Last night, before the Yankees pounded his Blue Jays 10-3, Carlos Delgado added to the long and celebrated list of sports figures who, in light of world events, have chosen a sporting environment as a place to stage protests by choosing not to stand for the patriotic hymn “God Bless America.” in doing this, however, he failed to deliver his message and therefore has been vilified. Why? Not so much for his views as for his mode of expression. Thus, I offer to help my fellow American (Delgado is Peurto Rican) by offering a how-to on expressing discontent, from a veritable who’s-who of hell no.Lesson One: Take care of business first. Case in point: Muhammad Ali throwing gold medal into river. By not winning his game (and continuing a yearlong skid), Delgado made his behavior appear detrimental to his performance. Ali made sure to avoid this. He won a gold medal in ’60, but was refused service in a Birmingham restaurant. He threw his medal into a river in protest of racism. This act, more than the later Vietnam brouhaha that came when Ali was a champ, solidifies Ali’s reputation as a man amongst men, at least in these eyes.
Lesson Two: State your case clearly. Case in point: Tommie Smith and John Carlos raising fists in black power salute on medal stand in ’68 Olympics. Delgado left the general public unsure as to exactly what he was protesting. Is it the war? Taxes? America itself? Smith, the 200-m gold medalist and Carlos, bronze in that event, left no doubt. In addition to following lesson one, Smith and Carlos made sure that their message was clear, as the black power salute was a well-known gesture. Although the move effectively ended the Olympian attempts at political amnesty, it remains one of the mnost stirring moments in sports history.
Lesson Three: Act like you mean it. Case in point: Hockey Night in Canada’s Don Cherry supporting both Gulf Wars and bashing visor wearers. Sitting down during “God Bless America” isn’t enbough. It makes it seem like you’re doing it just to be doing it, or that you’re following the crowd. Cherry knew different. The longtime Hockey Night commentator blasted Quebec separatists and antiwar demonstartors, calling them “wimps and creeps” and describing visor-wearing NHL players as “a bunch of European guys”. The remarks were at times ignorant and always politically incorrect, but the level of emphasis never changed. I wouldn’t advise going this far, but at least say something.
There you go, Carlos. I’m sure you’ll be an A-list protestor in no time flat. Now about that batting average…
4 replies on “How To Protest in Three Easy Steps: A Guide By Case Study”
Note At the time this article went to press, it was not known that Delgado had made a statement in the New York Times reflecting his views (or, in my personal opinion, that those views would sound like an uneducated 15-year-old girl.) I regret the error, but still believe the article holds relevance.
revise! Add his statement (and your opinion of it) to your article. It needs to be longer anyway.
Delgado No, NO Stay with this article. It is a refreshing view of an important issue. Way to kick the end. You have the journalist knack. I like it. It’s short, narrative-driven, relevant and fun to read.
Agree w/ editor You need to lengthen your article. Even if the article has good meaning and is on a relevent subject, it needs meat. Add some beef to this piece and then i will vote. You need to act like ur actuall trying and not like u made this up in 10 seconds, put more thought into it.