What Michael Phelps Should Have Said
http://www.reason.com/news/show/131438.html
Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll apologize for smoking pot when every politician who ever did drugs and then voted to uphold or strengthen the drug laws marches his ass off to the nearest federal prison to serve out the sentence he wants to impose on everyone else for committing the same crimes he committed. I’ll apologize when the sons, daughters, and nephews of powerful politicians who get caught possessing or dealing drugs in the frat house or prep school get the same treatment as the no-name, probably black kid caught on the corner or the front stoop doing the same thing.
Until then, I for one will have none of it. I smoked pot. I liked it. I’ll probably do it again. I refuse to apologize for it, because by apologizing I help perpetuate this stupid lie, this idea that what someone puts into his own body on his own time is any of the government’s damned business. Or any of yours. I’m not going to bend over and allow myself to be propaganda for this wasteful, ridiculous, immoral war.
Go ahead and tear me down if you like. But let’s see you rationalize in your next lame ONDCP commercial how the greatest motherfucking swimmer the world has ever seen...is also a proud pot smoker.
Yours,
Michael Phelps
Well, that may be easy for my friends at Reason.com to say, but they wouldn't be the ones flushing down tens of millions of dollars down the can taking a "principled stand" on this.
I say: Go to London, win five or six more gold medals, earn $50 million (or more), and then go on a road show, if he wants, and talk about how stupid pot laws are.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
So money, more than one can spend, laced with hypocrisy is more important than truth and principles?
___________________________________________________________ "watching the tide roll away"
Are you telling me that you'd advise one of your own sons or daughters (who might enjoy a little weed now and again) to walk away from (1) his or her career (that she or he has spent years of single-minded hard work building) and (2) tens of millions of dollars in order to: Embark on a campaign to eliminate restrictions on drugs?
Hells bells. The guy's 23 years old. Make hay while the sun's shining.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
How many millions do you need? He already has gotten a boat load of millions, and as long as his drug tests come back clean when competing, there is nothing to prohibit his continued career wins.
The response he should have given is on the money.
__________________________________________________________ "watching the tide roll away"
Well, Ross Rebagliati claimed that he didn't smoke the weed. He said he was at a party where people were toking up 6 months before the olympics. Anyway, stripping the medal is a farce, since such an action suggests that weed is a performance enhancer. Not to mention snowboarding is kind of based on sitting around getting high before ripping down ludicrous slopes. It's like when the fashion world turned on Kate Moss after she was caught doing heroin.
As for Phelps, it's not his fault the world is crazy. He's also just a kid, and an American one at that. And a jock. Of course I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of Krago's rant, but all I've come to expect from my Olympic athletes are ringing endorsements for eggs.
And milk. And clothes.
Exactly. And, so, I don't think he has any obligation, moral or otherwise, to change his entire life and go on an anti-anti-drug crusade.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
No one is actually stating that he should go on a crusade, people are actually stating that he should be honest and open, instead of being a toady and hypocrit to feather his already wealthy nest. Say nothing of the bad role model he is being, by lying and toadying for personal gain.
Did ya never stop to think think Sven, it is greedy self serving ideologies, such as yours, as the root cause of the problems of inequality, injustice and human rights abuses? Well basically, I just should have said the root of all the societal ills of the world. No....I don'tsuppose you have, or you would not be espousing such, and think it is a way to be.
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"watching the tide roll away"
But, that’s exactly what he, in effect, would be doing, even if he only made a short, simple statement like: “I enjoy smoking pot, I think it should be legal, and I don’t think it’s anyone’s business what I do”. That would pretty much end his career...even though that would be the extent of his "crusading".
I, on the other hand, think it’s perfectly legitimate for Phelps to do the following mental calculus: “Is pot smoking so important to me that I feel I must, as a matter of conscious, make a public statement advocating its legalization (and, effectively, end my career) or is pot smoking (and a right to smoke pot) simply not that important to me?”
What you call “greedy”, I call personal choice. I’m not apologetic for being libertarian.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Well, if you do not have a problem with being the slime that is destroying society and the planet, and proudly identifying as such, I have no problem with identifying you as such, either. A win for both of us, it appears.
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"watching the tide roll away"
Are you having an unusually bad day? You call me "the slime that is destroying society and the planet" based on, what?, my comments about Phelps?!?! hahahaha
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Oh come on, this is getting silly. Of course we know he's probably not going to end his career in favour of pot. The point of this article isn't to say that Phelps should have just thrown it all away. The point of it was, instead, to make a point - that forcing this kid to choose between his career, or lying about pot, is hypocritical and stupid on the part of all of those people up in arms over his supposed "bad example".
Won't someone - someone! - think of the children? Anyone?
Now, that I totally agree with.
But, some, t'would seem, think that this kid should throw his career down the shitter and actually make a statement like the one proposed by Reason.com.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Actually, YOU were the very first person in the thread to suggest that this was what was being proposed. When it's pretty clear that the article is merely suggesting a fantasy statement that they wish Phelps COULD say. It was YOU who brought the idea into the thread that the author of this article and everyone who agrees with the sentiment in it want Michael Phelps to become the new Pot Posterboy.
Unfortunately for remind, she fell into your trap. So, congratulations, I guess. Mission accomplished!
Phelps could have and should have told people to stick it. And, as far as lost endorsements go, there would be others gained.
What a farce. Rat out an undercover CIA agent, and you keep your job as a "journalist" in the States, instead of being charged with treason. Smoke a little pot......
Really?
Is Balko's piece entitled, "You People Who Castigate Phelps Are Hypocrites" or is it "What Michael Phelps Should Have Said"? I think it's the latter.
And what did I actually say in response to that article? I merely poo-poo'd the idea that Phelps should feel any obligation to say anything of the kind. Period.
So, how is what I actually said in my first post above even remotely "controversial"?
And, no, contrary to how YOU characterized my post, I did not say that "everyone who agrees with the sentiment" thinks Phelps should be the Pot Posterboy. What did I actually say? I didn't "attack" anyone and specifically only referred to "my friends at Reason.com".
Please stop defending remind's boorish behavior.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Nope no falling, ;) in fact, one might say he fell into my trap, of wanting him to show us all, yet again, what his character is, strictly for amusement's sake, of course. And he did so upon several occasions, with many of his nasty facets, I might add.
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"watching the tide roll away"
That's worth repeating.
But, I would very much like an answer this question, Michelle:
I think the honest answer is: It's not.
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
If Jane and Joe Schmoe have to face drug charges over puffin' a little weed, I think Mr. Olympics should, too: County investigating whether Phelps will face charges for his naughty behavior
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Eleutherophobics of the World...Unite!!!
Olympics swimming star Phelps escapes pot charges
What a surprise!