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BlackAthlete Sports Network-www.blackathlete.net Commentary
I've no qualms nor
complaints about the chosen ones, but I'm a little mystified as to why not one
of the Afro-America medal winners were not to selected, considering their
Nordic feats are of the unprecedented, never before seen
historical variety. Ken Powell, CEO and chairmen of General Mills, the producer of Wheaties, isn't recognizing the key word here - profit. To a business man like Powell, the bottom line is profit . . . which I would calculate could be achieved via inclusion and diversity, identifying anybody.
But White medalists are, sadly oddities, rarities,
nuances in a number of forms and fashions, and clearly worthy of promoting and
exposing to consumers of all colors who appreciated the Olympics, but
particularly Black Americans, both adolescents and parents - who were tuned
into the Winter Olympics.
Black folks buy
Wheaties too. Of course, over time, I'm sure they'll place one of these Chocolate Olympians on the Box-front . . . . It's just that, considering Black children are desperate for examples of avenues up-and-out of urban and rural reservations they were born into.
And
I don't just mean physically, but also mentally and socially trapped in a L7
landing zone - time would appear to be of the essence here? We don't have
any time to waste.
"We?"
Here, permit me to play Dick fluppen Tracy . . . . That's not a
concern of Ken Powell, nor that of any of the General Mills decision
makers.
And taking it to
the next logical point; nor do the Wall Street shareholders weigh and measure
what's best for any segment of our society . . . but themselves, including
those
Investor Class Americans who
also are indifferent to the financial raping of Fred n' Wilma by the health
industry, the oil companies, you name the industry.
Stamp it unbridled
capitalism, greed, pure greed. So with the understanding I don't know what
weight, if any - being "aware" of the historical aspect of what
these Afro-American athletes are accomplishing holds in the eyes of corporate
America.
Or at the most - their being "sensitive" to the need to show Blacks excelling at endeavors beyond tradition sports . . . I can't say that sentiment exist in boardrooms.
Of course,
silly-ass me . . . I guess I must at least mention - there might be an effort
afoot to downplay the accomplishments of Blacks excelling at Ice skating and
bobsledding.
These are sports, perhaps not exclusively country club activities, but they have been insulated, if not protected from the nasty words like diversity and inclusion for a number of reasons, economic, cultural, etc.
But I
suspect just as their were folks at a Philadelphia swimming pool in 2008 who
pulled their kids out of the water, protested to the owners and ask the
niggers not come back. . . whose to
say.
These White folks . . . in the City of Brotherly Love, couldn't possibly
think of these kids as Afro-Americans, so please, lets be honest if nothing
else.
Whose to say . .
. in a nation where sexist, racist and very elitist punks like Rush and
Glenn Beck are so-very popular amongst one segment of the US population?
Many would
suggest Blacks advancement into winter Nordic viking games scares the Hell out
of White America; Oh no, not another sport we have to take a back seat in,
sooner or later abandon and move-on to extreme snow ball fighting or snowman
making . . . .
Hey, ESPN and FOX Sports would call both sports. You got to find
Great White Hopes where-ever you can these days.
There well could
be some White kid with a gold medal around his neck after winning a medal in
the 2014 Winter Olympics for Snow-Ball Tossing.
It might not be
to far-fetched to assume why we don't see any Black Olympians on a Wheaties
box, it's not a priority, not that important, while to me, it would seem the
Black Winter Olympian has come from out of no-where to be recognized with
medals, and in the bigger picture it would benefit this nation to highlight and
showcase kids who achieve . . . against all odds. © Copyright 2005 by BlackAthlete Sports Network |
