There Something Wrong Here

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, marked a turning point in America, he said. "America had to deal with its ugly night side. For the first time, the vast majority of all Americans, of all colors, felt unsafe, unprotected, subject to unjustified violence, to hatred, just for who they are."

The experience has left our whole nation "niggarized," he said, because everyone now shares the experience that Black Americans have felt for years. "Does the nation have enough spiritual resources to deal with this?" he asked. "Will people learn by the formerly niggarized?"

This is an article about Cornell West, featured player of Matrix part II, and academic par excellence, recently booted from Harvard and picked up by Princeton, I believe.

I read today in ESPNs magazine preview of the World Cup that the US Team is the only team that will travel in a bus not donning our flag - for security reasons. This fact suggests to me, we are the most hated nation on earth. No other nation is hated like we are. Iran, North Korea, Syria, all awful humanistic disgraces do not garner hate from anyone - they are merely viewed as awful little tykes, of little significance. Only America is hated. And Israel, but they are not in the world cup.

The world should be ashamed of itself.

Onto other soccer metaphors - the best player on the other team is always subject to hard tackles and special attention. Maybe that's how we should view ourselves. But it is a shameful team that doesn't protect it's best player from abuse - and any good player learns early on how to protect himself from injury, by being tough and fighting back.

Onto other soccer news - Thierry Henry has begun a vocal campaign against racism in soccer, a ugly side none of us "worldly" people would like to talk about, as black players across Europe are subject to taunts and mockery by being called apes and monkey's and having banannas thrown at them. Of course, if this happened in America, it would be met with outrage here AND by all of our enemies overseas, using it as an excuse to point out how awful we are. Yet, in Europe it is all very public, and part of civic pride.

And now some kinda cool soccer news - Iranian mullah's tried to ban soccer several years ago, but the Iranian people went crazy and wouldn't allow it. Hmmm. Anyhow, they are in the World Cup and Amajihabad (spelling) wants to attend a match. Interesting.