| Ryan White |
 | 0 Comments |  | 29 Read | Sep 06, 2007 |
During class we discussed both the positive and negative aspects of the contemporary socio-political moment. This is a moment marked by a great gathering of wealth for the United States, as it holds its position as a world power. This is also a period of time whereby power (monetary, political, and social) has concentrated into the hands of the very few, who then maintain their power by appeasing the many 'just enough' to continue their position of power. Thus, as one of my students stated so nicely last night, individuals do not really have free choice in their behavior, it is really quite simply acts of individual rationality given the system of power that we live under in this case the rise of Reaganite neoliberalism.
For those of you unfamiliar with neoliberalism, in simplistic terms, it is the dominant socio-economic driving force in our society, and it is characterized by hyper-competition and marketing (think Nike), deregulation of markets (lowered taxes and increased subsidies for corporations), and an "every person for themselves" attitude which essentially disregards the collective love of others in the United States and elsewhere in exchange for a personal worth gauged on what you can do as a consumer for corporate interests.
In sport this can be seen on an everyday basis. Yesterday I was driving up from College Park to Towson , and I took a brief detour through Baltimore. As I was rolling past M&T Bank Stadium, and Camden Yards, two beautiful pieces of architecture that absolutely rock 88 days a year (well, almost and lets not forget the over 200 days both are empty), I couldn't help but notice that there were homeless beggars in the street looking to receive money from my fellow drivers. Often when I am riding with others, and this situation arises, comments are often made towards these beggars because they are "looking for free handouts or money for alcohol or drugs", and the carload refuses to give these people money (which is understandable). However, what is interesting to me is the fact that very little is often said about the fact that the people of Baltimore gave millions to Peter Angelos, and Art Model for those two stadiums to be built in our town. Massive marketing campaigns went out telling us how it was so great for the city, and how it would bring in downtown revenue except for the fact that funding a new stadium for the already filthy rich has NEVER made money for the cities that they exist in. Yet we as a society rarely question that, it is rarely brought up in the media, and there is a reason why.
The poor people on the street don't have the means to formulate a massive marketing campaign showing how they need food, clothing, and an education, whereas the likes of Peter Angelos and Art Model can. Moreover, sports teams owners are often in collusion with media outlets in that they can control what is said about their respective teams by curbing criticism overtly, and covertly (if there is no new stadium who has a job as a sportswriter in Baltimore?). Thus while Paul Allen (owner of the NBA's Super Sonics) may be called greedy, is he ever really questioned for human rights abuses brought on by his ownership in Microsoft? Is he jailed like other corporate CEO's that have abused other people should be? No he is revered as a good business man, and shrewd and competitive person to whom we should all aspire to be ughh.
So while tonight many of us will be watching the Saints take on the Colts in the NFL season opener I'd like you to watch the game and look deeper into it, looking for the story that may not be told or the story that is alluded to but not allowed out. Like the story about how in the world Tom Benson, one of the richest men in New Orleans, got 500 million dollars to repair his stadium while millions have gone homeless since Katrina. Or how Halliburton got all the contracts to fix up the city, yes the same Halliburton that Dick Cheney used to work for/run. If you can't catch that game, watch any other game and ask yourself about the people behind the scenes and how they are using the neoliberal system to their advantage, by marketing, competing, taking our tax dollars, and/or promoting an 'every person for themselves' atmosphere in our society, then be creative and suggest where the money and power that went to those who were already rich and powerful could have gone to renovate and fix the cities where they reside. The game could be a Towson event even. For example this week a student of mine asked me to buy a raffle ticket to help fund her team, then told me she has to buy all of the unsold tickets. Of course, I would at least attempt to oblige this student, but it made me step back and think that we can give the O's and the Raven's millions of dollars to play in our town, but we can't fund our students enough to play whatever sport it is that they choose to participate? I guess as Bob Dylan once sang "If you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose".
*Alternatively, you can also write about the positives of neoliberalism, and how it has had a globalizing effect on our society, creating mass wealth, sharing of culture, jobs for those that didn't have them before, and/or increased diversity in our society. These are stories widely told and found in any sporting event production. Obviously my personal background has led me to believe more in the former argument, but no points will be deducted simply because you disagree - in fact some of the best responses come from those that do.
