A Republican National Convention-inspired special for you...
21st Century liberals and conservatives are fairly easy to peg. This has nothing to do with Democrat or Republican. Here's a guide:
General conservatives are bullies. They believe they are right and they're going to beat you over the head with it (see O'Reilly and Hannity, among others). Conservatives are interested in saving souls and on getting liberals to admit their transgressions and see that the conservative way is the right way. But in the end, they don't care if you come over to their side or not, because they know they are right.
Hard-core conservatives are few and far-between nowadays. These are dinosaurs like Ronald Reagan or Jesse Helms. Like general conservatives, they think they are right but they also think they are right because they serve a higher purpose. These guys are hard-line and don't care much for what others think of them. True hard-core conservatives are made to be so far out on the fringe in the 2000s that we may never see another one.
General liberals have an entirely different world view. They are right simply because they are right and how in the world could one think any other way? Some call this intellectualism or elitism, and that's true to a degree. But in general, in the opinion of these people, the liberal way is the enlightened way, or to use the present vernacular, the progressive way. And my goodness, anyone who would want to drill in ANWAR or stop an abortion is a knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing neanderthal.
Old-time liberals are still out there. These are the ones you would call tree-huggers, or the world-savers. These are people who drive Yugos with "practice random acts of kindness" bumper stickers who work in the rain forests or get a masters degree to be a social worker in the inner city. There is an elitism here, in that they think people need saving and they are the ones to do it. These folks are often the children of hippies or are trust-fund babies who can go sailing with Greenpeace for $6000 a year without having to worry about a student loan or earning a living.
I admire the hard-core people, liberal and conservative. The problem is that so many people fall in the other two categories, and usually with something to gain.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
Race and Olympic Basketball
Jason Whitlock, the village idiot of the Kansas City Star and espn.com, has a Page 2 article up suggesting that the outright animosity directed by many Americans toward the USA men's basketball team is the result of racism.
You've got to be kidding me.
Until I read his column, I hadn't even thought about the fact that the entire USA basketball team was black. Whitlock suggests that a racist America is upset at this team because they are a bunch of whiny, lazy, unpatriotic, black millionaires in cornrows. And that by dropping the word "millionaires", you get how black people are perceived in America.
He then compares the rest of the world catching up to America in basketball the way the rest of the world caught up to Canada in hockey, and follows that nonsense by saying that the USA basketball team doesn't care about the Olympics the way that swimmers do.
What Whitlock fails to acknowledge is that the NBA game of the early 21st century, as defined by this Olympic basketball team, is garbage. He says this about the NBA's two man game: "You can't have three guys stand on one side of the court and talk to Spike Lee while your two best players go two-on-two on the other side. It's boring, and it doesn't work in international play."
That's exactly the point. The international game puts a premium on shooting and execution. The NBA focuses on above the rim play. It was sickening to watch team after team stifle the US superstars with a 2-3 zone defense packed as tightly as junior high basketball team would play it.
No Jason, white Europeans and South Americans whipping our all-black national team is not what is causing America to line up against this team. It's quite simply that we expect to win. It's our game, by God, the most truly American game, more so than baseball with its roots in cricket and football with its roots in rugby.
We expect gold medals to be our birthright. When we don't win gold medals, it's either because we were cheated (see 1972) or didn't send our best (see 1988). There's no excuse when we send a team full of NBA stars. I've heard plenty of announcers say this team or that team has an NBA player, or maybe two. Our whole team was made up of NBA players!
That's America's problem with this team, Jason, not racism. Quite simply, we expected to win and when we didn't, we jumped ship.
You've got to be kidding me.
Until I read his column, I hadn't even thought about the fact that the entire USA basketball team was black. Whitlock suggests that a racist America is upset at this team because they are a bunch of whiny, lazy, unpatriotic, black millionaires in cornrows. And that by dropping the word "millionaires", you get how black people are perceived in America.
He then compares the rest of the world catching up to America in basketball the way the rest of the world caught up to Canada in hockey, and follows that nonsense by saying that the USA basketball team doesn't care about the Olympics the way that swimmers do.
What Whitlock fails to acknowledge is that the NBA game of the early 21st century, as defined by this Olympic basketball team, is garbage. He says this about the NBA's two man game: "You can't have three guys stand on one side of the court and talk to Spike Lee while your two best players go two-on-two on the other side. It's boring, and it doesn't work in international play."
That's exactly the point. The international game puts a premium on shooting and execution. The NBA focuses on above the rim play. It was sickening to watch team after team stifle the US superstars with a 2-3 zone defense packed as tightly as junior high basketball team would play it.
No Jason, white Europeans and South Americans whipping our all-black national team is not what is causing America to line up against this team. It's quite simply that we expect to win. It's our game, by God, the most truly American game, more so than baseball with its roots in cricket and football with its roots in rugby.
We expect gold medals to be our birthright. When we don't win gold medals, it's either because we were cheated (see 1972) or didn't send our best (see 1988). There's no excuse when we send a team full of NBA stars. I've heard plenty of announcers say this team or that team has an NBA player, or maybe two. Our whole team was made up of NBA players!
That's America's problem with this team, Jason, not racism. Quite simply, we expected to win and when we didn't, we jumped ship.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
All I'm Saying Is...
To paraphrase Charles Foster Kane, I think it would be fun to write for a newspaper. Alas, my one venture down that path didn't work out, but I wouldn't trade how it turned out for anything.
I have been told I am quite the storyteller, with physical gestures that make it complete. But that's a sight gag that doesn't transfer well to a blog.
I have also been told that I am quite the writer. All these ideas kick around in my head as I lie in bed at night, as I drive to work, just about anywhere. Maybe this will be the outlet, my own little junior pseudo-columnist experience.
A pal of mine likes to wrap up his stories or arguments with "all I'm saying is..." What a great title for a blog!
So all I'm saying is, if you're here, thanks for stopping by.
I have been told I am quite the storyteller, with physical gestures that make it complete. But that's a sight gag that doesn't transfer well to a blog.
I have also been told that I am quite the writer. All these ideas kick around in my head as I lie in bed at night, as I drive to work, just about anywhere. Maybe this will be the outlet, my own little junior pseudo-columnist experience.
A pal of mine likes to wrap up his stories or arguments with "all I'm saying is..." What a great title for a blog!
So all I'm saying is, if you're here, thanks for stopping by.
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