What happens when a President feuds with a King? Both rule over their respective empires with a deep stare and a scowl. Both have fans that will rush to their defense at any moment, as well as detractors that will celebrate when a new power takes over. One has everything he could ask for. Wealth, respect, a loving family, and the reputation as the best of his craft. The other claims to have all the same - you just have to take his word for it. Is it only a petty disagreement of perception versus reality, or is there more at stake?
The idea of the American Dream is long dead, but let’s run with the idea for a moment. LeBron James worked hard and became a prominent name in his industry. He’s achieved nearly infinite wealth, started a family, and has given back to his community to make it a better place. His latest development, opening the I Promise School in Akron, is yet another monument to his success as an athlete and human being. I won't assume that everything is perfect in his life, but LeBron James is living it about as well as one could dream it, and then some.
His opinions matter. He’s a cultural icon by nature of the fact that when he talks, people listen. People listen because he's self-made, intelligent, and charismatic. And, for those who care, he plays basketball professionally, which is insanely cool. He's a role model for people of all walks of life. If you're into basketball, business, fashion, and, in the past couple of years, politics, you pay attention to him.
Such is the reason that insults from the President, delivered via Twitter from the safety of the highest office in the land, rile up the internet, a space better known today as a digital hellscape littered with click-bait, racism, bad sports takes, and your grandparents' Facebook pages. Lately, the internet has experienced a new wave of vitriol and bitterness, as those of different political backgrounds sling insults and accusations back and forth in an infinite cyber-pillow fight where both sides share at least one common goal: being right about things online. Sure, there are some who push an agenda, but most who participate only aim to promote themselves.
"Retweet this if you support the President!" "Retweet this if you would rather have anybody else!" I picked a side and I'm proud of it!
Viewing each of those stances as equal is where problems start. Some very fine people on both sides / Both sides are just as bad.
It's important to understand that every argument does not have two equal and opposite sides, but most discussion on the internet doesn't allow for that distinction to exist. Online discourse of almost any topic has evolved to only describe things as absolutely good or absolutely terrible. (The same way of thinking has infected the NBA audience as well. If you ain't first (Golden State), you're last.) Nothing is "just OK" anymore (except for Guardians of the Galaxy. Absolutely mediocre). Nobody is more guilty of speaking in hyperbole than the President. The same can be said of hypocrisy, childish insults, and outright lying. So maybe the following tweet shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
Mr. President, have you no respect for your wife's "Be Best" Initiative? The one that aims to teach children to "choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion"? The very same one that also intends to address, um... opioid addiction? Are those thing related? Is anybody else's nose bleeding?
The hypocrisy of Trump and his colleagues telling LeBron to "shut up and dribble" and "stick to sports" after Trump stumbled from reality television and failed business ventures to the presidency is laughable. Not just because LeBron has put so much of his own money into charity while Trump uses his charity to line his pockets, but also the fact that LeBron opened a legitimate public school while Trump opened a fraudulent university to scam students out of their money.
"The organization was not an accredited university or college. It did not confer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students." -Wikipedia
And if we're on the topic of intelligence, or the lack thereof, I'll pitch you a quote and let you guess who said it - LeBron or Trump?
“Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are — nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it’s four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.”
Snopes
What's most bizarre is that these two people should have nothing to do with each other. I mean, sure, they could hang out if they wanted. But really, they're two people existing in totally different spaces going in different directions. The NBA has grown in popularity around the world, in no small part due to immensely popular and enjoyable players like LeBron, not to mention Stephen Curry and Chinese Basketball Association legend Stephon Marbury (No, seriously, they've built statues of him out there). Trump's goal, if you haven't noticed, is to close America off from the rest of the world in order to make a lot of money for himself and his friends put the country first, or whatever. LeBron is working to bring us Space Jam 2, while Trump is working to start a Space Force (nobody asked for either of these things). The NBA pays oodles of cash for the WNBA to stay afloat, which is mostly a business decision, but still helps to make basketball a more inclusive sport. Trump gives money to women, too. Just for other reasons.
Did I mention that Trump's job is to run the country? Did I mention that? Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and are legally protected in their right to express them, but to use the highest office to influence other businesses? Definitely not cool. Or legal. This is where the gravity of the situation really lies, if we're being honest. Arguments of ethics aside, someone supposedly committed to reuniting America starting twitter beef with news reporters and basketball players is almost too surreal to be true.
It's like those superhero movie plot holes where a villain is stopped from delivering a death blow to the hero by wasting time on an evil monologue. Those moments where you ask "Why all the words? You get this thing over with as soon as you feel like it." And that's what I would like most. To just get on with it already.
What happens when a President feuds with a King? Both rule over their respective empires with a deep stare and a scowl. Both have fans that will rush to their defense at any moment, as well as detractors that will celebrate when a new power takes over. One has everything he could ask for. Wealth, respect, a loving family, and the reputation as the best of his craft. The other claims to have all the same - you just have to take his word for it. Is it only a petty disagreement of perception versus reality, or is there more at stake?
The idea of the American Dream is long dead, but let’s run with the idea for a moment. LeBron James worked hard and became a prominent name in his industry. He’s achieved nearly infinite wealth, started a family, and has given back to his community to make it a better place. His latest development, opening the I Promise School in Akron, is yet another monument to his success as an athlete and human being. I won't assume that everything is perfect in his life, but LeBron James is living it about as well as one could dream it, and then some.
His opinions matter. He’s a cultural icon by nature of the fact that when he talks, people listen. People listen because he's self-made, intelligent, and charismatic. And, for those who care, he plays basketball professionally, which is insanely cool. He's a role model for people of all walks of life. If you're into basketball, business, fashion, and, in the past couple of years, politics, you pay attention to him.
Such is the reason that insults from the President, delivered via Twitter from the safety of the highest office in the land, rile up the internet, a space better known today as a digital hellscape littered with click-bait, racism, bad sports takes, and your grandparents' Facebook pages. Lately, the internet has experienced a new wave of vitriol and bitterness, as those of different political backgrounds sling insults and accusations back and forth in an infinite cyber-pillow fight where both sides share at least one common goal: being right about things online. Sure, there are some who push an agenda, but most who participate only aim to promote themselves.
"Retweet this if you support the President!" "Retweet this if you would rather have anybody else!" I picked a side and I'm proud of it!
Viewing each of those stances as equal is where problems start. Some very fine people on both sides / Both sides are just as bad.
It's important to understand that every argument does not have two equal and opposite sides, but most discussion on the internet doesn't allow for that distinction to exist. Online discourse of almost any topic has evolved to only describe things as absolutely good or absolutely terrible. (The same way of thinking has infected the NBA audience as well. If you ain't first (Golden State), you're last.) Nothing is "just OK" anymore (except for Guardians of the Galaxy. Absolutely mediocre). Nobody is more guilty of speaking in hyperbole than the President. The same can be said of hypocrisy, childish insults, and outright lying. So maybe the following tweet shouldn't come as much of a surprise.
Mr. President, have you no respect for your wife's "Be Best" Initiative? The one that aims to teach children to "choose their words wisely and speak with respect and compassion"? The very same one that also intends to address, um... opioid addiction? Are those thing related? Is anybody else's nose bleeding?
The hypocrisy of Trump and his colleagues telling LeBron to "shut up and dribble" and "stick to sports" after Trump stumbled from reality television and failed business ventures to the presidency is laughable. Not just because LeBron has put so much of his own money into charity while Trump uses his charity to line his pockets, but also the fact that LeBron opened a legitimate public school while Trump opened a fraudulent university to scam students out of their money.
"The organization was not an accredited university or college. It did not confer college credit, grant degrees, or grade its students." -Wikipedia
And if we're on the topic of intelligence, or the lack thereof, I'll pitch you a quote and let you guess who said it - LeBron or Trump?
“Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are — nuclear is powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it’s four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us.”
Snopes
What's most bizarre is that these two people should have nothing to do with each other. I mean, sure, they could hang out if they wanted. But really, they're two people existing in totally different spaces going in different directions. The NBA has grown in popularity around the world, in no small part due to immensely popular and enjoyable players like LeBron, not to mention Stephen Curry and Chinese Basketball Association legend Stephon Marbury (No, seriously, they've built statues of him out there). Trump's goal, if you haven't noticed, is to close America off from the rest of the world in order to make a lot of money for himself and his friends put the country first, or whatever. LeBron is working to bring us Space Jam 2, while Trump is working to start a Space Force (nobody asked for either of these things). The NBA pays oodles of cash for the WNBA to stay afloat, which is mostly a business decision, but still helps to make basketball a more inclusive sport. Trump gives money to women, too. Just for other reasons.
Did I mention that Trump's job is to run the country? Did I mention that? Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and are legally protected in their right to express them, but to use the highest office to influence other businesses? Definitely not cool. Or legal. This is where the gravity of the situation really lies, if we're being honest. Arguments of ethics aside, someone supposedly committed to reuniting America starting twitter beef with news reporters and basketball players is almost too surreal to be true.
It's like those superhero movie plot holes where a villain is stopped from delivering a death blow to the hero by wasting time on an evil monologue. Those moments where you ask "Why all the words? You get this thing over with as soon as you feel like it." And that's what I would like most. To just get on with it already.