TORRANCE TRIBUNE December 11, 2014 Page 7 One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion A Government of Laws Athletes Should Make More Political By Gerry Chong Statements, Even if Only Symbolic “We are a government of laws, not of men” – President John Adams How many times have we collapsed back into our plushy seats in our favorite movie theater, licked our popcorn buttered fingers, slurped a Big Gulp, and watched the latest western morality play? The plot is familiar because it contains an expectation that we have always believed; that we are a nation of laws passed by our elected representatives, and that at the end of the movie, those laws will define our civilization, protecting us against insurrection and mayhem. The theater darkens, the credits have rolled, and the movie begins: There is a killing on the streets of a small Midwestern town. The killer is a deputy sheriff who claims selfdefense. We’re Moving! 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As the movie ends the rule of law has prevailed but the audience leaves with the very uneasy prediction that there will be another fire in an unknown location at an unknown date, and this one will be bigger than the last. The vigilantes have a new martyr to stoke their next act of violence. They have a cause and an agenda requiring a government of Immediately, outside rabble-rousers Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization El Segundo Herald* Manhattan Beach Sun Hawthorne Press Tribune* Inglewood News* Lawndale News* Torrance Tribune* EL SEGUNDO OFFICE • 500 Center St. • El Segundo • CA • 90245 Phone: (310) 322-1830 • Fax: (310) 322-2787 • www.heraldpublications.com *Our papers are legally recognized and adjudicated newspapers of general circulation Graphic Artists Mike Gonzales, Patty Grau, Matt Lopez Contributing Writers Gerry Chong, TerriAnn Ferren, Greg McMullin, Duane Plank, Adam Serrao, Laura Sorensen, Brian Simon, Joe Snyder, Cristian Vasquez Photographers Marcy Dugan, Peter Thornton, Osvin Suazo Herald Publications Board Members Chairman and Vice President: Richard Van Vranken CEO and President: Heidi Maerker Director-at-Large: John Van Hook Herald Publications Staff Editor-in-Chief: Heidi Maerker Classifieds: Kimberly Roach Editorial: Laura Sorensen Display Advertising Sales: El Segundo: Linda Cohen, enrichlife@aol.com, (310) 322-8007 Torrance: Charlene Nishimura, charlenenishimura1@gmail.com, (213) 709-8590 Real Estate: graphics@heraldpublications.com Display Ads: marketing@heraldpublications.com Important Emails class@heraldpublications.com For classified ads dba@heraldpublications.com For Fictitious Business Name (DBAs) publications editorial@heraldpublications.com For announcements (weddings, engagements, obituaries, calendar), and subscriptions legalnotices@heraldpublications.com For publication of legal notices other than DBAs letters@heraldpublications.com For “Letters to the Editor” pr@heraldpublications.com For press releases and submissions for consideration By Cristian Vasquez There has been no lack of commentary about the incidents in Ferguson, Missouri. Regardless of where one falls on the opinion spectrum, I do fully appreciate people exercising their First Amendment right to voice their opinions. Which is why today I want to applaud Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt of the St. Louis Rams for their symbolic, yet important, gesture a few weeks ago. These five men walked onto the field before their game against the Oakland Raiders with their hands in the air replicating the “Hand Up, Don’t Shoot” pose being used by protestors in Ferguson. I applaud the actions of these five NFL players not just because they spoke out against what they consider an injustice, but also because they used their platform as athletes in the biggest, most important league in the world to make a political statement. These five athletes used their position of comfort and to a certain extent privilege [which they earned] to tell a grieving family that their tragedy isn’t going unnoticed; that they stand in solidarity with the victim. As emotional and sensitive as the incident in Ferguson has been on a national scale, to these St. Louis players it was also a local issue. We don’t have to agree with their opinion but the fact that we live in a culture of mindnumbing social media supported by idiotic reality television, it was refreshing and inspiring to see five athletes make a political statement. The athletes are somebody’s cousin, brother, son and possibly father so none of us have the right to say they should keep their thoughts to themselves. For anyone that argues that the football field isn’t the place for these types of statements, then what is “proper” the place? And why should there be a proper place? We are blessed with free speech and these men used it through the best medium available to them. In 2003, did the Dixie Chicks criticize President Bush at the wrong place and time? If they had they waited until 2014 and made their comments at a local radio station, would there not have been backlash? Would it have mattered at that point? The Dixie Chicks much like the five athletes in St. Louis, made comments that a group of people considered wrong and were criticized. Sadly this has happened before in America. Just think about Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith back in the 1960s. All three athletes were barred from their sport for speaking up for what they believed in but it did not destroy them; it made them stronger and in the end it made our country a better place. In a world where we are quick to criticize athletes, idolize talentless celebrities being chased by cameras all day and where people are brainwashed by consumer culture, it is inspiring to see people in a position of comfort making a bold political statement. Thank you to the Rams and Rams’ Coach Jeff Fisher for not taking disciplinary action against his players and respecting their right to free speech. More than anything thanks to Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Kenny Britt of the St. Louis Rams. May their action inspire others in a similar position to do the same. • men, and not of laws. President Adams’ claim be damned. Rationally, the question must be asked of the vigilantes, “cui bono”? Who benefits from the insurrections? Certainly it is not the people injured or killed; not the businesses damaged or destroyed; not the local consumers who have lost accesses to goods and services; not government budgets that have been decimated; and not the cause of the vigilantes because civil rights are not advanced by looting and killing. But it is not senseless violence. There are, in fact many who benefit. Some like Al Sharpton exploit anger to gain elective office. There are others like Jesse Jackson who become wealthy by exploiting minority grievances against major corporations. There is the president, presuming White law enforcement culpability, who sent his Attorney General to the site of the shooting to broadly indict the city and local law enforcement for civil rights violations, even in advance of the city’s Grand Jury decision. The greatest beneficiary of civil unrest, however, is the political Left. It prospers as long as there are divides that can be exploited between Blacks and Whites; rich and poor; women and men; citizen and illegal immigrant; Christian and Godless; and public sector and private sector dominance. A unified country is the Left’s greatest nightmare. As this movie ends, ask yourself, “Will there be a sequel?” Did this violence advance the cause of civil rights? Will the next violence bring a positive result? Importantly, who benefits from civil unrest? •
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