Let's all unbunch our panties now, mkay?
Nov. 18th, 2007 10:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jianantonicI think there are still a handful of people I know who haven't yet asked me what I think of this, so I think I'll just go ahead and put my thoughts down here before I type them out for the 763rd time and just refer all future inquiries to this blog.
So for those of you who don't feel like following the link, the summary is that a women's bridge team from the US recently competed in and won a world championship in Shanghai. While accepting their medals, the team held up a sign that read "We did not vote for Bush." And now the American Contract Bridge League, the World Bridge Federation, and various other bridge organizations and people who fancy themselves important are calling for their heads. They want official apologies, they want to suspend them, they want to strip them of their world titles, and so on. We spent way more time than we should have in our Mid-Atlantic Bridge Conference board meeting last week talking about this. Even our UNIT board has been discussing what to do about it, and none of these women have ever played anywhere near our unit...the point being, people are going fucking nuts over this.
My opinion? Not the classiest thing for them to do, but if you've traveled internationally during this administration, you might understand. Others look at Americans as bullies, idiots, crazed fundies -- basically all the ways Bush & Co have told Americans we should view Muslims. It's uncomfortable to be an American in a foreign land, and you definitely want to separate yourself by saying "Hey, I'm not proud of the way my country is run right now. Don't look at me that way." And basically, that's what these women said was behind their little sign.
Everyone knows I'm as left on the political spectrum as anyone, but I'm not going to jump up and applaud these women. I'm just saying I understand why they did it. I also don't think they should be punished by the ACBL or any other bridge organization, but my reasoning is completely apolitical.
THEY DIDN'T BREAK ANY RULES.
They certainly didn't shame our nation any more than Bush, but again, that point doesn't even matter.
They did not break any rules of the competition, any laws of the US or the host country. They chose to exercise free speech in a controversial, but legal, and actually quite light-hearted way. I mean look at the picture, for crying out loud. This was no impromptu protest. But back to the point, which is they didn't break any rules.
And now all these folks want to punish them with a suspension. These are professional bridge players. They are hired by individual players who want them as partners and teammates, and that is how these women make their livings. If you suspend them, that's awfully harsh punishment (for not breaking any rules in the first place, my god I cannot say this enough), and you not only punish them, but the people who want to hire them as teammates. And here's the thing -- they're GOING to be punished anyway, because some of those would-be clients will be offended and choose not to hire them as a result. The ACBL doesn't need to play God here. Let the customers -- ACBL/WBF customers, that is -- decide their punishment.
And here's the irony of it all -- this has brought SO MUCH PUBLICITY to the game of bridge. The ACBL has been shitting all over itself to drum up publicity for itself, with no luck, and now all of a sudden the whole world gives a shit. Alright, maybe not the whole world, but I swear every person I know has sent me the link to that article and asked for my thoughts. And here they are.
The ACBL is wasting its time trying to think of ways to punish these women, when even though their stunt may be a little embarrassing, it's not driving anyone away from bridge, and if anything, it's stirring up more interest in the game, which is what the ACBL so desperately needs. I'm not saying they should thank them, I'm just saying they need to lay the fuck off. And I'd feel the same way if the issue was over a pro-Bush sign, because it's not about the politics of the world. It's about the politics of bridge, and I think right now they're as backward as the American government.
Peace.
So for those of you who don't feel like following the link, the summary is that a women's bridge team from the US recently competed in and won a world championship in Shanghai. While accepting their medals, the team held up a sign that read "We did not vote for Bush." And now the American Contract Bridge League, the World Bridge Federation, and various other bridge organizations and people who fancy themselves important are calling for their heads. They want official apologies, they want to suspend them, they want to strip them of their world titles, and so on. We spent way more time than we should have in our Mid-Atlantic Bridge Conference board meeting last week talking about this. Even our UNIT board has been discussing what to do about it, and none of these women have ever played anywhere near our unit...the point being, people are going fucking nuts over this.
My opinion? Not the classiest thing for them to do, but if you've traveled internationally during this administration, you might understand. Others look at Americans as bullies, idiots, crazed fundies -- basically all the ways Bush & Co have told Americans we should view Muslims. It's uncomfortable to be an American in a foreign land, and you definitely want to separate yourself by saying "Hey, I'm not proud of the way my country is run right now. Don't look at me that way." And basically, that's what these women said was behind their little sign.
Everyone knows I'm as left on the political spectrum as anyone, but I'm not going to jump up and applaud these women. I'm just saying I understand why they did it. I also don't think they should be punished by the ACBL or any other bridge organization, but my reasoning is completely apolitical.
THEY DIDN'T BREAK ANY RULES.
They certainly didn't shame our nation any more than Bush, but again, that point doesn't even matter.
They did not break any rules of the competition, any laws of the US or the host country. They chose to exercise free speech in a controversial, but legal, and actually quite light-hearted way. I mean look at the picture, for crying out loud. This was no impromptu protest. But back to the point, which is they didn't break any rules.
And now all these folks want to punish them with a suspension. These are professional bridge players. They are hired by individual players who want them as partners and teammates, and that is how these women make their livings. If you suspend them, that's awfully harsh punishment (for not breaking any rules in the first place, my god I cannot say this enough), and you not only punish them, but the people who want to hire them as teammates. And here's the thing -- they're GOING to be punished anyway, because some of those would-be clients will be offended and choose not to hire them as a result. The ACBL doesn't need to play God here. Let the customers -- ACBL/WBF customers, that is -- decide their punishment.
And here's the irony of it all -- this has brought SO MUCH PUBLICITY to the game of bridge. The ACBL has been shitting all over itself to drum up publicity for itself, with no luck, and now all of a sudden the whole world gives a shit. Alright, maybe not the whole world, but I swear every person I know has sent me the link to that article and asked for my thoughts. And here they are.
The ACBL is wasting its time trying to think of ways to punish these women, when even though their stunt may be a little embarrassing, it's not driving anyone away from bridge, and if anything, it's stirring up more interest in the game, which is what the ACBL so desperately needs. I'm not saying they should thank them, I'm just saying they need to lay the fuck off. And I'd feel the same way if the issue was over a pro-Bush sign, because it's not about the politics of the world. It's about the politics of bridge, and I think right now they're as backward as the American government.
Peace.
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 04:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-11-19 01:01 pm (UTC)Granted, considering how much we all hate Bush (in and outside of the US), I doubt that the flag they had was an embarassment to anyone or any organization. Far more people who see the picture will be amused than will be upset.
Much of management in ACBL/USBF is filled with archaic people who have little better to do with their time than attempt to assert their authority upon others. They have no lives and plenty of spare time, so intrinsically, they sift through all the dirt to see what they can make of it. But, hey, I didn't vote for them either.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-20 12:06 am (UTC)I don't think they should be disciplined, and it sure ain't treason.
But that's just my opinion.