a year now, in actuality its been going on for decades.
In this scene John Archibald’s son is dying, and like most people he pays for health insurance. Yet somehow his son’s operation will not be covered by his employer sponsored plan. A point to consider is that he is not on Medicaid (government healthcare for poor). Yet, the life saving heart operation is deemed “elective”. Since when is life or death elective? No one in their right mind chooses to be sick! It is morally reprehensible to deny coverage, especially when it makes the difference between life and death. Which brings me to our current political debate & why at a minimum insurance reform is a necessity.
Even if Congress does not overhaul the entire health care system and expand coverage to all, the practices of health insurance companies are murderous at best. I’m not even going to speak on the rapid inflation of health care costs & how they can justify their ridiculous cost drivers. Let me be clear…If you pay for insurance, everything should be covered. The primary argument against reform is the car insurance analogy: you get don’t everything if you only pay for liability coverage. My rebuttal is that unlike tumors; operating a vehicle is a choice.
Pre-existing conditions are another issue that must be addressed. As I stated earlier, no one chooses to have an illness and most are willing to pay for coverage. So for companies to deny service because of a prior ailment is discriminatory. Being sick does not make anyone less of a person, so they should be treated like everyone else & have accessibility to the health care coverage of choice. This practice of exclusion and selective coverage is commonly used by insurance companies and often forces people to go broke in the event medical catastrophes. Let’s be real how many people can pay out-of-pocket for cancer treatment?
All that being said, the most disturbing part of all this, is that politicians vote to protect these companies in name of big business & campaign donations. Yes, healthcare does account for 20% of the US economy and insurance profits maybe squeezed. But my question to them is what is the cost of human life? How can they sleep at night knowing people are paying for a service they’ll never get and in turn might deliver their death-blow? This not a political argument, it a question of morality, and brings the hierarchy of our values to the forefront.
The man who brought us the video below has fallen mightily from grace & proved some of my assumptions wrong:
Yesterday, he was arrested for trying to solicit fellatio for $40 from an undercover officer in the West Village. The irony is that in the video above, he was rumored to be on the receiving end of that very act. This video was game changing and forever cemented his status as a sexual icon in history. I can recall many a female reveling in his gestures & lyrics. Women of all ages would swoon over his voice and he once had the career trajectory of a young Al Green.
When this video came out he was the topic of discussion in beauty shops & barber shops in urban America, albeit for different purposes. His arrest is notable for a couple of reasons.
1. We assume artists (especially R&B acts) are gifted with women
2. Why is he paying for it? I’m sure thousands of fans would do it for free and he should not have to be “tricking”.
3. Given how much he has let himself go, perhaps wooing women has become a bit of an obstacle for him. See the picture below:
“D’Angelo Today”
I wonder if the female officer asked him upon his arrest, “How Does It Feel?”
Like most Americans on Sunday evening I was captivated by the hockey game between USA & Canada and I’m not a hockey fan at all. Hell, I’ve never watched the sport on TV outside of Sports Center, but I felt patriotic & swelled with boastful cheer through the last period & OT.
Then I thought to myself, “do my minority friends even care”? How is this game being received in the black & latin communities? The answer I arrived at is a gross generalization, but they really do not care that much. In reality… that game was epic, historic, monumental & Sid Crosby has cemented himself as a God in Canada. I’m sure we will see a movie made & Mr. Crosby now has the entire female Canadian population waiting to go half on a baby with him.
I began to think…Is the stereotype true, “black people don’t play hockey (I know there are a few outliers in the NHL)? Truthfully, it can be explained through cultural and economical rationale. How many black/hispanic kids actually have access to an ice rink or can ice skate? This is a real chasm because everyone should relish Team USA’s accomplishments yet some don’t feel a part of that “America” or can relate. Extremely perverse I’d say…But The Mighty Ducks sure did help in the 90’s and my “Knuckle Puck Shot” is vicious! Leave it Disney to break cultural, ethnic, generational, athletic & socio-economic gaps!
Everyone seems to have an opinion on Tiger Woods or 2 cents to share. However the most telling moment of this narrative came at his press conference when his mother hugged him after his statements.
That’s when it hit me, the underplayed story: there is nothing stronger than a mothers love. In our biggest failures & faults they always support us, perhaps even to a fault. Tiger shamefully embarassed his wife, perhaps traumatized his kids as they grow, & showed to be shockingly uncompassionate.
As the son of a single mother I can fully apprciate that special bond. It’s only fitting that my first real post be dedicated to the lady that raised 4 boys on her own. My mom is the strongest woman I know & has always stood by us even at our worst. 2 weeks ago I didn’t see Eldridge Woods offer a flimsy but lucid apology, I saw Kultida Woods offer unwavering support & unyielding love. I’m sure she views these events differently than we do passing judgement!
A Frank Conversation 