June 19th is the 29th anniversary of the brutal murder of Vincent Chin.
The victim should never be forgotten, but neither should the perp who got away.
See my Amok column at:
http://aaldef.org/blog/vincent-chin-remembering-ronald-ebens-the-guy-who-got-away-with-murder.html
I worked in Dallas when the Mavs got their start. My office in the old Union Station was across the street from the brand new Reunion Arena, and I was there to cover the very first game.
So of course, in these finals, I had a soft spot for the 2011 Mavs with Cuban as their owner, BayArea guy Jason Kidd at the point, and Dirk Nowitzki as their superstar.
If only the Miami Heat had a star of that quality. They certainly didn’t have a team that knew how to win when it mattered.
A lot was made of the Heat this year, what with the pre-fab superstar roster of James, Wade and Bosh. At some point, we all realized there was no Big 3 (Bosh is a nice player, but that’s all). And the Big 2? They didn’t know how to play together as solo superstars. Their idea of team work? Lay back and let the others do their thing.
I feel sad for both James and Wade. Had they not meddled and tried to put together their concept of a “dream team,” they would have had a better chance at winning a championship for themselves staying put. Certainly James in Cleveland as a solo super-star with an OK supporting staff could have beaten the Mavs. Mostly because James would have had to really play all the time.
Unfortunately, James lacks the maturity and know-how to play in a system where he is a part of a team. He has to be the dominant guy. He should have stayed in Cleveland. Same thing for Wade. They didn’t know how to be supporting super stars. They need to be the principals–on separate teams.
That’s how the NBA works best. Especially if the game is still played with one ball.
I also feel sorry for Eric Spoelstra, the first Filipino American NBA head coach ever. That the Heat didn’t have it isn’t his fault. Let’s hope he doesn’t get scapegoated for the failed chemistry of LeBron/Wade and anyone else. That’s a failed alchemy.
In the “new toys, new sins” department, we find Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York, who
doesn’t quite understand why people want him kicked out of the sandbox that is politics.
I mean sexless sex? Who cares?
Arrogant, confident, self-deluded guys tend to think that way.
Is that the kind of guy you want as a public servant?
It is public servant, last time I checked, not “Public Master.” Yet, once you get a bit of power and some of the limelight, you can begin to believe that you are untouchable. Especially if it’s just pix on a phone.
So where’s the line between public and private here?
We don’t need a saint. We just need people who can display good judgment, who we can trust, and who we can admire for the things they do in life.
What now would recommend Mr. Weiner?
If he’s not good enough for public office, private life awaits. Hey, there’s the spot next to Spitzer on CNN. The Public Deviants Hour would be great fun.
Weiner’s press conference, which I suppose was his acceptance of his weinerness, is a start for a way back to something.
That he doesn’t want to resign shows he’s not exactly remorseful for the things he perhaps needs to be remorseful about. So maybe it’s private life for him, then no one would care about his sexting.
He’s really left it up to the people of New York to decide whether to forgive the him. And if they want a guy who would sell them out for a hot sexting session, that is their business.
It’s not for us to decide.
We are left to giggle about Mr. Weiner. He’s not our rep. Just think. We wouldn’t have a problem if he had a name like Johhnson…OK maybe not Johnson. But what if it were a Reid, as in Harry. (A Harry Weiner would be funny). Or Priebus as in Reince the GOP chair who insists he doesn’t find any joy in deriding Weiner.
I’d leave this alone, but even here in Intestinal, California, the reddest part of the bluest state, there’s Weiner talk.
Come on, straight face, America. Is it that hard …to resist? We didn’t go crazy when we were all saying Fukushima, now did we?
When the sports shows did their retrospectives this week, bet you didn’t see this on his highlight reel?
But can you name a bigger perp of an Asian American slur than Shaquille O’Neal?
No amount of Yao Ming posterizations can make up for what he did. But it is undeniably a piece of Asian American pop culture history.
Get the story of the incident Shaq would love to forget.
Check out the blog at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund: www.aaldef.org/blog