Well, I’m not exactly timely with this post, but given the trifecta of brazen behavior we all witnessed over the past week, and how this behavior continues to occupy my daily thinking, I decided to get some thoughts down. Each act, in and of itself, was almost unbelievable. Representative Joe Wilson …. Serena Williams …. Kanye West … elected government official and leader … star athlete and role model … accomplished musician. All role models for today’s youth. Have these people become so powerful in their own minds, that they have the right to say ANYTHING, anywhere, anytime? Well, obviously, each one of them thinks so. Talk about moral bankruptcy.
I keep pondering … what must Joe Wilson’s children think? To have a father who shows such a gross disrespect, judgement and lack of decorum to the President of the United States? I could more easily let go of this if I truly thought that Wilson had any true regret over how he behaved. His half hearted apology was quickly followed by his touting the double standard, citing certain members of Congress booing Bush during a speech. Now I agree, that’s not right either – but I also don’t understand how that offers any excuse for his own behavior. And these politician’s are great at turning any tumble into an opportunity. His outburst is fueling his campaign strategy now to raise money for his re-election. From his website:
Instead of working on the important issues facing our nation, the Democratic leadership has proven once again that they would rather play political games on the taxpayer’s dime than work to create jobs or reform health care.
The liberal supporters of a government takeover of health care are using my very vocal opposition as an excuse to muzzle the American people who have been outspoken against their risky plan. But I will not give up and I will not back down from our fight. I will continue to speak the truth.
Will you please make a donation to help me fight back against these partisan attacks?
Thank you for standing with me in this fight,
Joe Wilson
U.S. Representative
I cringe when the true elements of a person’s characters are exposed – and they just happen to be in a position of power with the ability to make decisions that impact a large number of us. The only good news here is that a fellow South Carolinian, who plans to run against Joe Wilson next year, has raised over $800,000 since Wilson’s outburst last week.
Now Serena. It was an intense moment, and in an intense moment, sometimes our raw emotions are exposed. I can understand how frustrated she must have been over what seemed to be a bad call. But threatening bodily harm with a few choice explicatives thrown in is the farthest thing from sportsmanship that exists. Her actions left a pall over the semi-finals event – which not only forced her to lose the game, but left her worthy opponent, Kim Clijsters, robbed of a legitimate victory. Thank goodness Kim ultimately won the title. She deserved it.
Last – Kanye West. For some reason, his brazen act bothered me the most. I was stunned that someone would have the audacity to run up on stage and take away such a special moment from Taylor Swift. What was he thinking? How would anyone in the right frame of mind, even contemplate doing such a thing?Obviously he is a troubled person, and as he has attested to, needs to do some soul searching. The silver lining in this story was Taylor herself, who handled the situation, and the post interviews with remarkable grace.
When three things like this hit so close to each other, it makes me worry about the state of our nation. It is clear in each of these three instances that this trio, who have each achieved fame and stature, think they also have permission to do whatever they want to do, regardless of how it impacts others.
All right, it’s off my chest. Not a light Friday, but I feel better.
9-18-2009 08:55:49
Thanks for posting this Anne. I found all of these events to be troubling but also found Kanye West’s display to have bothered me the most, perhaps because his actions involved a toung girl. I have a teenage daughter and when I saw the way he approached Taylor Swift and grabbed the microphone from her, it just took my breath away. But I also applaud Beyonce Knowles for not letting it pass silently. She effectively stood up and in one fell swoop, gave Taylor her moment to accept her award while at the same time saying to Kanye – what you did is not ok. That gives me hope that the good guys will prevail.
9-18-2009 09:00:29
Maura: I agree. Thank goodness for the class act of Beyonce.
9-18-2009 09:34:12
I agree wholeheartedly, and would just add that unfortunately it’s not just the USA. In the UK’s Premiership Soccer League (which is HUGE here), Emmanuel Adebayor (from Togo) who is a member of the Manchester City team has been banned for 3 games following his unsportsmanlike conduct against an opposing player. He faces a further 2 game ban for goading the opposing teams fans.
At least in soccer there is a swift retribution through yellow and red cards being presented during the game. But still, people should act better.
In his defense, Adebayor claims that a person can only take so much taunting. Really?
I read an article once about anger management. It pointed out that the only thing an individual can control is his/her own behavior. No matter what’s going on around you, you are able to rise above it by controlling your own actions. Easy to say, but apparently harder to do.
9-19-2009 12:42:36
Anne, I’m glad you posted about this. You said exactly what I was thinking. And I’ve been wondering why all these people thought it was okay to behave like that. I just wonder if this bad behavior might be the consequence of seeing a month’s worth video where older citizens were screaming and interrupting other people. Surely, people of all ages were there. But when you see people older than yourself acting disgraceful in public, I ask myself if that doesn’t give younger folk tacit permission to do the same. It’s like parents telling their kids not to swear when they punctuate their own sentences with expletives.
9-22-2009 06:23:31
This is a timely post because it’s something that needs to be addressed over and over again. As Cindy points out, there has been a shift in the overall way that some people feel it’s okay to behave in public. It’s time to bring back basic decency in how people treat each other, and until that happens we can’t talk about it enough.