It Just doesn't Make Sense To Me

I have to preface this post by letting you know that I'm in a semi-serious, semi-depressed mood today, so I hope my thoughts don't bring you down:

First and foremost, I don't know how many of you readers look at our comment section, but we recently had what was obviously a disgruntled Flag Girl making some belligerent comments. This incident made it clear to us that we need to re-emphasize the most important thing about ourselves and this blog: We do not, under any circumstances, ever care what anyone has to say! The only time we want your comments is when we specifically ask for them (insane debate) and when you plan on agreeing with us or politely stating your own opinion. Otherwise, as we have said multiple times before: if you disagree, you are wrong. Sound a bit egotistic? Check the name of the blog and get over it!

Moving on, I think now is a good time to let everyone know that I'm a huge fan of professional tennis. Here's a quick rundown of my top 2 favorite players (on the women's side):

1. Venus Williams
2. Serena Williams

The only reason I bring this up is because the now infamous Serena foot fault incident (click here to watch it happen) has brought many unfortunate issues back into the limelight. One of these issues is the vast difference in behavioral expectation of men and women. Does anyone else remember the days of John McEnroe's explosive temper? There was a year when hardly one match went by during which he did not berate a line judge. Yet, for some reason, the International Tennis Federation never threatened to ban John McEnroe from the pro tour. Hardly 48 hours had passed before the ITF was threatening to do just that to Serena Williams. I have been a fan of the Williams sisters for many years now, and I don't deny the fact that humility has never been a strength of theirs. My question is, why is it considered normal for players on the men's side to lose their tempers in the heat of the moment (Andy Roddick, anyone?) and verbally attack line judges, but when a woman does the same thing it's absolutely unacceptable? It's just a plain and simple sexist mindset. So Serena did not apologize for 36 hours, who cares? When has she ever been mistaken for a gracious, tactful person? No one who follows tennis should have been the least bit surprised by her unwillingness to admit any wrongdoing. That shouldn't (and doesn't) take away from the fact that, besides Venus, she is one of the best and most exciting players to watch on the women's side. Even John McEnroe himself has come forward to say that Serena is being mistreated by officials, fans, and the media. I think that this incident and the subsequent consequences are illustrating the fundamental double standard of our society. John McEnroe ran around making an ass of himself for years and never suffered the disapproval Serena is currently facing. One outburst and she is practically being ostracized. It just doesn't make sense to me.

The next issue that was brought to attention by Serena's misstep is our inability to leave race out of anything. If you google "Serena foot fault" you will find many articles from online news sources that allowing commenting. I encourage you to read through a few of the comments. As can only be expected in "America: Land of the Free", nearly 90% of the comments are laced with ignorance and littered with racial slurs. Here are a few examples:

"When a proper recording of this comes out I hope she ends up in court.Something that niggers are well familiar with."

"Niggers are fast, stems from running away from the police and their illegitimate children."

"Serena is a fat slob who happens to play tennis. If she didn't have tennis skills, she would be just another hood rat who waited every month for her welfare check."

Now, let me wonder aloud, "When did the fact that Serena is black even become a point of contention in this matter?" I am disappointed in myself for having forgotten that we are an ignorant, bigoted country. Barack Obama=Change? Apparently not in the racially divided mindset of most Americans. Even when something has nothing at all to do with race, we will make it about race. Many of the other comments mention Kanye West as well, trying desperately to make some connection between these two for their race and recent bad behavior. Can we not just look at both situations and say, "Wow those two made fools of themselves" and leave it at that? This Past weekend I attended a much-anticipated college football game where fan's emotions were running high. At one point, some fans from the opposing team who happened to be standing in the student section yelled some encouragement to their team and suddenly found themselves in the midst of a yelling match with some home team fans. It was all good fun, until one of the home teamers yelled, "Are you legal?" to some of the opposing fans who appeared to be of Mexican descent. I seem to have missed the cultural shift toward belligerent ignorance. Well, either I missed it or it's always been here and I've just been naive. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Unfortunately, that's all I have to say for awhile as I'm feeling discouraged by the general rhetoric in America right now.

Stone