Letters to the Editor: September 8 – 14, 2016
Stop Glorifying Someone Complaining About U.S.
Editor,
If nothing else, Colin Kaepernick deserves praise for accomplishing something I would have never imagined possible – having Nicholas Benton say something remotely positive about anything regarding the NFL! Unfortunately, Kaepernick’s recent gestures to not honor the American flag reek more of personal opportunism than principle.
For those of you unfamiliar with Kaepernick’s story, he had been the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers for a few years. His star quickly rose a few years ago under a new, gimmicky offense that made great use of Kaepernick’s excellent running ability. Unfortunately, his star also quickly fell as teams adjusted to this offense and the other skills needed to be a successful quarterback are lacking in Kaepernick. There is no bigger testament to this than the 49ers’ new head coach, whose offensive schemes would seemingly be a perfect match for Kaepernick’s abilities, and he isn’t even close to winning the starting job over a journeyman QB. Waiting until it looks like his lucrative career that has made Kaepernick a millionaire to make his gestures looks more like an attempt to generate buzz and hopefully score some media job once his football playing days end than some brave stand.
What’s disturbing is that so many in the media are glorifying Kaepernick while somebody like retired NFL running back Warrick Dunn has quietly helped 150 single mothers obtain home ownership through his charity over the years. Maybe instead of glorifying someone who complains that this country doesn’t meet his ideals, it would be more constructive to glorify someone who is personally making an effort to improve this country one family at a time.
Jeff Walyus
Arlington
Disappointed in ‘Drag Race All-Stars’ Use of Anti-Woman Slurs
Editor,
After reading your interview with Joey Santolini, who performs as Tatianna (August 25-31 News-Press), I thought I might enjoy watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars.” I like RuPaul as co-host of “Skin Wars” and host of “Skin-Wars: Fresh Paint,” but I only made it through about fifteen minutes of the new “Drag Race” before shutting it off in disgust. The cross-dressing was not what bothered me. I loved Linda Hunt in her Oscar-winning role as Billy Kwan in “The Year of Living Dangerously,” where she also crossed a racial line, and I loved Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie,” where he won an Oscar as Michael Dorsey and Dorothy Michaels. It’s also fine with me when the Nats’ mascot dresses as Screech the Eagle or a human portrays an outer-space alien or an American plays an English character. It’s called acting. And, all my life, I’ve defended (in some cases, mourned) my LGBT friends, relatives and editors who suffered discrimination and bullying. I side with LGBT folks against the bigots who harass them – and I side against bigots, period.
What if some studio produced a program called, “Watermelon Race,” where white people wearing blackface competed to taunt each other with ethnic jokes and racial slurs, while jabbing middle fingers at each other, constantly calling each other “darkie” or even the n-word (so lightly-bleeped that anyone could recognize it) and behaving as shiftless, lamebrain stereotypes who care about nothing except sex, booze and drugs. Would that program be okay? Hell no.
So why is it okay when men dressed as women compete to taunt each other with anti-woman slurs, while jabbing middle fingers at each other, constantly calling each other “bitch” or even the c-word (so lightly-bleeped that anyone could recognize it) and behaving as empty-headed bimbo stereotypes who care about nothing except social-climbing in fashion-victim clothes? Get a clue, guys. It’s not okay.
I know, kids! We could put on a show! Let’s pretend we’re civilized.
Lelia Loban
Via the Internet
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