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| Real Talk: We (Black People) must learn from Vick's fall |
| 2007-08-27 |
| Some much needed straight talk from a Black columnist, especially in an atmosphere where everyone is playing the race card..... We've been here before. It was November 7, 1991, Magic Johnson stood before hundreds of cameras and told the world that he was HIV positive. His announcement rocked the sports world. Allegedly Magic's johnson taught us all a lesson about irresponsible sex, groupies and the pitfalls of a celebrity lifestyle. We vowed to do better. Nothing changed. Last week we learned that 28-year-old Travis Henry, a decent NFL running back, has fathered nine children by nine different women in four different states. In America, especially among superstar athletes, sex is still mostly thoughtless and unprotected. Worse, 16 years after Magic's announcement, there are far more average Americans chasing the lifestyle that nearly killed Magic, incarcerated Paris and drugged Lindsey Lohan. So, forgive me, I'm not all that hopeful that we will implement anything we've gleaned from Michael Vick's reality TV show. As I watched Monday as Vick contritely apologized for the actions that will seemingly land him in jail and cost him more than $100 million, I thought of Earvin Johnson, who, like Vick, performed magic with a ball. Vick's comeuppance and remorseful, four-minute, post-guilty-plea mea culpa shook the sports world to the same degree as Magic's tear-provoking press conference. Obviously, there were few tears shed for Vick. Unlike Magic's misdeeds, many of us cannot see ourselves making the same mistakes as Vick. But the bottom-line reaction is the same: We hope that young people, particularly young athletes — and, in the Vick case, most particularly young black athletes — will choose a different course of action based on lessons learned from Vick's fall. "I'm more disappointed in myself, if anything, it's because of all the young people, young kids, I've let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model," Vick said. "To have to go though this, and put myself in this situation, I hope that every young kid out in the world watching this interview right now or who has been following the case will use me as an example to use better judgment and make better decisions." Vick is singing the right tune. Unfortunately my hope of a cultural awakening is tempered by the knowledge that too many young black boys will have the Vick story defined to them through the prism of white racism. White racism is our kryptonite. It's our excuse for nearly every malady. It's our excuse to deflect and remain in denial. Within minutes of Vick's guilty plea, ESPN's Doug Stewart could be seen and heard shouting on TV that because the police walked in the Rodney King beating, black people believe Vick is being dealt with too harshly. I'm not making this up. Never mind that Jayson Williams killed a limo driver and is free like O.J. Never mind that O.J. walked, and we were spotted on TV wildly cheering the release of a man who wouldn't stop to tinkle if we were all piled in a blaze of fire. Vick will not serve as a lesson unless we reject the myth that racism is always the main lesson. We never go to math or social studies or science or English because we want to take the class we know we can ace, the class that is still extremely relevant, but it's a subject that needs context and an understanding of the big picture. The big picture here is that we have a youth culture in crisis. More pertinent to the Vick case, we have a black youth culture — hip hop — that is in crisis, self-destructive, filled with self-hatred and celebratory of criminality. We, black folks, must stand up and object to this culture, redirect this culture, or there will be more Michael Vicks. Now all of that is indisputable, and reliving Rodney King won't do a damn thing to solve the problem. We have to take control of our culture and our destiny. We have to spell out reasonable and appropriate expectations for our young people and our athletes. We can no longer sit back, accept whatever behavior they offer up and blame racism when we don't like the results. Too many of our athletes are being reared in a culture that does not prepare them for the fame, fortune and scrutiny that is handed to them. Vick is a prime example. Here's what Michael Vick didn't figure out until Monday: All the actions he took on his way to a $130 million NFL contract were not appropriate. That seems rather simple. But most of you have never experienced receiving a million-dollar contract at age 21 or 22. It warps your brain. It can reinforce negative values. An outsider can recognize that Michael Vick became an NFL star because God blessed him with uncanny athletic ability, not because Vick's work ethic was better than, say, Chris Leak's, not because Vick surrounded himself with better people than did his brother, Marcus. Until all of this, Vick likely thought he had taken most of the proper steps. Why else would he be so blessed? Talent, like beauty, can be a horrible curse. It can hide so many shortcomings, limit your intellectual evolution, compromise the way your friends, family members and co-workers interact with you, prevent you from dealing with problems that are frighteningly obvious to objective observers. Michael Vick will now have time to ponder all of this. Let's hope his rational thoughts are not drowned out by the idiots who will enthusiastically tell him that racism put him in this jam. |
| Posted by:mcsegeek1 |
| #11 Crap - #4 was me. Mebbe so, Barbara, but the 'nym was still more than appropriate. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-27 23:53 |
| #10 the people who need to pay attention are NOT PAYING ATTENTION Yup, it is why black America faces such an unnecessary yet deservedly grim and self-imposed challenge. I do not relish considering what will be required to overcome such self-imposed obstacles. The situation is much like with Islam: Persistent denial. An abject refusal to accept responsibility. Unhesitating blame of all others save themselves and a cheerful resort to violence at every turn. Again, and very sadly, none of this bodes well at all. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-27 23:50 |
| #9 Sarkozy is the most interesting individual on the world stage today. Hungarian immigrant parents, but was mayor of part of Paris for 19 years. Hated by the rabble -- always a good sign. "France is back," Sarkozy said recently. It does look way, I'm happy to say. |
| Posted by: Vancouver 2007-08-27 23:43 |
| #8 If you feel as strongly as I do, please consider sending Jason Whitlock and email at his address: jwhitlock@kcstar.com. This worthy man needs all the support he can get. Goodness knows that he will be lambasted by Sharptonesque and Jessie Jacksonian race war pimps to no end. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-27 23:42 |
| #7 #6. You say Johnson's lesson is vitally important. The writer seems to be saying that it may be true, but that the people who need to pay attention are NOT PAYING ATTENTION |
| Posted by: Richard Aubrey 2007-08-27 23:41 |
| #6 Worse, 16 years after Magic's announcement, there are far more average Americans chasing the lifestyle that nearly killed Magic, incarcerated Paris and drugged Lindsey Lohan … But the bottom-line reaction is the same: We hope that young people, particularly young athletes — and, in the Vick case, most particularly young black athletes — will choose a different course of action based on lessons learned from Vick's fall. Except that Johnson’s lesson is of far more importance to black Americans. Sexual irresponsibility remains the single most poisonous factor that they face. It manifests in a host of exceptionally deleterious ways. Single parent families that are overwhelmingly headed by poorly educated and low income women. Criminal gangs that act as surrogate families for these attention starved youth. A culture that celebrates gansta rap and thinks ebonics has even a shred of merit. An almost institutionalized mistreatment of women in the forms of spousal abuse and prostitution. Hideously conspicuous consumption—in the form of bling and grilles—and nearly endemic drug abuse, be it alcohol or the death knell of black America, crack cocaine. White racism is our kryptonite. It's our excuse for nearly every malady. It's our excuse to deflect and remain in denial. Within minutes of Vick's guilty plea, ESPN's Doug Stewart could be seen and heard shouting on TV that because the police walked in the Rodney King beating, black people believe Vick is being dealt with too harshly. The author deserves a Pulitzer Prize for having enough courage to elucidate and take responsibility for airing this long overdue load of very dirty laundry. One of the only other individuals of note to be so bold has been Bill Cosby. Worst of all is how the black community seems so disinclined to entertain any such messages. Their unwillingness to take responsibility and constant resort to denial is excelled only by this world’s Muslims. Small wonder that so many blacks find such solace in Islam. Too many of our athletes are being reared in a culture that does not prepare them for the fame, fortune and scrutiny that is handed to them. This could easily be a pivotal point. It is not “fame and fortune” that proves to be so damaging but—in fact—something so many black Americans are entirely unused to; namely, scrutiny. It is lack of introspection, self-inspection, community censure or whatever you may wish to call it that has permitted black America to slide over a moral and ethical event horizon. I do not envy the steps required to salvage the real worth that lays dormant in this part of America’s citizenry. Even worse is how so much this applies to the global black community and goes far less addressed within those domains. None of this bodes at all well. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-08-27 22:58 |
| #5 Crap - #4 was me. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-08-27 22:29 |
| #4 "We have to take control of our culture and our destiny. We have to spell out reasonable and appropriate expectations for our young people and our athletes. We can no longer sit back, accept whatever behavior they offer up and blame racism when we don't like the results." GFL on that one. Sounds nice, but get back to me when |
| Posted by: Harry R. & Nancy P. 2007-08-27 22:28 |
| #3 TMK, Vick still ended up indefinitely suspended, while Travis Henry was not. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-08-27 21:51 |
| #2 for $22 million, I could find Jesus (or a reasonable, yet-less-holy, fascimile). /jk - even I am not that cynical |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-08-27 20:55 |
| #1 I see Mike found Jesus. I wonder if He's easier to find when he's holding your wallet? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-08-27 20:14 |