Commentary on Simone Biles, the MAGA Riots, and CDC mask mandates
The Hump Day Hot Topics
Simone Biles protecting her inner peace
"To thine own self be true..." Polonius to his son, Laertes, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
The great Simone Biles, winner of 30 worldwide medals, including four Gold Medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, really didn't owe anyone an explanation about her decision to drop out of competition yesterday because she wasn't feeling well mentally. Mental focus is crucial in any sport, but even more so in one like gymnastics where serious injury or death can occur if one's focus is off even a tad. But to her credit, Biles did explain, stating that she was "still struggling with some things,” while adding, "It just sucks when you are fighting with your own head.”
Indeed it does, young Sister...
In my ten years on social media, other than Colin Kaepernick, I am not sure that I have ever seen an athlete attacked with the vitriol that I saw hurled towards this 24-year old phenom yesterday. Much of what was written is not fit to be print in my Blog, but the tenor ranged from some calling Biles "weak" and a "quitter," to others claiming that she "let the USA down" by refusing to compete. Comments that while quite predictable in an era when anyone with a device can let their opinions, however horrid, get posted, still ring insensitive and totally devoid of compassion.
Ergo, in her defense, I ask in this column space whether Biles could have become the greatest of all time if she didn't push through the excruciating pain of multiple torn calf muscles in 2015—or a broken rib in 2016—the year she dominated the last Olympics?
Would Biles have won those four Gold medals and one Bronze in the 2016 Olympics—while her toe was shattered in five pieces throughout that competition—if she was a "quitter?"
And, isn't it true that it was the USA Gymnastics hierarchy that let Biles and other gymnasts down when they were being sexually molested by Larry Nasser as children training in this sport? Despite this sickeningly sordid past, at no point in her brilliant career has Biles renounced her citizenship or denounced the apparatus of a sport that didn't protect her and others from a sexual predator.
Words matter—and tone definitely matters! If I know nothing else, I know that more often than not, the harshest critics often project their own insecurities and weaknesses on the target of their criticism. Such is why some men who can't hardly bench press 135-lbs without a spotter were quick to trash Ms. Biles yesterday, and why some women who pull muscles getting up out of chairs suddenly morphed into armchair Olympics and mental health experts right before our social media eyes. My incredulity meter all day was like "who do you all think you are" each time I saw another diatribe about Biles being a weak, excuse making quitter.
What frustrated me the most is the fact that Biles immediately drew skepticism about her admission that she needed a mental health break. I ride hard on this point because as I have candidly admitted in the past, I have struggled at times with depression and anxiety the same as I have from diabetes and hypertension, and I know that mental health can actually bring about other health issues. But from time immemorial, Blacks have been viewed as beasts of burden who are to labor without physical or mental breaks, as our ancestors received no grace or quarter from a slave-owning society that was too lazy and feckless to pick their own crops, cook their own food, nurse their own children, tend their own cattle, shod their own horses, clear their own lands, drain their own swamps, build their own buildings, or entertain themselves through sports and music. Thus, my averment that all of the "Biles should have pushed through" folks are missing the greater point that sometimes, one's best simply isn't good enough and when it isn't, that's ok—there will be another time to flex!
Now to be clear, not all critiques are bad; just as one needn't be a gourmet chef to tell whether a dish tastes good or not, non-gymnasts are certainly entitled to express their opinions about what they saw regarding Ms. Simone's performance yesterday. But when the critiques morph from "she didn't nail that like she has in the past," to downright deplorable disses of a woman who has accomplished more in her 24 years than most of us will ever accomplish in our lives—that's where the line must be drawn.
Last, there's been quite a bit of chatter about Simone Biles accepting the title of GOAT (Greatest of All Time) that has been crowned upon her for years and whether hubris led to her withdrawal yesterday. Well, the simple truth is that she is the greatest and while humility is a wonderful attribute, there's always been a level of extreme confidence that some athletes have exuded when they truly transcended beyond the ordinary. Whether it was Muhammad Ali calling himself "The Greatest" while dominating heavyweight boxing, or everyone wanting to "Be like Mike" when Michael Jordan was dominating other basketball legends like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Charles Barkley; or Deion "Primetime" Sanders, one who was so skilled that the term "shut down corner" was invented to describe him because football coaches refused to throw the football on his side of the field, many athletes have carried themselves with an aura—if not arrogance—that added to their mystique.
Yet and still, each of these legends eventually met up with the true undisputed champ of all sports—Father Time—thus, our memories of an aging Ali being whipped by Larry Holmes, or an aging Jordan being outscored by Kobe Bryant and crossed up by Allen Iverson, or an aging Deion being sprinted past by Randy Moss; such still does not diminish the greatness within these athletes during their prime times!
Ditto for Simone Biles, and as she presses forward in competition during the last segment of her career, here's hoping that she takes all the time that she needs to take care of both her physical and mental health because at the end of the day, the only opinion that truly matters is the one staring back at Biles when she stands in the mirror.
Capitol Riot Hearings
Over the past 10 years, in pure Pavlovian form, whenever Black people and our non-Black allies protest the police killing of an unarmed Black man, woman, or child, there arises from the right a cynical "Blue Lives Matter" or "Back the Blue" response that diminishes the cause of equal justice under the law for Black victims. Interestingly enough, the same right-wing "Back the Blue," law-and-order types have been quieter than a rat peeing on cotton about the thousands of armed and deranged (mostly) white men and women who stormed the Capitol Complex on January 6th with a goal of preventing the certification of Joe Biden's victory of then President Donald Trump.
After Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) began yesterday's January 6th Commission hearing with an opening statement, Sergeant Aquilino Gonell and Officer Harry Dunn of the Capitol Police, and Officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges of the Metropolitan Police gave pedantic and harrowing detail of the desperate hand-to-hand fighting that they engaged in with the MAGA Mob on January 6th. The officers recounted being pushed, kicked, scratched, sprayed with chemical agents, and being called the N-word multiple times by rioters who threatened to kill them and "hang Mike Pence," Trump's former Vice President who presided over the certification and broke with Trump's demand that he stall the proceedings.
I have no doubts in my mind that had thousands of Black or American Arab protesters armed themselves and marched on the Capitol, that thousands of Black and American Arabs would have been mowed down in a massacre even worse than Wounded Knee in 1890 or Tulsa in 1921. That these MAGA protesters violently attacked officers and threatened the foundation of American Democracy is arguably the worst example of white privilege in recent memory, one that must not go unpunished for the attackers--and those who helped facilitate the attack.
So, I post this segment to remind the right-wing readers of this Blog (and lurkers on my social media) that I see through you and get the point that you only "Back the Blue" when the Blue is bloodying and killing unarmed people of color—not when the Blue are being attacked by your racial and ideological kinsmen.
Mask Mandates
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control reinstated its recommendation that masks get worn inside of buildings due to the rise in Covid infections in general, and the even deadlier Delta strain that is spreading sickness and death across America. As a Southerner, I welcome this mandate despite knowing that the region is led by Republican governors like Florida's Ron Desantis—governors who speak with forked tongues regarding the best ways to keep constituents safe during this new wave.
My faithful readers may think, "Ol' Hobbs, you sure do go hard on Gov. Desantis each week" and while true, I do so because I struggle with leaders who make life or die decisions based upon political polling and posturing. I truly believe that Gov. Desantis understands the stakes, and I believe that he knows fully well that the Covid vaccines are critically important to flatten the curve of this disease—as is mask wearing and social distancing. But Desantis is too timid to push back against the "Know Nothings" within his party who do not seem to care about the safety or welfare of themselves or others, which is why I will continue to rhetorically beat on his policy decisions like I used to wear out my snare drum during my school days.
In the interim, I advise my readers to use common sense; it doesn't matter if the governor or legislature in your state refuse to issue mandatory mask policies—wear your masks anyway; if your children attend public schools in districts that refuse to mandate masks, have your child mask up anyway—or home school them until such time as this deadly pandemic abates!
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"Quieter than a rat peeing on cotton." I love that and am going to use it.
And thank for the commentary. With you 💯