A Photo of Contrasts

This photo caught my eye for a couple of reasons. It was taken on July 21, 2015 in France just before the opening of a climate summit in France. First, I see two people who appear to be dozing in the back and second the individuals wearing their traditional clothing. It contrasts sharply with what the other people around them are wearing.

It made me wonder: would we ever see a Native American Indian wear traditional clothing at at session of US Congress? Probably not.

Source of photo:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/world/gallery/week-in-photos-0724/index.html

When an Ice Berg Strikes

The recent controversy surrounding the awarding of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to Caitlyn Jenner (formerly the Olympic great Bruce Jenner) provoked me to ask two questions: 1) “Who the hell is Peter Berg?” (Did an ancestor sink the mighty Titanic in 1912?); and 2) “Why the controversy over bestowing an award for such a meaningless event (ESPN’s the ESPYs)? Before I go let me just say that this takes nothing away from what Arthur Ashe did and represented. Even after his death his legacy continues to inspire hope, dignity, resiliency and humanity.  The problem I have is that we have become so sports-centric that we have elevated sports/entertainment to the level of cultural/historical/academic/political importance. This should not be. I enjoy sports, but I have come to understand that they are only a fraction of what life is truly about, or the strenuous decisions people have to make.

As I read the article on the controversy, I saw that Bob Costas, the NBC broadcaster, chimed in with his officious two-cents. He is quoted as saying, “In the broad world of sports, I’m pretty sure they could’ve found someone – and this is not anything against Caitlyn Jenner – who was much closer actively involved in sports, who would’ve been deserving of what that award represents.” English teachers should use this sentence in class. Costas should have used “more” instead of “closer” or “much more closely involved.” It appears that Costas has a bias against transgendered people and this comes out in his judgment of Jenner. As an Olympian Jenner embodies and represents the athletic ideal and greatness. Even though she no longer competes, her struggles transcend anything that happens between two lines, a court, a soccer field, etc.  Ashe was recognized for his work outside of the tennis courts, why can’t Costas apply the same standard to Jenner? 

The real issue here is that the criteria for the award has never really been defined. Should the recipient be a current athlete or one who has retired? Should he/she be acknowledged for work outside of athletics or not? Should the award go to the individual who practices a sport that most represents people/society? Cindy Boren, the reporter who researched and put together the article for The Washington Post, wrote, “Jenner was a controversial choice for the award, with many pointing out that Noah Galloway, an athlete who lost an arm and leg in war, was more deserving, as was Lauren Hill, who achieved her dream of playing college basketball before she died of brain cancer.” Should we now require that athletes who were involved in war be given preference for the award? Or how about a dying individual? Both are extremely good choices for the award, but at some point ESPN is going to have to validate the award by imbuing its criteria with more substance than it has.

As for Mr. Berg, it is sad that he felt it necessary to engage in such a petty, disgraceful and immature act as his posting illustrates. No one disrespects Gregory Gadson, the Army veteran who lost two legs in conflict, whose image Berg used to deride Jenner. In reality, Gadson should be insulted that Berg used his image without his consent for such a pathetic example of stupidity.

It is a shame that battlefields are the metric for determining a person’s worth or value. Not all battles take place in Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq or Baltimore, Maryland. I remember seeing pictures of Bruce Jenner on Wheaties cereal boxes in the 1970s and I was struck that he had to struggle with identity issues for so long. Army veterans proudly display their injuries sustained in battle; others, such as Caitlyn Jenner, have wounds that run just as deep, but are not as visible. The battles that people like Caitlyn Jenner are fighting are no less important than the conflagrations that US armed forces have with ISIS and the Taliban or that Bob Costas may have with an English grammar book. If we give too much weight or credence to what Peter and Bob say, it will “Costas” in the end.

For Italians Only in Cuba

The other day I stopped by the Hotel Victoria to say hello to some old friends of mine. I was stunned to learn that after August 10, the hotel would no longer be accommodating non-Italian tourists. I was told that the Italian travel agency Alpitur bought the hotel and is going to use it as a place of accommodations only for Italians.  

I was disgusted by the news on a couple of fronts. First, the temerity of this agency to do this. They buy their own real estate and exclude everyone from it. This reminds me of pre-Revolution Cuba when the US engaged in this type of arrogant behavior. Second, I had trouble digesting this notion, but the reasons behind the purchase were so antithetical to the tenets of the Revolution, i.e., discrimination. For me, this is one of the uglier aspects of capitalism and I just could not believe that Cuba would allow a foreign entity to do this. But it has and it has made me wonder what is next on the horizon. 

With normalized relations between Cuba and the US there will be a significant increase in tourism (since January 2015 Cuba has witnessed a 36% increase in the number of tourists who visit Cuba). Will US-based or other foreign entities try to emulate with Alpitur has done? I hope not.