From: stephen@orchid.UCSC.EDU ()
Newsgroups: misc.headlines,ca.politics
Subject: Maybe hero creation is our problem.  Re: Magic is no Hero
Date: 5 Oct 1992 04:07:07 GMT
Organization: Santa Cruz
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: orchid.ucsc.edu

In article <1992Oct4.202705.1254@jack.sns.com> jsb@jack.sns.com (Jim Best) writes:
>Sent to me by a friend for posting.
>
>By Mike Barnicle;
>
>        This is how it works now in America:
>        You get a big, famous millionaire athlete who apparently is so
>stupid, selfish or both that he cannot control his sexual appetite and when
>be becomes HIV-positive, practically the whole country collapse in tears,
>puts him on a pedestal and turns him into an idol.

Now I would say that this has been the way for decades.. maybe we are
just waking up to the fact that we as a society create our heros from
the myths that make up what we are striving to become.  Money, fame in
such things as sports, have become incredibly distorted, to the point
where all we promote in everyday life.. are just these values. Look at
TV and marketers for products who have rested the conditions of making
money on our 'physical' warriors.

>        Wednesday, there were long stories about Magic Johnson, who decided
>to come out of retirement in order to play basketball again with the Los
>Angeles Lakers, Good for him and good luck too because this is who he is:
>tremendous ballplayer.

Yes- there are childern/teenagers in the same thing- let's take ourselves
out of worshiping sports heros and try looking at the people who reallyt
make the differences, and giving them the recognition they deserve.  Let's
face it, sports has only one function ( it the sense of commerical sports)
to make money.


>        It's the other aspect of the tale that is tragic. Johnson is a
>college graduate with great physical and financial resources who must have
>been the only man alive unaware of the fact that you might get AIDS if you
>go around having sex with a couple hundred different people in various
>cities.

No he is not the only one.  People in general think they are safe becuase
they are not 'gay' or drug users.  Well everyday now we see that this is
not true.  Anyone and everyone can contract the condition of AIDS.

>        Here we have a guy who put his wife at risk of infection as well as
>his baby. Yet instead of being labeled a moron, he is called a hero.

All within the mythos that he has been taught.  It is a matter of blaming
himn correctly.  That is he should have 'thought' about what he was doing.
but some of the most intelligent people still do , what we would consider
'dumb' things.

>                                   * * *
>        The very word, hero has been so cheapened and demeaned over the
>past few years that I guess we should not be surprised. Still, it is kind
>of incredible that anyone in their right mind would place such a label on
>someone of proven bizarre conduct.
>        Part of the reason could be that we are told over and over lately
>that we must not be judgmental. In other words, there is no such thing as
>right and wrong, moral or immoral, crazy or sane. To make any judgment
>about someone or something is to risk being slapped with one or another
>of the politically correct code words employed to further neuter our
>society.

We have to see if the concept of hero has merit anymore... at least
in terms of the type of myths that we project and perpetuate.  You have
to be careful about what you mean by 'judgemental'. This can take on
all types of subjective overtones.  Magic Johnson was living his myth
to the fullest, and he was exercising his 'rights' as some people would
tell you.  Watch very carefully about what you say in this sense.  IF
you want to change things.... then stop supporting in a peaceful manner
any form of business that has no more purpose than making money for
themselves. 

[deleted story - not saying it isn't important]

We must look at our society as a whole and look at what we do in it.

Cancer is an interesting area- they are many scientist who put forth
the idea that many types of our cancers have been induced by what we
do in our industrial world.  The corporate world tends to maintain 
the position (some scientist also) that the risk is worth it.

The teaching of right an wrong is a myth, since in the end it lies
in whatever we decide what is right and wrong.

We need to give our childern the education that prepares them to 
think and evaluate, not mimic and copy.  That is what we do today,
so if you want your childern to start off on a better road, teach
them to think and weigh the ideas and concepts of others, not simply
repeat what some other people think is the correct way.


[deleted some more stuff]



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