Post by Shock on Feb 20, 2007 16:47:46 GMT -5
Over the past couple of months there have been several things that have just not sat well with me. Some of these things have just been personal pet peeves of mine while others have been things that are issues that the public are dealing with on a daily basis. The problem with the latter group of issues is I stand a great chance on completely pissing any and everyone off who hears what I have to say on the matter.
My dilemma has been what to do. Do I tackle each of these topics individually? Topics such as racism and prejudices, for instance could cause a backlash that not even the wise and powerful Oz...I mean Randy is willing to deal with. So what I've done has decided to give you a little "Best Of" if you will. Prepare yourself for...STUPIDITY
We are going to touch on three major topics on our journey today; Prejudices, Anna Nicole Smith and Homosexuality in Sports. Yep you heard right, I figure what the hell, let's do this.
So I'm willing to bet that 75-85% of you all thought of racism when I decided to talk about prejudices. How do I know this...well for starters I grouped them together earlier, but more so because that is basically how society groups them together. That's not how I mean for it to be. Let's look at how prejudice can be defined according to Wikipedia.com
Prejudice - as the name implies, the process of "pre-judging" something. It implies coming to a judgment on a subject before learning where the preponderance of evidence actually lies, or forming a judgment without direct experience. Holding a politically unpopular view is not in itself prejudice, and politically popular views are not necessarily free of prejudice. When applied to social groups, prejudice generally refers to existing biases toward the members of such groups, often based on social stereotypes; and at its most extreme, results in groups being denied benefits and rights unjustly or, conversely, unfairly showing unwarranted favor towards others. Mostly just prejudging and thinking that everyone of that race is bad.
Why did I choose to go to Wikipedia? Well for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it is a "encyclopedia" where people make up the meaning and definitions. So it's basically what society today thinks on each topic. It should be taken for what it's worth but it suited my purpose today.
So now we see that prejudices are not racisms. Now having said that...WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN COACHES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL?!?!?
This was all I heard for two weeks. I don't see the significance. Let's stand back and look at this in a rational matter. True...it is the first time this has happened, but it will not be the last. Why? Because what are most professional coaches..... that's right former players. So it would be safe to say that in order to be coaching now, you probably would have started your playing career at least 20 years ago. Most coaches are in the coaching ranks several years before they receive a head coaching job. Once becoming a head coach, I'm willing to bet that you won't win it in your first 5 years. So if you’ve been doing the math, it is safe to say that approximately 35 years could pass between when you first started playing your sport professionally until you appear in a Championship game. So what was going on in our country in the 60s that would pave the way for minority players in the 70s...that's right...a little thing I like to call the Civil Rights Movement.
The way I see it is that this is the same thing as if Major League Baseball would make a big deal out of two Hispanic coaches reaching the World Series. Will it happen when they do...PROBABLY...why...because our country is so obsessed with kissing the ass of anyone who isn't white that they make a huge deal out of it...bringing racism and prejudices back to the forefront.
I am a Colts fan and I admire the way Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith handled themselves. When asked numerous times about the significance of this "monumental" event...they both played it off. My favorite part of the entire Superbowl was in the post-game interview when Dungy was asked how it felt to be the first black coach to win the big one. He said it felt great but MORE importantly was the fact that there were two devout Christian coaches that played the game. WOW...in a time where Amen is treated more like a four letter no-no than the actual words he stated that his faith was more important than anything... and no one said anything. Where was the media coverage? Where were the ESPN specials?
Okay...so you want to tell me that religion isn’t the same... that people "CHOOSE" their religion and not their ethnicity. Okay, I'll say that's a valid argument...but what if they would have both been coaches who practiced the Islamic religion. We would have heard it more than anything else. What, you don't believe me... okay what state does Barack Obama represent in the Senate? Not sure....okay well what is his religious background? Yep...that's what I thought.
Now, if you haven't gotten ticked and left by now, let's move on to Anna Nicole Smith.
Why is this even a story? What is she famous for? All I can think of is posing in Playboy 15 years ago. I'll even give you her lame ass reality TV show from, what, 5 years ago. She's done nothing except live a white trash, money grubbing, dysfunctional life that would make Joe Dirt laugh. This isn’t a story and I refuse to use anymore of my valuable time discussing it. I don't care where you bury her, who her baby daddy is or why she has Methadone in her fridge. Put her and James Brown in the same furnace and let's move on.
Now...since this has focused more on the media than anything, I figure why stop now. For those of you who haven't heard of John Amaechi, he is the former NBA player who has come out as being gay and released a book last week. Okay...I really don't care but I know this is a problem in professional sports and I'm not saying I agree, but I do understand. Imagine, if you will, sharing a hotel room on the road or a showering after the game. It may not sound like a big deal, but now imagine a women’s basketball team being joined in the shower by their male coach. Or an NFL football team being joined in the shower by their female trainer. Are these scenarios okay? I don't personally think so, but that's just me.
Now let's move ahead to former NBA star Tim Hardaway. He has been all over the news after he said he "Hates gay people". Okay first things first...Tim Hardaway is apparently a dumbass, but what the media isn't showing the how the interviewer baited him into that statement. Hardaway had kept his comments to vague statements like Lebron James and every other player...but the interviewer kept saying things along the lines of "Don't you think this is homophopic...are you homophpbic..." He was trying to get Hardaway to say something...and he did.
Now we've heard all the backlash regarding his intolerance of homosexuality. The last time I checked our FIRST amendment right was our right to free speech. When our founding fathers sat down and decided to write the bill of rights, they decided the most important thing...the thing that should be listed first, was the freedom of speech. Not second, not third, not tenth...BUT FIRST!!! If some 18 year old girl can take a 12 inch dildo up the ass by an 80 year old limped dick bastard and it be protected by the first amendment then anything should.
And you think that the founding fathers didn’t realize things like this would happen. Look at what the second amendment is...it's the right to bear arms. So if you don’t like what the son of a bitch said that is protected by the first amendment...you can use your second amendment right.
Now...I've addressed two of the most persecuted groups of people over the last century. Gay men and women are the new civil rights activists and I feel they are the most tolerant and patient people in the world. This hasn't been aimed at any particular race, creed, or gender. This has been aimed at what our media tries to portray as news. Remember what you're watching when you watch the news. You watching a business... the networks sell advertising during their programs...the advertisers want ratings or they will stop buying spots...the networks want to keep the spots...therefore the networks are willing to do "puff" pieces to keep the gossip seeking American people coming back each night.
DEAL WITH IT,
Randy Daily
My dilemma has been what to do. Do I tackle each of these topics individually? Topics such as racism and prejudices, for instance could cause a backlash that not even the wise and powerful Oz...I mean Randy is willing to deal with. So what I've done has decided to give you a little "Best Of" if you will. Prepare yourself for...STUPIDITY
We are going to touch on three major topics on our journey today; Prejudices, Anna Nicole Smith and Homosexuality in Sports. Yep you heard right, I figure what the hell, let's do this.
So I'm willing to bet that 75-85% of you all thought of racism when I decided to talk about prejudices. How do I know this...well for starters I grouped them together earlier, but more so because that is basically how society groups them together. That's not how I mean for it to be. Let's look at how prejudice can be defined according to Wikipedia.com
Prejudice - as the name implies, the process of "pre-judging" something. It implies coming to a judgment on a subject before learning where the preponderance of evidence actually lies, or forming a judgment without direct experience. Holding a politically unpopular view is not in itself prejudice, and politically popular views are not necessarily free of prejudice. When applied to social groups, prejudice generally refers to existing biases toward the members of such groups, often based on social stereotypes; and at its most extreme, results in groups being denied benefits and rights unjustly or, conversely, unfairly showing unwarranted favor towards others. Mostly just prejudging and thinking that everyone of that race is bad.
Why did I choose to go to Wikipedia? Well for those of you who aren’t familiar with it, it is a "encyclopedia" where people make up the meaning and definitions. So it's basically what society today thinks on each topic. It should be taken for what it's worth but it suited my purpose today.
So now we see that prejudices are not racisms. Now having said that...WHAT IN THE HELL WAS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN COACHES GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL?!?!?
This was all I heard for two weeks. I don't see the significance. Let's stand back and look at this in a rational matter. True...it is the first time this has happened, but it will not be the last. Why? Because what are most professional coaches..... that's right former players. So it would be safe to say that in order to be coaching now, you probably would have started your playing career at least 20 years ago. Most coaches are in the coaching ranks several years before they receive a head coaching job. Once becoming a head coach, I'm willing to bet that you won't win it in your first 5 years. So if you’ve been doing the math, it is safe to say that approximately 35 years could pass between when you first started playing your sport professionally until you appear in a Championship game. So what was going on in our country in the 60s that would pave the way for minority players in the 70s...that's right...a little thing I like to call the Civil Rights Movement.
The way I see it is that this is the same thing as if Major League Baseball would make a big deal out of two Hispanic coaches reaching the World Series. Will it happen when they do...PROBABLY...why...because our country is so obsessed with kissing the ass of anyone who isn't white that they make a huge deal out of it...bringing racism and prejudices back to the forefront.
I am a Colts fan and I admire the way Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith handled themselves. When asked numerous times about the significance of this "monumental" event...they both played it off. My favorite part of the entire Superbowl was in the post-game interview when Dungy was asked how it felt to be the first black coach to win the big one. He said it felt great but MORE importantly was the fact that there were two devout Christian coaches that played the game. WOW...in a time where Amen is treated more like a four letter no-no than the actual words he stated that his faith was more important than anything... and no one said anything. Where was the media coverage? Where were the ESPN specials?
Okay...so you want to tell me that religion isn’t the same... that people "CHOOSE" their religion and not their ethnicity. Okay, I'll say that's a valid argument...but what if they would have both been coaches who practiced the Islamic religion. We would have heard it more than anything else. What, you don't believe me... okay what state does Barack Obama represent in the Senate? Not sure....okay well what is his religious background? Yep...that's what I thought.
Now, if you haven't gotten ticked and left by now, let's move on to Anna Nicole Smith.
Why is this even a story? What is she famous for? All I can think of is posing in Playboy 15 years ago. I'll even give you her lame ass reality TV show from, what, 5 years ago. She's done nothing except live a white trash, money grubbing, dysfunctional life that would make Joe Dirt laugh. This isn’t a story and I refuse to use anymore of my valuable time discussing it. I don't care where you bury her, who her baby daddy is or why she has Methadone in her fridge. Put her and James Brown in the same furnace and let's move on.
Now...since this has focused more on the media than anything, I figure why stop now. For those of you who haven't heard of John Amaechi, he is the former NBA player who has come out as being gay and released a book last week. Okay...I really don't care but I know this is a problem in professional sports and I'm not saying I agree, but I do understand. Imagine, if you will, sharing a hotel room on the road or a showering after the game. It may not sound like a big deal, but now imagine a women’s basketball team being joined in the shower by their male coach. Or an NFL football team being joined in the shower by their female trainer. Are these scenarios okay? I don't personally think so, but that's just me.
Now let's move ahead to former NBA star Tim Hardaway. He has been all over the news after he said he "Hates gay people". Okay first things first...Tim Hardaway is apparently a dumbass, but what the media isn't showing the how the interviewer baited him into that statement. Hardaway had kept his comments to vague statements like Lebron James and every other player...but the interviewer kept saying things along the lines of "Don't you think this is homophopic...are you homophpbic..." He was trying to get Hardaway to say something...and he did.
Now we've heard all the backlash regarding his intolerance of homosexuality. The last time I checked our FIRST amendment right was our right to free speech. When our founding fathers sat down and decided to write the bill of rights, they decided the most important thing...the thing that should be listed first, was the freedom of speech. Not second, not third, not tenth...BUT FIRST!!! If some 18 year old girl can take a 12 inch dildo up the ass by an 80 year old limped dick bastard and it be protected by the first amendment then anything should.
And you think that the founding fathers didn’t realize things like this would happen. Look at what the second amendment is...it's the right to bear arms. So if you don’t like what the son of a bitch said that is protected by the first amendment...you can use your second amendment right.
Now...I've addressed two of the most persecuted groups of people over the last century. Gay men and women are the new civil rights activists and I feel they are the most tolerant and patient people in the world. This hasn't been aimed at any particular race, creed, or gender. This has been aimed at what our media tries to portray as news. Remember what you're watching when you watch the news. You watching a business... the networks sell advertising during their programs...the advertisers want ratings or they will stop buying spots...the networks want to keep the spots...therefore the networks are willing to do "puff" pieces to keep the gossip seeking American people coming back each night.
DEAL WITH IT,
Randy Daily