Richard Sherman, I have empathy.
I was not aware of the thug reference to your post-game interview until yesterday. [I didn't have to ponder deeply after seeing the interview moments after the 'Hawks sealed the win over the 49ers. I looooooved it & said so on Facebook.]
Passion is not rage, intensity is not a predisposition for violence against society. Confidence is not a threat.
Moxie is a beautiful thing in sports; an athlete's competitive spirit is very different from the insecure, low self-esteem core of thugs that lead to irrational thoughts & acts.
Like Ali, being the greatest is what competition is all about. To be the best you have to think it if you wanna be it. Ya gotta believe in yourself.
But society is still whitewashed with the misguided 19th & 20th Century, KKK-ish fear of those who are different from the staid, boring exclusive residents of Dullsville, American society, one that is still ruled by the white statusquo & our still very white media.
So #MainSt America is forced to contend, still, even in 2014, with racism & its wicked step sister, hypocrisy. If you're white, things are cozy.
White hip-hop artist Eminem lyrics reflect deep rage that is accepted as talent, as art. U kiddin' me? LMAO. No one called Miss Beiber a thug for drag-racing in Miami.
Ever been to a hockey game... or seen a baseball brawl? Talk about violence! Those players oughta be charged with assault for each incident. But they're white. Rules are different, you see. Nothing happens; no consequences; only glory & lotsa rewards.
Ever been around a bunch of surfers? Surfers should be in Wikipedia as entries for cocky, offensive & arrogant personality types. Again, if you're white, you are privileged.
I know what it's like to be called names.
The Chosen One chooses to stand for equality. In the course of my attempts to call out racism, to insist that Diversity & Inclusion become practice vs preached by those who allege to also stand for racial equality, I have been vilified & villainized- as if there are different brands of MLK's dream, of Lincoln's vision in our society, where I've been told #EqualityIsForEverybody.
The thugs America needs to worry about are on #WallSt, at #BigBanks, in the halls of Congress, in your state capitals. They're part of the subversive American institution of racism; an institution- supported by its media- that feels threatened by a person-of-color who talks about confidence, success & winning.
So let's not deride a great player for what he said seconds after makin' a great play in the #CityofSeattle's biggest game as some underhanded Shakespearean villain- like Richard III. Now he's a thug.
Richard Sherman is a Stanford-educated, talented athlete. This Richard is not a thug but is a very real, competitive, passionate player whose transparency makes racist America a little uncomfortable.
This Richard is a supremely gifted, electrifying ☆, arguably the best in his position, whose hand propelled his team to the #SuperBowl. He's as much a thug as my 15-yr-old deaf pug #Courage!
Good Luck to you & the Seattle Seahawks next week!
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