Tarnished Gold
I have eighty things on my mind, four of them are about the US men's hockey team and their shitty behavior during their gold medal "celebration."
But first, please join me in screaming about this: Riz Ahmed in "An electrifying reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet, set in the world of a British South Asian family in contemporary London."
I am a sucker for modern day retellings of Shakespeare plays - Ten Things I Hate About You, Richard the III with Sir Ian McKellen in the titular role, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet are at the top of the list and I suspect this one will join them. And not in the least because it makes me actually want to go to a theatre April 10th to see it.
Anyway, I wish I could say I was surprised at the US men's hockey team and their ability to go from Gold medal to absolute losers in an impressive 48 hour run. But there was a reason I wasn't cheering for them, even with an Avalanche player on the team. (and thankfully it appears as though Brock Nelson was not involved in any of the bullshit, he also came home to Denver today instead of going to DC for the photo op, sorry the State of the Union)
Locker room talk is harmful. Full stop. It encourages a culture and attitude that perpetuates racism, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia. In this day and age you'd think these adults - for despite the number of things I've seen saying "young men" the youngest fucking person on that team was 24. They were all grown adult men. Men who got there because their fucking mothers likely drove them around from practices to games and back again. (Honestly if you think I'm mad about this I'm even more mad about Ellen Weinberg-Hughes PR nonsense response about country.)
Two things in the aftermath of this all stand out to me. The first is that I know how hard it is to speak up when everyone around you seems to be on the same wrong page. I know how that moment feels. I know how important it is that you speak up. And I also know how sometimes you don't. Then the moment is gone forever. For so many of us, we'll never do that on the world stage our behavior immortalized and hung up for all the world to see.
Which is why it's important to speak up. Especially when you're a privileged white guy who's job in no way hinges on the respect of a despot-wannabe. Especially when you speaking up may make others do the same. Imagine what would have happened if there'd been no laughter. If someone had said "Absolutely, Mr. President, they are amazing hockey players and gold medalists and they deserve to be recognized for it."
Instead we got (maybe) someone starting to say "Absolutely" only to be drowned out by all the laughter of all the men in the room who thought it was hilarious that the women's hockey team - who've won three gold medals in less time than it took the men, who've in fact medaled in every single Olympics they been in since they were allowed to play in 1998.
The second is I am again, not the least bit surprised by this. This is an excellent representation of our country - of the sexism inherent in everything we do. Of bullies taking the masks off. Of the "locker room" talk that exists in private spaces and has for a decade now been openly embraced in the public space because of what the utter losers in charge have demonstrated is allowed. I wanted Canada to win in part because so many members of my beloved Avalanche were on the team, but also because I know they would have handled this win with far more grace than was shown here. Both teams would have been celebrated by their country for the stunning performances they delivered.
There's not a lot these days that makes me proud of my country, and the US men's hockey team said as loudly as possible one of the reasons why.
Listen, I'm not perfect either. As I said it's a struggle to speak up, but I hope that if the time comes and you're in that position, you find some way through the pounding of your heart and the buzzing in your ears to say something.
Note: US women won six out of 12 gold medals in Milano Cortina by the way, and 17 medals overall. (21 if you count the mixed events)
Love,
K