Michael Phelps has yet to master the art of the car-bar.
If you didn't hear, Baltimore police arrested the big man for drunken driving last Sunday. It's his second offense.
Professional athletes live beneath an intense spotlight. From behind television and computer screens, the general public judges these high-profile individuals' every move. I think most of us forget they are in fact people.
Now, Michael messed up. Big time. He should be punished the same as I would be if I were ever convicted of drunken driving.
My issue is how much further his punishment will go.
The sports world, from the National Football League to the National Curling Association, has this ideology that they must strike down on their athletes mistakes with great vengeance and furious anger.
It doesn't make sense to me.
The night my varsity football team won a section championship, state troopers arrested my coach for drunken driving. He messed up, and because of the mistake, he's facing legal and social repercussions that will taint his image for life.
But that Monday, he was in school doing his normal routine.
Everyday people make mistakes. Teachers get DUI's. Dentists evade taxes . Police officers murder. Those people (basically) keep their jobs until they're thrown in the slammer.
Michael will lose sponsors, supporters and admirers. He will get a nasty fine and I'm sure his mother will give him a stern talking to. A few more offenses and he could be in jail.
So, why suspend him? Those big toilet bowls seem to be all he's good for.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Reeferbished image
People smoke weed. The country has been on the green stuff for hundreds of years, but these days it's a little different.
As the nation's legal system slowly accepts marijuana reform, much of the general public still seems to be stuck in the past.
In a New York Times article, Jessica Bennett discusses the efforts to bring public perspective on the substance to a modern view.
Hundreds of articles about marijuana reform hit the Internet daily and none of them do much for me. Do I agree with the movement? Yes. Do I care? much? No. Not really.
But I do find this piece interesting.
"So where do branding specialists begin? For starters, they would like to stop calling it pot, thank you very much. Better to call it cannabis, the plant’s scientific name. (Less aggressive.) Rather than “smoke,” one “consumes” the “product.” (Subtler.) For those in the business — or cannabusiness, as it’s known — 9-to-5 chic is crucial, said the Cannabrand owners: no sweats, no tie-dye, no Bob Marley T-shirts."
It's about time.
The biggest obstacle in way of the effort comes in the form of this ingrained public image. I applaud both these young women for their keen eye for business, and of course Jessica Bennett's outstanding angle on such an over-reported topic.
As the nation's legal system slowly accepts marijuana reform, much of the general public still seems to be stuck in the past.
In a New York Times article, Jessica Bennett discusses the efforts to bring public perspective on the substance to a modern view.
Hundreds of articles about marijuana reform hit the Internet daily and none of them do much for me. Do I agree with the movement? Yes. Do I care? much? No. Not really.
But I do find this piece interesting.
"So where do branding specialists begin? For starters, they would like to stop calling it pot, thank you very much. Better to call it cannabis, the plant’s scientific name. (Less aggressive.) Rather than “smoke,” one “consumes” the “product.” (Subtler.) For those in the business — or cannabusiness, as it’s known — 9-to-5 chic is crucial, said the Cannabrand owners: no sweats, no tie-dye, no Bob Marley T-shirts."
It's about time.
The biggest obstacle in way of the effort comes in the form of this ingrained public image. I applaud both these young women for their keen eye for business, and of course Jessica Bennett's outstanding angle on such an over-reported topic.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Hop on the bag wagon
Plastic bags are no mas' in California as of Tuesday.
That's pretty cool, if you ask me.
The ban, which is the first statewide ban of it's kind, is both awesome and long overdue. Where some see great progress, I see awful initiative.
Since my brain could comprehend anything worth comprehending, I have known the world is a messy place. At the moment, I mean that literally. There is a lot of garbage everywhere. And it's because of the global obsession (the U.S. leading the pack) with disposable products. We're lazy.
So lazy, that it took over 15 years of knowing a massive plastic island is lingering between Asia and California before such a law was passed. And I'm not mentioning all of that trash on the side of roads and whatnot.
That's weak. But at least it's happening. I'm trying to be optimistic, but the effort is so astonishingly delayed I almost want to laugh.
We are past the point of cleaning up the world, but my negativity cannot take away the fact that something is being done. Something. So I thought it was worth mentioning.
That's pretty cool, if you ask me.
The ban, which is the first statewide ban of it's kind, is both awesome and long overdue. Where some see great progress, I see awful initiative.
Since my brain could comprehend anything worth comprehending, I have known the world is a messy place. At the moment, I mean that literally. There is a lot of garbage everywhere. And it's because of the global obsession (the U.S. leading the pack) with disposable products. We're lazy.
So lazy, that it took over 15 years of knowing a massive plastic island is lingering between Asia and California before such a law was passed. And I'm not mentioning all of that trash on the side of roads and whatnot.
That's weak. But at least it's happening. I'm trying to be optimistic, but the effort is so astonishingly delayed I almost want to laugh.
We are past the point of cleaning up the world, but my negativity cannot take away the fact that something is being done. Something. So I thought it was worth mentioning.
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