Politics as Usual.
I crashed my friend’s job’s day of service on Monday. Sort of. And so together along with his colleagues we helped revitalize a church that had been a cornerstone to this specific community in San Jose, CA for 126 years. For the last sixteen years the company he works for has been celebrating MLK Day this way with a day of service in the communities it serves.
With elected officials opening the day’s events with prepared soundbites and droning on with the usual MLK quotes my mind began to wander.
Naturally.
As a nation we love to be selective about what we celebrate and support. I saw posts from our own athletic federations both domestic and international commemorating the day.
They want to associate and affiliate themselves with the things MLK Jr. stood for, while also doling out consequences for acts he would support.
How convenient.
But here’s the thing…MLK Day, to some of us is more than a day off- it’s a day on. It’s more than typing his name into the google search engine, clicking images, and then scrolling through to the most postable quotes of his.
It’s about celebrating, memorializing, and embodying the life of a man who was not perfect, but was ultimately dedicated to the service of others. He wasn’t just the leader of the civil rights movement. He protested the war in Vietnam with a powerful speech in April of 1967. He stood elbow to elbow with with sanitation workers and gave his “I have been to the mountaintop” speech on their behalf a year later.
If he felt strongly about it, he spoke up about it.
He was arrested 29 times, stabbed once, and ultimately assassinated for doing so.
So…
when on January 9th, 2020 the IOC issued new guidelines for the Tokyo Olympics that bans athletes from making political, religious, and ethnic demonstrations I wondered why we even bothered to be upset about it.
“It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing”
~Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Because, if MLK is our guide, there’s never a wrong time to do the right thing. There has never been a time when one could protest an injustice and feel that there would be zero pushback or consequence. MLK was an advocate for PEACEFUL protest and STILL went to jail almost 30 times.
The calculation of he and others that stood with him was that whatever the consequence would be, it was worth it. Because the things they are “fighting” for, are worth it.
And even though it’s unclear what the punishment would be for an athlete who decides to ultimately use their podium moment to engage in some kind of visible protest because the IOC, NGBs and IF want to decide on a case-by-case basis I wonder, if it’s a cause/issue/passion/injustice, or movement they feel strongly enough about if it really matters what kind of consequence or punishment is handed down.
And this is where perhaps my opinion becomes slightly unpopular: If you feel passionately about something enough to decide to buck IOC’s Rule 50 in order to show your support of it on the podium use your voice so we can start hearing about it. Today.
The podium shouldn’t be the first time the world knows, sees, or hears about how you feel about something. You’ll get that headline news exposure bump, you’ll take advantage of the news cycle. But ultimately, as all stories do…that moment fades from the media spotlight and ultimately from the social consciousness.
Unless…you, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., possess a voice that is loud and unwavering across all platforms you have available to you.
You, like Dr. King, have decided it doesn’t matter what backlash you’ll face because right is right.
And you, like Dr. King, have backed that very public act with a lot of behind the scenes movement.
He never asked for permission to protest. Nor did he expect it.
And right now, especially on the track side, as athletes we have NO IDEA if we’ll be on the Olympic Team this year, we can be even less sure about whether we end up on the podium, and even less sure than that if we’ll be on the top spot so that our National Anthem is played…
So what are you doing now? Are we channeling King because it was socially acceptable to do so? Because it was MLK Day?
Or…are you really ‘bout that life?
I noticed something Monday that I didn’t mention until after I concluded my day of service and was on my drive home and that was this: no politician, and no church administrators or church members picked up a brush, or a broom, or a trash bag.
Which made me think about how important it is to some of us to “look” like we’re down with these principles. The politicians wanted to emphasize the importance of being of service on photo op tours in which they did no actual service on that day. The pastor made it clear how important the church was to the community they serve but didn’t stay to work side by side with us in revitalizing it.
Most of our elected officials across the nation made some kind of post, and attended some kind of event to celebrate MLK Day but largely ignore his fight against the Triple Evils (poverty-racism-militarism) every other day of the year.
And sure, the IOC basically wrote the “shut up and dribble” mindset into “law.” And remember, whether the athlete decides to use that athletic platform to speak about those things is ultimately a personal decision. But until the day when the HUMAN can be separated from the ATHLETE this is a mission doomed to fail- a futile enterprise.
When I saw the headlines about the IOC and their new guidelines, and a few days later more headlines featuring colleague Gwen Berry and how she arrived to that moment on the podium at the Pan Am Games I thought to myself, how is this rule any different than how we’ve been operating? How is her suffering any different from what has BEEN happening to athletes who can both “talk and dribble” at the same time? And choose to do so?
We can’t be both brave enough to protest, but so scared we need permission.
In a world where these type of protests are the vehicle for change of choice by some— one has to be willing to do what is right at the wrong time. One has to be willing to get arrested 29 times. It has to be worth the backlash, the lost opportunities, or dollars…if it comes to that.
And if it is…why the hell does it even matter that you broke the rule?
I know, I know: IT SHOULDN’T BE A RULE AT ALL.
But guess what, here we are. And it is.
So what are we going to do? Fight the rule and its underlying hypocrisy? Let the rule itself hijack the conversation and your mission? Make your mission abolishing the rule? Do you say, “yea, I’m aware of the rule…but you know what else should be a rule? Equal pay, prison reform, gender equality, etc.”
Whatever it is…the issues of the world don’t stop because the Olympics is on. The poverty I could see from the bus window being transported from the Rio de Janeiro airport to the Olympic Village in 2016 was incredibly heartbreaking. I couldn’t even understand how they were awarded the games. And as focused as I was, I couldn’t help but wonder when I walked into the Olympic stadium if the empty venue was a reflection of the poverty we were ignoring.
The Olympics can be a distraction for the spectator if they are privileged enough to be able to take a “break” from their life’s concerns. But there are some people who, even watching a sporting event, cannot be distracted from the color of their skin, or the negative balance in their bank accounts.
The Olympics is a “time of unity” we like to say as we parade behind the flags of the participating countries at the opening ceremonies. We, the athletes, are unified in the spirit of competition. They, the spectators, are unified in watching.
And when it’s over?
Are we still unified?
We return home. US Track and field athletes return to largely anonymous lives in their home countries especially if the Games didn’t end in a trip to the podium for them.
Athletes from other countries either return home or defect for asylum.
And we look back on the Games in terms of medal count, and views.
Forgetting that…those athletes out there are people. Not separate from the politics or policies of their respective governments, not immune to the disparity in pay amongst their own teammates, maybe vulnerable to or not feeling safe or supported by their own justice or legal systems.
They get out there and compete. After who knows how many months of preparation. Carrying invisible burdens with them along the way. And sometimes they win. And sometimes they get to that top spot on the podium. And they’ll get to hear their national anthem. And they will be reminded of home. And sometimes, believe it or not, that might not always be a good thing, and the emotion of overcoming so much that so many aren’t aware of, and that a lot of people don’t even care about but has affected them so deeply is an intense and heavy moment.
What you do with that moment…
is not something you need permission for
from someone who isn’t living your life.
And this isn’t a piece calling for athletes to absolutely and unequivocally use that moment to protest, and to break the “rules.” What this is, is a reminder that protesting on behalf of a cause, or movements, or injustices are rarely ever comfortable, are rarely ever executed without consequence. So don’t allow yourself to be distracted by what you’re not “allowed” to do. And focus on what you can and will do, both before and after. Because that podium…is ultimately just a moment. And if not preceded by or followed up with action geared toward change then I’m sure I wouldn’t be alone in questioning the motivation of it all.
We know that if we want change, we have to go get it. We have to work for it, sometimes fight for it.
The world may get a chance to see you win that day.
But let the world see you fight for what’s right every other day too.
Because if you do that, you’ll find out that you weren’t standing (or kneeling) alone. And whatever you have to face in the aftermath, you won’t have to on your own.
Just as Dr. King didn’t march alone, didn’t get arrested alone. And whose fight has been carried on by countless others 52 years after his assassination in 1968.
The same year Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Peter Norman stood in unity and defiance.
This isn’t anything new.
It isn’t neutral.
It’s politics as usual.
SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE
The Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change are based on Dr. King’s nonviolent campaigns and teachings that emphasize love in action. Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence, as reviewed in the Six Principles of Nonviolence, guide these steps for social and interpersonal change.
INFORMATION GATHERING:To understand and articulate an issue, problem or injustice facing a person, community, or institution you must do research. You must investigate and gather all vital information from all sides of the argument or issue so as to increase your understanding of the problem. You must become an expert on your opponent’s position.
EDUCATION: It is essential to inform others, including your opposition, about your issue. This minimizes misunderstandings and gains you support and sympathy.
PERSONAL COMMITMENT: Daily check and affirm your faith in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence. Eliminate hidden motives and prepare yourself to accept suffering, if necessary, in your work for justice.
DISCUSSION/NEGOTIATION: Using grace, humor and intelligence, confront the other party with a list of injustices and a plan for addressing and resolving these injustices. Look for what is positive in every action and statement the opposition makes. Do not seek to humiliate the opponent but to call forth the good in the opponent.
DIRECT ACTION: These are actions taken when the opponent is unwilling to enter into, or remain in, discussion/negotiation. These actions impose a “creative tension” into the conflict, supplying moral pressure on your opponent to work with you in resolving the injustice.
RECONCILIATION:Nonviolence seeks friendship and understanding with the opponent. Nonviolence does not seek to defeat the opponent. Nonviolence is directed against evil systems, forces, oppressive policies, unjust acts, but not against persons. Through reasoned compromise, both sides resolve the injustice with a plan of action. Each act of reconciliation is one step close to the ‘Beloved Community.’
Based on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in Why We Can’t Wait, Penguin Books, 1963.
Blogger’s Note: You can read more about Dr. King’s philosphy and how the fight continues here.
