Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!Yes, LaVar Ball is a hotdog and a grandstander. Yes, his son and the son's teammates did indeed shoplift in China. And, yes, given the legal aspect of it, personal magnanimity on Trump's part, even if it was for publicity purposes, which it probably was, was a factor in their release.
But Donal Trump is 71 and has not the first subatomic particle of humility in his entire being "(I don't think I need forgiveness"), so the defining characteristics of his personality are very unlikely to change. And one of those characteristics is letting slights, from anyone, in any circumstances, get under his skin and responding in kind.
There's a foreign-policy element to this as well. China is a rival, an adversary. Its system of justice is severe. Does Trump's tweet not send a message to the Chinese government / Communist party along the lines of, "We want our people back in situations like this, if they genuflect before me while still in your custody. If they don't, you can have 'em"?
This man-child has established a pattern over the course of his first year: do one or two positive policy-level things, then ruin the effect of it with a petty, childish tweet. Repeat the cycle.
It could have been so different.
Should there be diplomatic immunity for our spoiled black athletic talent? Shoplifting is a serious crime in America and an arrest and conviction can ruin your future.
ReplyDeleteThat's a relevant question as well.
ReplyDeleteThey sure would not be political prisoners if the
ReplyDeleteChinese held them for as long as their law allows. Ya think the Chinese might think that Trump owes them now? But of course he understands privilege. I'll bet they looked cool in those high end sunglasses. What an export!
I'll bet the Chinese do think that. But as I say in the post, if they get any inkling that the apprehended Americans in question don't like Trump, they just might presume, "He doesn't give a s---; let's put 'em through a speedy trial and put 'em in the clinker."
ReplyDeleteThe clinker in the jurisdiction where the crime was committed where they belong. Ball's dad (huge motor mouth)!was minimizing the crime. So too, apparently is Trump. Go shoplift at WalMart this morning and see how it goes for you.
ReplyDeleteOle man Ball and Ole Man Trump: American motor mouths. Such a shame!
ReplyDeleteEverything about this situation is tawdry and shameful.
ReplyDeleteWonder when Alord and the UCLA will end the players' indefinite suspensions? Lotsa Amellican dollas hinge on the outcome.
ReplyDeleteUCLA's trip to China was viewed as more than just an athletic program road trip; it was a goodwill journey for the entire university. UCLA chancellor Gene Block and his wife, Carol, UCLA vice provost Cindy Fan, UCLA engagement director Stephen Tan and UCLA professor Ren Sun all traveled with team to Hangzhou and Shanghai. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/sources-ucla-officials-debating-length-players-suspensions/story?id=51240140
ReplyDeleteYour post above kind of makes it sound like the Chinese bear some culpability over the harshness of a sentence that never occurred. Like a shark guilty of not eating a fish. Trump too has trumped-up the magnanmousness of his mercy, sort of implying too that the punishment would not fit the crime over there. Put em in jail here then, where they can be buttfucked and otherwise abused for 6 to 9 months. Jail here aint no cakewalk normally, if, say you or I had to do time for shoplifting at a high end store in America. Maybe WalMart justice is tougher.
ReplyDeleteI certainly didn't mean it that way. I was just pointing out that their system of justice is more severe than the US's.
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ReplyDeleteIf there's one thing that's irritating about the evening time, it's the number of seemingly random 800 people seem to get with no incriminating phone numbers attached to them. It's true that a lot of home phones have caller identification systems built in, but they seem to be hit or miss sometimes. This can leave you frustrated, and you'll be wondering who it is that's trying to get in touch with you, and how they managed to get your number.
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