A Note to Bill Plashcke:

You should really read Dodger Thoughts.

Another gem by Jon Weisman over at the LA Times:

Manny Ramirez, 'Sports Night' and family

CASEY

It's not like you don't see this in sports all the time.

DANA

I don't see it in my family all the time.

CASEY

The guy's a 240-pound linebacker dealing with a 350-pound pulling guard, Dana, who's probably also souped up. Kyle's just trying to keep himself in the game. He's trying --

DANA

Don't defend him, and don't tell me how to be. He was part of a conspiracy to buy steroids that God knows what side effects and long-term damage could cause. He's gonna get suspended for eight games, so there goes the postseason. He's making just over league minimum, and he's going to get hit with probably a $50,000 fine. And, if the local DA feels like running for something next year, he could also go to jail -- to say nothing of the fact that his name is now also synonymous with everything that's bad about sports.

CASEY

And all I'm saying is, he's got enough people telling him that right now. Papers, talkradio, agents, lawyers, the league, his teammates, his sister's own television show -- and maybe he doesn't need any more guests at that party. And maybe, the best role that you can play right now is as his sister now, Dana. That's all I'm saying.

(pause)

That, and don't be so edgy.

DANA
(walking away)

I'm not edgy. I'm not edgy.

Door slams, window breaks.

-- "Sports Night" ("The Reunion," written by Kevin Falls and Aaron Sorkin)
December 21, 1999

I've been mulling over the frustration that Bill Plaschke has over the fact that it isn't looking like Dodger fans, by and large, are bringing out the hatchet for Manny Ramirez as he returns from his suspension. I don't dismiss that frustration -- but I'm hoping those who share it might see the other side.

Plaschke (and others, certainly) believe that the Dodgers and their fans are rewarding cheating behavior by letting Ramirez off easy. That's a big-picture view, but I think there's an even bigger picture he is missing.

I touched on this in a May 7 Dodger Thoughts post:

For those who choose to cheer Ramirez because they love him, there's no mystery. They love him. When love is involved, it's not easy or even logical to expect that people will use that person to send a grandiose moral message. That's why Andruw Jones gets booed and Ramirez doesn't. And since Ramirez is still part of the Dodger family, at least through the end of the 2009 season, it makes sense that some members of the family will want to help him back on his feet after he has done his time.

Ramirez is going to get it with both barrels almost everywhere he goes, starting Friday in San Diego. He is going to get ripped up, down and sideways. He is going to be subject to taunting wherever he goes outside his home base -- consider this, for example -- and will have the duty to ignore it. It simply doesn't make sense for Plaschke to be so shocked and appalled that Ramirez's adopted family in Los Angeles won't do the same.

Plaschke, obviously, doesn't think of Ramirez as family -- in his mind, Ramirez isn't worthy of being the family doormat. But whether Plaschke likes it or not, thousands in Los Angeles do. And thousands have made their peace with him.

It's not that we can't get angry. Speaking for myself, if proof emerges that Ronald Belisario did drive drunk, you can bet he's going to be in my doghouse and then some. And yet, eventually, I might forgive him, just as I've forgiven DUI two-timer Rafael Furcal. Why? Because a) I'm an irrational Dodger fan, and b) I'm kind of into the whole forgiveness thing, after someone's done their penance.

In other words, I'd be angrier at Ramirez if I thought he were getting away with something. But despite Plaschke's preoccupation with cheers and limousines in Riverside -- as if being suspended from major-league baseball means you should have to travel by Greyhound -- Ramirez didn't get away with anything. He lost millions, he lost time off his career, he probably lost his chance at the Hall of Fame, and he lost whatever peace of mind he might have had in 29 other major-league cities. He was humiliated and will continue to be mocked, perhaps for the rest of his life. The main problem I have with Plaschke's columns on Ramirez is his lack of acknowledgment of this.

And so I ask, does it really matter if most people in Los Angeles don't bring the tar and feathers to the ballpark? If the message being sent is that hometown fans will cheer heroes who screw up -- well, that's a reality that began long before Manny Ramirez came on the scene, and one that he isn't going to change. (Reminder: Barry Bonds was booed in Los Angeles more because he was an insufferable, Dodger-killing, never-suspended Giant than because of steroids.)

If a family member of mine got in trouble, and got disciplined for being in trouble, and was going to be reminded of that trouble almost everywhere he or she went, I wouldn't need to pile on after it was all over. Bill, a lot of us were upset over Manny, but a lot of us got over it over the past seven weeks.

It's fine to think Ramirez wasn't punished enough, but don't try to sell the idea that he hasn't been punished or won't continue to be punished. The world will still have a moral compass even if, in this case, the people of Los Angeles aren't the ones pointing due north.

"Remember that you are unique. If that has not been fulfilled, then something wonderful has been lost." – Martha Graham

Update

So I didn't take out an ad in the LA Times, but I did write a "Letter to the Editor" in witty tirade fashion. I found out it will never be published and may not be read because it is over 150 words, but whatever .... I feel better. If your curious what I wrote, it's basically the same, but if you like I will post it in a comment.

Jin-jah?

It has been nearly six months since I completed my contract at SLP. It has been nearly six months since I had a job. I hate this economy. I am annoyed ... I am whining ... and I think I have earned the right to at least whine. Now, granted, I have not been home or unoccupied for six months ... I have been busy with, you know, life things (and I don't just mean my trip - other things for other people too) ... and I am happy to have done them or helped out or whatever ... but COME ON! If I get one more poorly worded, misspelled, generic follow-up e-mail from joeschmoe@thebestcompanyever.net I might go off the deep end and wind up baracaded in my room Howard Hughs style; only in my scenario I will be muttering about temp agencies and cover letters instead of planes for the US Army and wire taps. But the most frustrating thing is that it's not just me going through this, it's all of my friends too. And not only my fellow globe-trotters trying to adjust back to life sans kimchi ... it's practically everyone I know!! I mean, really ... my friends and I are all well-educated, enthusiastic, creative individuals ... somebody, for the love of all things good EMPLOY US!

I've run the gambit from temp agencies to craigslist to resume posting websites and it's all seriously graining on my last nerve. I know everyone is going through this, and you have to make looking for a job a job in itself and that it's tough for everyone blah blah blah ... AND I also know that I have been lucky in the past in that I have come into work very quickly and easily... but even in knowing all of that, it doesn't make this all any less annoying.

I am not kidding - I am seriously considering taking out a full page ad in the Sunday edition of the LA Times showcasing myself and my generic BS cover letter and all that jazz. I believe that I am at what is commonly referred to as my wits' end.



In other news all of this time spent scouring the internet (and pounding the pavement too - no employment seeking cliches have been spared in this job search!) I've spent some time looking into what I actually intend to be my career (and not my just my j-o-b) and reflecting on the preverbial question that presents itself to head-y actors like my friends and myself: Grad School: to go? or not to go? ... more than ever I am leaning towards going, or auditioning at least (not for a year or two of course!) especially since doing my research and getting the details on this program. Never mind that it is likely the most competitive program in the country: I-want-to-go. No small ventures for this sometimes globe-trotter, adventure extraordinaire. Clearly...

Stuff White People Like

The latest addition to SWPL definitely hit home for some friends and me. Nothing like a little internet humor to knock you dow a peg or two when you're feeling accomplished! haha.. If you haven't heard of this blog, first crawl out from under that dusty rock you're clearly living under, and then, click here: Stuff White People Like

#120 Taking a Year Off

January 11, 2009 by clander

When someone goes through a stressful experience they usually require some time off to clear their head, regain focus, and recover from the pain and suffering. Of course, in white culture these experiences are most often defined as finishing high school, making it through three years of college, or working for eleven months straight with only two weeks vacation and every statutory holiday (”they don’t count because I had to spend them with family.”)

Though you might consider finishing school or having a good job to be “accomplishments” many white people view them as burdens. As such, they can only handle them for so long before they start talking about their need to “take a year off” to travel, volunteer, or work abroad.

It is most common for the person taking the year off to use this time to travel (see Post #19 for reasons why). Generally, they will start off with a set amount of money that will use to travel for as long as possible. This explains why a white person with an $800 backpack will haggle with a poverty-stricken street vendor about a $2 dollar plate of food.

If you work with this person, be sure to give them a FAKE email address on their last day on the job or you will be inundated with emails about spiritual enlightenment and how great the food is compared to similar restaurants back home. Also, within the first five days following departure, this person will come up with the idea to write a book about their travel experience. Sadly, more books about mid-twenties white people traveling have been written than have been read.

Some of the more enterprising white people will extend their time off by working abroad as a bartender, ski lift operator, or english teacher. Their stories, emails, and publishing plans will be identical to the previous white person but will include additional stories about working and complaints about “tourists.”

Finally, there is the white person who takes a year off to volunteer at home or abroad. Though they are equally likely to write long emails about their experience, these people are often using the experience as an excellent resume pad for their application to law school. This way they are able to put off real life without the crippling derailment of a career or education.

Regardless of how a white person chooses to spend their year off, they all share the same goal of becoming more interesting to other people. Sadly, the people who find these stories interesting are other white people who are politely listening until they can tell their own, more interesting story about taking a year off.

Thankfully, there is an enormous opportunity for personal gain. You see, whenever a white person takes a year off it opens up a valuable apartment, job opportunity or admissions slot. Consider it to be the most pretentious form of affirmative action.

photo by Alex Steffler

Rainy day thoughts: Accountability

I heard recently that we are more likely to remember painful or frightening experiences over long periods of time than we are likely to remember joyful ones. For example, ask a room full of people in their fifties and sixties to clearly recall a happy memory from first grade, a moment of pride or achievement, and maybe half of them will raise their hands; but ask them to remember a traumatic experience, and chances are that every person will have something (or many things) to share. Why is that? Does it go all the way down to our primal fight or flight instincts? Do we hold on to things that hurt us so that we won't let them happen again? How is it possible that over time our minds linger, caught in unhappy memories while letting the pleasant ones float away. Try it yourself. How often do we forget the sort of Sunday afternoons of life? The trips for ice-cream or to the movies.. We lose the simple joys of our life - the times where things maybe weren't perfect, but they were good - we let them melt into a collage of almost mythic happiness locked away in our past, like some perfect summer of memories, while on the other hand we hold onto those things that pain us most, and let those experiences shape us as human beings. I think about this, and can't help but feel that the details of those happy memories are so important. The jokes you told while stuck in traffic on the way to a baseball game, or the rules of the make-believe game you invented with your friends at recess... they are the details that ground our good experiences in reality. Can you remember all the details of a good day in school? ... Can you remember all the details of a bad one?

In addition to that, I feel like we often discredit the opinions of people who care the most about us. How often does it take a complete stranger to tell us something our friends and family have been trying to tell us too before we truly believe it? That bit of objectivity offered from someone who doesn't have to have our best interests at heart allows us to finally accept whatever it may be we need to hear. Again... Why is that? I don't know. But I think it's true.

Of course that's one reason I think we all need friends, and people to care about us. At least, I know why I value mine. I think a friend can hold you accountable for who you are. A good friend tells you when you're being a schmuck as easily as they tell you when they're proud of you. Well, no, maybe not as easily - it's never easy to criticize someone you care about, is it? But they do it anyway, because they do care. I would always hope that the people I have in my life would know when to let me be and when they need to call me out on something. It's those people who know and love us best that can help us avoid hanging on to the painful memories, because we trust that they'll push us back in the right direction if we're wandering off. Of course, then you also have to trust that they will be able to recognize when that path changes. Because it does, doesn't it? Life is constantly changing. (Oh wow - that sure sounds emo... But seriously.) The lesson I am always re-learning is that we don't all of the sudden grow up and have our act together, the growing up part is in being able to handle things when they don't go as planned. To set goals for yourself, and then go about accomplishing them. But there is something to be said for living life gracefully. It's not easy to maintain one's integrity and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that those who are able to are courageous, honorable people. Life happens in the little moments and it takes a patient, self-sacrificing person to do it really well.




I've been lucky lately to realize that I have many of these people in my life, so thanks.