Eight-time
Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps: Does the reaction
to his pot use expose the hypocrisy of U.S. drug policy and
morality?
Semana, Colombia
Michael Phelps and American Hypocrisy on the Use of Drugs
"Seventy
six percent of Americans are in favor of finding new options in the battle
against drug abuse. But the establishment and government don’t seem to
understand. Or perhaps they understand perfectly - but in the end won’t agree
to hinder a trade that brings them such enormous benefits."
By Felipe Restrepo Pombo
Translated By Paula van de Werken
February 25, 2009
Colombia - Semana -
Original Article (Spanish)
There is something unique
about how idols are disgraced in the United States. Perhaps this is because in
a nation obsessed with fame, the way idols fall is especially dramatic. Examples
abound: Michael Jackson, Britney Spears and O.J. Simpson,
just to mention the sorriest cases, went from the very heights to experiencing humiliating
declines. To Michael Phelps, the Olympic multi-medalist, the same unfortunate thing
could happen. With the photographs showing him proudly wearing his eight gold
medals still fresh in our minds, he has been disgraced. Phelps was smiling then:
he was happy to be the new American hero.
But a few weeks ago this
triumphant smile vanished when the tabloid News of the World published a
slightly less heroic photograph, in which the swimmer appeared to be smoking
marijuana. The images were taken during a college bash last November, when the
athlete was relaxing after his epic Olympic achievement. The image of Phelps
inhaling from a glass bong began circulating everywhere, and to many of us it
seemed silly: after all, the 23-year-old swimmer wasn’t doing anything terrible.
He was smoking marijuana, something that scandalizes few in today's world.
Aside from the United States,
that is.
Shortly after the photo was
made public, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that Phelps would be
suspended from any official competition for three months. Immediately
after that, Kelloggs decided to discontinue its
sponsorship of the swimmer and to recall all Kelloggs
cereal boxes that his face appeared on. And as if that wasn’t punishment enough,
the authorities announced a police investigation that never went anywhere. Phelps
himself was forced to apologize. “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable
and demonstrated bad judgment … I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way,
not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” he said.
I understand that Phelps is a
public figure and has an image to maintain. I also agree with those who
maintain that such a high-level athlete shouldn’t take drugs - but in addition,
they say that he did so without proper decorum, that it wasn't the first time he
had smoked, and that he should be a model of good behavior. But to punish him this way for something that's no worse than getting drunk is excessive. In
fact, he was already arrested for drunk driving - a much more serious infraction
in my eyes - and no one said a word about it.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Setting these considerations
aside, it seems to me that the entire matter is nothing more than pathetic
proof of the double-standard that exists in the United States when it comes to
drug use - and more generally of its false morality. One recalls the affair involving
Janet Jackson's nipple some years ago. The nation that consumes more pot than
any on the planet continues to insist on prohibiting and penalization its
consumption and is in the midst of an armed conflict against its trafficking. I
won’t cite the statistics which prove this here: that would be like rain falling
on wet ground.
Truth be told, just a short
time ago a group of experts on the subject, led by the former presidents Cesar Gaviria of Columbia, Fernando Cardoso of Brazil and Ernesto
Zedillo of Mexico, spoke in favor of legalization and decriminalization. The
former presidents - who based on their own experience, know the nuts and bolts
of the problem - said that as long as drugs remain illegal and drug-trafficking
remains a lucrative business, nothing will change. They also proposed a "controlled"
legalization - and warned that it [pot] should be treated as a public health issue
- not one of security.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Of course in the United
States, legalization is not a possibility - and not because people don’t want
it to be legal. According to an item cited by the Wall Street Journal, 76
percent of Americans are in favor of finding new options in the battle against
drug abuse. But the establishment and government don’t seem to understand. Or
perhaps they understand perfectly - but in the end they won’t agree to hinder a
trade that brings them such enormous benefits.
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Excelsior, Mexico:
How Mexico Could Legalize Pot - Whether U.S. Likes it or Not
Excelsior, Mexico:
Relations Between U.S. and Mexico are Deteriorating
La Tercera, Chile
Mexico's Drug War: No Way Out But to Fight On
Semana, Colombia:
Michael Phelps and American Hypocricy on the Use of Drugs
Latin American governments
don’t seem open to change, either. Just as the proposal by the former presidents
was published, the governments of two of the most affected countries in the
region rejected it. Mexico's Secretary of Health said that legalization is not
a viable solution and that the only result would be to increase the number of addicts.
The Colombian president also refuted it. What’s more, our always-progressive
President Uribe announced that he would insist on a
law penalizing those carrying pot for personal use. In other words - go back into
hiding.
Of course the case of Phelps
is peanuts compared to the drama of the real victims: the thousands of people dying
as a result of an absurd ban. For this reason it is revealing and yet one more piece
of evidence that in the fight against drugs, stupidity and blindness continue
to reign.
CLICK HERE FOR SPANISH VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 2, 7:25pm]
