INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Mike DiMauro: Why does Brittney Griner's freedom offend you?Mike DiMauro,
The Day, New London, Conn.
Sat, December 10, 2022
Dec. 10—Imagine this outlandishly utopian sentiment: a U.S. Olympian jailed in a Russian penal colony finally returns to American soil ... and for one shining moment there is the mere hint of unity across the political spectrum.
Ha. Good one.
Instead, we're left with the amusing irony that the plight of Brittney Griner, whose skin color, sexual orientation and politics repels so many Americans, completely captures the new American fancy of being ill-informed, mean and happy to trade basic human decency for political posturing.
Seriously. Reading the abject hatred tethered to Griner's rescue — the saving of a human life — made me think of Sen. Howard Baker's classic question to bagman Tony Ulasewicz during Watergate: "Who thought you up?"
Who thought these people up? Where do they come from? Have they always been here? All I know is they're helping us lose our humanity one keystroke at a time.
I've always found Socrates useful in such situations. (And not because he gulped hemlock.) His main memo, "know thyself," is open to many interpretations. Here's mine: Be smart enough to know what you don't know. And I must confess to knowing very little about international prisoner exchanges. I suspect I'm not alone, save perhaps those who have studied at the University of Facebook.
Still, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work like baseball. I doubt Biden could call Putin and say, "give us Griner and we'll give you two assassins to be named later."
Ah, but the dreaded HCS (Human Comments Section) has taken talking out of one's tailpipe to Olympic levels.
It is hardly ideal that the U.S. had to fork over Viktor Bout, a Russian arms merchant serving time, in part, for endangering American lives. But two things: 1) Rescuing an American from a Russian prison should never, ever be considered bad news; and 2) Nobody in this country knew Paul Whelan from Waylon Jennings a week ago. Except that now Whelan's plight is The Greatest Injustice In The History Of America ... until next week when all the moralists will start growling about The Next Greatest Injustice In The History Of America.
How about we just be happy that one of ours is home? Is that, like, against the rules now or something? It amazes me how Griner's freedom and her pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is an affront. Can any of you spewers of moral outrage get morally outrageous and explain why Griner's freedom offends you?
Meanwhile, I wonder what Griner must have thought when she arrived home to the hatred. Her "drug" offense, tantamount here to the firing squad for a parking ticket, was patently absurd. And yet the number of commenters happy to see her rot in Russia underscores how toxicity is all the rage.
I maintain that if Sue Bird, not Griner, were imprisoned in Mordovia, Russia, the same zealots hating on Griner would go on a hunger strike to bring Suzy Q back home. But Griner? A Black, married Lesbian with tattoos who wouldn't stand for the national anthem? Why, she's not a real American.
"Racism, sexism and homophobia have become the new patriotism," wrote Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation, a longstanding biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news.
Zirin wrote a column on the Griner issue last week and then another column on the hate-filled responses he received.
"I was repeatedly told that because Griner used to take a knee during the national anthem, she is somehow not worthy of our support and our care, that she hates 'America' so she shouldn't count on 'America' to fight for her freedom," Zirin wrote. "And then the barrage of racism, sexism, and homophobia was more than I have received for any article in years of doing this work. It's been staggering. But this is their patriotism: the freedom to hate others and mock others' agony."
Indeed, "patriotism" is slowly becoming a pejorative. Maybe wrapping yourself too tight in the flag can cause brain injury. I mean, didn't they pay attention in history class about how protest is a tenet on which the good ol' U.S. of A was founded?
I'm happy Griner is home. I'm also happy that Griner's rescue illustrates that the WNBA Players' Association and the league in general has developed a voice. Their consistency of protest and message was heard. They should accept that as progress.
And the rest of you? Take (significantly) more time to know thyself.
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
Sat, December 10, 2022
Dec. 10—Imagine this outlandishly utopian sentiment: a U.S. Olympian jailed in a Russian penal colony finally returns to American soil ... and for one shining moment there is the mere hint of unity across the political spectrum.
Ha. Good one.
Instead, we're left with the amusing irony that the plight of Brittney Griner, whose skin color, sexual orientation and politics repels so many Americans, completely captures the new American fancy of being ill-informed, mean and happy to trade basic human decency for political posturing.
Seriously. Reading the abject hatred tethered to Griner's rescue — the saving of a human life — made me think of Sen. Howard Baker's classic question to bagman Tony Ulasewicz during Watergate: "Who thought you up?"
Who thought these people up? Where do they come from? Have they always been here? All I know is they're helping us lose our humanity one keystroke at a time.
I've always found Socrates useful in such situations. (And not because he gulped hemlock.) His main memo, "know thyself," is open to many interpretations. Here's mine: Be smart enough to know what you don't know. And I must confess to knowing very little about international prisoner exchanges. I suspect I'm not alone, save perhaps those who have studied at the University of Facebook.
Still, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't work like baseball. I doubt Biden could call Putin and say, "give us Griner and we'll give you two assassins to be named later."
Ah, but the dreaded HCS (Human Comments Section) has taken talking out of one's tailpipe to Olympic levels.
It is hardly ideal that the U.S. had to fork over Viktor Bout, a Russian arms merchant serving time, in part, for endangering American lives. But two things: 1) Rescuing an American from a Russian prison should never, ever be considered bad news; and 2) Nobody in this country knew Paul Whelan from Waylon Jennings a week ago. Except that now Whelan's plight is The Greatest Injustice In The History Of America ... until next week when all the moralists will start growling about The Next Greatest Injustice In The History Of America.
How about we just be happy that one of ours is home? Is that, like, against the rules now or something? It amazes me how Griner's freedom and her pursuit of life, liberty and happiness is an affront. Can any of you spewers of moral outrage get morally outrageous and explain why Griner's freedom offends you?
Meanwhile, I wonder what Griner must have thought when she arrived home to the hatred. Her "drug" offense, tantamount here to the firing squad for a parking ticket, was patently absurd. And yet the number of commenters happy to see her rot in Russia underscores how toxicity is all the rage.
I maintain that if Sue Bird, not Griner, were imprisoned in Mordovia, Russia, the same zealots hating on Griner would go on a hunger strike to bring Suzy Q back home. But Griner? A Black, married Lesbian with tattoos who wouldn't stand for the national anthem? Why, she's not a real American.
"Racism, sexism and homophobia have become the new patriotism," wrote Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation, a longstanding biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news.
Zirin wrote a column on the Griner issue last week and then another column on the hate-filled responses he received.
"I was repeatedly told that because Griner used to take a knee during the national anthem, she is somehow not worthy of our support and our care, that she hates 'America' so she shouldn't count on 'America' to fight for her freedom," Zirin wrote. "And then the barrage of racism, sexism, and homophobia was more than I have received for any article in years of doing this work. It's been staggering. But this is their patriotism: the freedom to hate others and mock others' agony."
Indeed, "patriotism" is slowly becoming a pejorative. Maybe wrapping yourself too tight in the flag can cause brain injury. I mean, didn't they pay attention in history class about how protest is a tenet on which the good ol' U.S. of A was founded?
I'm happy Griner is home. I'm also happy that Griner's rescue illustrates that the WNBA Players' Association and the league in general has developed a voice. Their consistency of protest and message was heard. They should accept that as progress.
And the rest of you? Take (significantly) more time to know thyself.
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
Marjorie Taylor Greene Says Biden Should Be Impeached for Bringing Brittney Griner Home
Nikki McCann Ramirez
December 8, 2022·
MTG-BG - Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for President Joe Biden to be impeached following WNBA star Brittany Griner’s release from Russia in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“Another reason to impeach Biden,” the Georgia congresswoman tweeted. “The President of the United States traded Russian terrorist arms dealer, Viktor Bout, left a U.S. Marine in Russian jail, and brought home a professional basketball player.”
More from Rolling Stone
Brittney Griner Arrives Back in U.S. After Russian Prisoner Swap
Vin Diesel Rescued Brittney Griner, According to These Memes
“We have been in active discussions with the Russians on Mr. Whelan’s case for a very, very long time,” National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told CNN. “Certainly those conversations accelerated in recent months and I can assure you that we are going to stay at those active discussions going forward.”
Former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the prisoner swap was “a ‘stupid’ and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA.”
House speaker hopeful Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Caifl.) called the exchange of Bout for Giner a “gift to Vladimir Putin,” that “endangers American lives.”
Several other GOP lawmakers have accused Biden of demonstrating “weakness” in allowing Russia to regain custody of Bout while Whelan remained detained. Tennessee Rep. Mark Green told Fox News that the exchange is a signal to U.S. military service members that the president does not prioritize their well being and safety. Florida Sen. Rick Scott called the terms of the exchange “weak & disgusting.”
Other lawmakers have focused on their concerns for Whelan. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote that while he appreciated the release of Griner, “we must not lose focus on the fact that Paul Whelan remains unjustly held in Russia.” Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted that “surely an arms dealer is worth two innocent people?”
Griner and her wife Cherelle Griner have advocated for the continued negotiation for other detained Americans, and requested no “special treatment” in her own case. Whelan’s family indicated that the Biden administration “made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to [happen].”
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Whelan expressed his disappointment at the collapse of negotiations for his release. “They’ve put me at a level higher than what they did with Trevor [Reed] and Brittney,” he said regarding Russia’s treatment of his case. “I was arrested for a crime that never occurred … I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
Nikki McCann Ramirez
December 8, 2022·
MTG-BG - Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for President Joe Biden to be impeached following WNBA star Brittany Griner’s release from Russia in exchange for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“Another reason to impeach Biden,” the Georgia congresswoman tweeted. “The President of the United States traded Russian terrorist arms dealer, Viktor Bout, left a U.S. Marine in Russian jail, and brought home a professional basketball player.”
More from Rolling Stone
Brittney Griner Arrives Back in U.S. After Russian Prisoner Swap
Vin Diesel Rescued Brittney Griner, According to These Memes
Who Is Viktor Bout, the Notorious 'Merchant of Death' Swapped for Brittney Griner?
Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” is a former Soviet officer who was convicted in 2011 on several charges including conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill Americans, money launding, and wire fraud. Bout was ultimately sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Greene’s reaction mirrors criticism from other Republican lawmakers and prominent GOP commentators, who have condemned Griner’s release given that Russia has detained multiple U.S. nationals, most notably former Marine Paul Whelan, as well as teacher Marc Fogel.
Whelan, an ex-Marine working in corporate security, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2018 and accused of espionage. Whelan and U.S. intelligence agencies deny the accusation.
President Biden and administration officials have indicated that the Russian government treated the release of additional prisoners in the exchange as a non-starter. “This was not a choice about which American to bring home,” Biden said at a press conference announcing Griner’s release. “For totally illegitimate reasons Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittany’s […] We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”
Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” is a former Soviet officer who was convicted in 2011 on several charges including conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill Americans, money launding, and wire fraud. Bout was ultimately sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Greene’s reaction mirrors criticism from other Republican lawmakers and prominent GOP commentators, who have condemned Griner’s release given that Russia has detained multiple U.S. nationals, most notably former Marine Paul Whelan, as well as teacher Marc Fogel.
Whelan, an ex-Marine working in corporate security, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2018 and accused of espionage. Whelan and U.S. intelligence agencies deny the accusation.
President Biden and administration officials have indicated that the Russian government treated the release of additional prisoners in the exchange as a non-starter. “This was not a choice about which American to bring home,” Biden said at a press conference announcing Griner’s release. “For totally illegitimate reasons Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittany’s […] We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”
“We have been in active discussions with the Russians on Mr. Whelan’s case for a very, very long time,” National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby told CNN. “Certainly those conversations accelerated in recent months and I can assure you that we are going to stay at those active discussions going forward.”
Former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the prisoner swap was “a ‘stupid’ and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA.”
House speaker hopeful Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Caifl.) called the exchange of Bout for Giner a “gift to Vladimir Putin,” that “endangers American lives.”
Several other GOP lawmakers have accused Biden of demonstrating “weakness” in allowing Russia to regain custody of Bout while Whelan remained detained. Tennessee Rep. Mark Green told Fox News that the exchange is a signal to U.S. military service members that the president does not prioritize their well being and safety. Florida Sen. Rick Scott called the terms of the exchange “weak & disgusting.”
Other lawmakers have focused on their concerns for Whelan. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote that while he appreciated the release of Griner, “we must not lose focus on the fact that Paul Whelan remains unjustly held in Russia.” Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger tweeted that “surely an arms dealer is worth two innocent people?”
Griner and her wife Cherelle Griner have advocated for the continued negotiation for other detained Americans, and requested no “special treatment” in her own case. Whelan’s family indicated that the Biden administration “made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to [happen].”
Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Whelan expressed his disappointment at the collapse of negotiations for his release. “They’ve put me at a level higher than what they did with Trevor [Reed] and Brittney,” he said regarding Russia’s treatment of his case. “I was arrested for a crime that never occurred … I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
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