Backspin Sites

Friday, June 5, 2020

This is US

For good reason, this space takes a brief pause this week to reflect on the past two weeks of events that have immersed the United States, from coast to coast, in anger, discussion and (maybe, eventually) hope when it comes to dealing with the many social inadequacies that have long infected the nation.

Thus, the second "Month of Lenglen" will commence soon, as will what had been today's originally scheduled attempt to consider what the tennis tour might look like when it returns, in whatever form it ultimately takes.

So, for a moment, I'll slip back on my old high school/college essayist hat and attempt to put together a piece about the place the U.S. finds itself in.

(Forgive my fish-wiggling-its-way-through-the-ocean-deep essay style, as I was never one to produce something of the fist-slamming variety.)




So here we are. Precisely *where* has sometimes been the question, though, hasn't it?




Actually, for the past two weeks the United States has closely resembled what it has *always* been -- for some good and much bad -- when its held a mirror up to itself, for how we've generally seen and portrayed ourselves as a nation has always been more than a bit in contrast with the with unvarnished reality of the light of day.

But we usually shield our eyes from *that* nation, looking away as we publicly strive for an ideal that, usually due to our own inadequacies, seems to forever remain out of reach.

Clearly, there's a lot of work to be done.

Everyone in the U.S. -- well, except maybe for certain GOP politicians who've perfected that whole "looking away" thing for the past four years -- has had a front row view, or on-site experience, as we've witnessed the explosion of protest that has roiled our major cities and beyond since George Floyd was murdered on the street by a Minneapolis police officer last week. With the nation seemingly cleaving by force of will, a virtually rudderless ship actively aimed by its so-called "leader" toward the rocks in hopes of being praised for having "reached solid ground", we find ourselves caught in a continual loop of current events that stretches back decades, generations and, in fact, centuries.

In recent days, as much talking has taken place as all the combined peaceful protests, unnecessary moments of escalation masquerading as law enforcement, callous opportunism leading to criminal activity, outside agitation purposely stirring the pot, and politicians seeking to play "tough guy" in an election year. Much of it has been authored and/or relayed by individuals who likely aren't truly "qualified" to speak on such issues with the utmost authority, as no one is all-seeing and capable of analyzing every angle of any troubling issue that plagues a nation. Even the individuals who shout the loudest, or those who seek to critique social media posts of those who actually show support for the cause, don't have all the answers.

But as Meghan Markle noted in her unexpected address on Thursday to the graduates of her former high school, "the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing."



Just growing up or living in the United States, or simply being an observer of the human condition around the world, should be enough to prevent such occurrences as those we've been watching from being filtered through one's life without notice and/or acknowledgement. So I suppose, at a basic level, it's sometimes necessary to place upon the table what it would seem we *do* (or should) know, and what we don't.

Myself and others who aren't black or brown skinned don't know and can never really fully understand, for example, what it feels like to, on just a "routine" day, see the lights of a police car flash in their rear view mirror as they drive down the street and instantly wonder if their life could be in jeopardy in a matter of minutes just because they, well... *just because* it might be.

I know that's flatly wrong, not what this country is *supposed* to be, and that a path must be carved to change that reality.

I also know that doing so isn't as simple as flipping a switch, as such conditions and internal reactions don't become so deep-seated because they take place within a short-term bubble, but instead take root due to generational and institutional patterns that have existed and persisted in varying degrees for as long (and longer) as anyone alive today.

I don't know precisely how important and useful change for the good would be *best* achieved through the enacting of new laws, reforms, procedures and actions; but I do know that the first step for any individual seeking to wrap their minds and emotions around such issues begins with personal empathy with and for the situations faced both specifically and systemically by the overwhelming majority of African Americans in the nation. I also know that far too many politicians and others in positions of power and authority have been unwilling to or, in the case of the current occupant of the White House, psychologically incapable of such an act of compassion.



So here we stand. There is a lot of work to be done.

The U.S has a long history of both civil and uncivil disobedience, from the Boston Tea Party to John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry to the Montgomery bus boycott to 1968 to St.John's Church, and all points in between. The nation was conceived, built and transformed by protests and unrest. Spasms that lead to change. Some incremental, some more (relatively) immediate. There was war vs. England. War against each other. Civil rights battles that originated with the nation's "original sin" of slavery. Demonstrations protesting both wars on foreign soil as well as the oppression of women and other minorities.

While discrimination is virtually ingrained in the sometimes-seedy fabric of this nation as tightly as its (sometimes chest-thumping) desire for freedom, so is the inclination to oppose what is not right or just. Some battles take a lifetime, usually many more than one, to be won. Unfortunately, there's also often a tendency to backslide that calls for much maintenance, follow-up and diligence to avoid a growing sense of complacency that *any* progress is a *lasting* solution, or that unpleasant realities inherent in the U.S. system doesn't need to be continually checked. Just because *you* aren't affected by some sinister aspect of "the American experience" doesn't mean it no longer exists.



The fights are never over. They just change venues and tactics.



I don't know how or even if the changes necessary to dependably lead the U.S. through its latest troubling (and long vexing) chapter regarding racial inequality are within our grasp, but I do know that the ballot box has historically been the time-honored and (eventually) evolutionary way toward a new reality.

One need only look at how one political party steadfastly fights *against* as many individuals as possible exercising their right to vote to know just how important it still is. If such a political organization is on the run from the traditional "power of the people" then it's clearly even more important for the people to exercise it, as it is the one longstanding template for peacefully fostering a change in which the *employees* (the political class) truly serve the *bosses* (the citizens) they represent as well as the nation's embedded ideals that they all supposedly pledge to uphold.

Though they can be a harbinger of it, protests, marches, scuffles and/or energized-and-altered public opinion don't immediately lead to change, and sometimes don't foster lasting progress at all (see the series of mass shootings, or the Rodney King riots). Sometimes, even voting leads to unintended consequences. Remember the laughable attempt to declare a "post-racial society" after Barack Obama's election, which led in part to the Supreme Court eradicating key parts of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for voter suppression?

But, while not a definitive answer, voting isn't just symbolic, either. It alters the course of history, and then helps to preserve the change. It isn't exciting, or loud, or destructive or rage-filled. It's just the one Constitutional right guaranteed to citizens which in and of itself announces the desire for *and* proactively makes change happen (or at the very least makes it more possible).



Voters blinked in 2016 (including likely many of those who've taken part in recent protests, considering the low young voter turnout four years ago), and look what happened.

No matter what happens next, if people don't heed such history we'll all be right back here in the blink of an eye. If the Floyd murder is the latest match to light a flame, then that flame must be nursed, minded, preserved and groomed to last longer than just a single moment in time.

Personally, I know I worry what new undiscovered and/or unrealized horrors the next five months could bring before the November elections (and the two months after it, for that matter). We've already learned in 2020 how much can happen in five months. In early February, after all, this space was talking about Sofia Kenin basking in the glow of winning the Australian Open and the kickoff of the new Fed Cup, while Elena Rybakina had only yet played in HALF of the season finals she'd appear in before the WTA tour was shut down a month later.

Seems more like five years ago.

We've *seen" how easy it is for things to slip over the edge, and we may not even be there yet. No matter the outcome of things on November 3, a glance at the personal history of at least one narcissist with a nihilistic mentality and autocratic tendencies who is involved in the equation should be enough for everyone to remain on guard. If anyone thinks they can imagine whatever the "bottom" is below which that individual would not sink, well, they just haven't been paying attention. The band of cowardly Republican enablers aren't coming to anyone's rescue, either. That's for sure. It's up to the remaining collective soul of the nation to right the course.



(Sigh.) There's a lot of work to be done.



Still, something at least *feels* a bit different about these protests over longstanding police brutality and "fed up" calls for overdue racial equality. Maybe it's the perfect storm of the Floyd death, COVID-19, a cratering economy in a presidential election year, and the jagged, ragged weariness produced by the intellectually exhausting drumbeat of the last four years specifically, and the inherent cynicism and frustration produced in the black community over a far, far longer period than that when it comes to the issues that could one day makes these two weeks historic ones.

Any desire to unite in order to strive for a worthwhile common goal would be an overwhelmingly good sign for the future.



If only it were that simple, though, huh?

Who knows, unfortunately, it could be that nothing important really changes when all is said and done. But *maybe* the past week and a half of once more dragging many of this country's lingering toxic issues back out into the hot sun and onto the burning pavement *will* -- this time -- serve to not only be a flashpoint, but a starting point.

We can only hope.




Remember?



















!!!!!!








futuristic-fonts


kosova-font


































View this post on Instagram

#justiceforgeorgefloyd

A post shared by ????? (@naomiosaka) on














View this post on Instagram

Thank you @australianopen for the amazing post and for the most incredible memories. Here are a few points from my 3 hour,4th rd win against Alisa Kleybanova at the @australianopen in 2009. Whole match available now on the @australianopen YouTube channel or at the link in my bio. Hope you all like it. ?????????????????????????? Posted @withregram • @australianopen One of the most ??-warming stories of #AusOpen 2009. Watch how @dokic_jelena reached her first Grand Slam QF since Roland Garros in 2002. #tennis #tennis?? #?? #tennisplayer #australianopen #melbournepark #rodlaverarena #melbourne #australia #aussie #australian #tenniscourt #tennislove #tennismatch #grandslam #tennisaustralia #wta #inspiration #memories #walkdownmemorylane #amazing #ausopen #instatennis #tennislife #womenstennis #motivation #tb #sport

A post shared by Jelena Dokic ???????????? (@dokic_jelena) on








futuristic-fonts


kosova-font








kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font




kosova-font





All for now.
Posted by at