Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Just weeks ago, a photo of swimmer Michael Phelps smoking marijuana from a bong leaked into the media and threw him into a firestorm of loathing. The incident made Phelps the latest celebrity to face the consequences of disappointing people he’d never met. His antics have cost him financially, as sponsors such as Kellogg’s have canceled his contracts or high–paying speaking engagements, as well as competitively, as he has been suspended by the United States Swimming Federation for three months. The pressure has become so severe that the 23–year–old is considering retiring from his sport.
Mark Spitz, a former Olympic swimmer who won seven gold medals said of Phelps, “His accomplishment is epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he’s maybe the greatest athlete of all time.”
Phelps’ incredible focus and work ethic have yielded phenomenal results. Last year, the young man won eight gold Olympic medals in one week. The man who previously held the status of being the world’s greatest swimmer, Australian Ian Thorpe, considered the goal of eight gold medals to be impossible. Phelps worked out harder and more often than any swimmer in the sport’s history. He swam 20 races in just seven days to accomplish this task, setting seven world records in the process. He even set one of those world records while swimming with a pair of broken goggles.
Phelps had come to define athletic dominance, stamina and the Olympic spirit. He had single–handedly saved the sport of swimming, and served as the finest athletic export America has ever seen. So why are so many people, even many who are indebted to him, so quick to tear him down? How could a nation that so thoroughly enjoyed his performance at the Olympics only months ago, be fostering an environment that is making Phelps question whether he should swim again? Because he occupies that slot of society that is more soul–reducing than any other, that of the role model.
Being a role model is a trying task. Most often these people are given money, fame and all the markers of the supposed Good Life. However, the trade off for such glory is that they are asked to live in conformity within the conventions of society. Any time someone such as Phelps strays from the beaten path, trouble is bound to follow. What is ironic is that it is precisely the act of deviating from the norm that allows these people to defy the odds in their given fields. Moreover, role models in a healthy society should not be manufactured to serve as a reflection of the society, they should be looked at to expand conventions, to question boundaries and barriers previously allowed the false authority of rigidity. Too often, exemplary figures are revered for their accomplishments, respected for their talents but they are not reacted to.
When the picture of Phelps smoking weed leaked, I wished he would have not only have admitted his use of the drug, but stood by it. However, the consequences are unfortunately too severe for him to make such a stand. Indeed, when it comes to his sponsorships, he is beholden to the people who pay his salary. The corporations who sponsor him are of course the least likely entities to make a moral shift such as the one Phelps offers. They discard anything or anyone who represents a challenge to mainstream morality and who present a threat to the sanctity of their static image. What’s worse, those corporations who have kept Phelps on have done so after expressing great regret at the incident and demonstrating that Phelps himself understands that he showed bad judgment. Only once he superficially fell back into line could his tattered image begin to be repaired.
Michael Phelps smokes marijuana, of that there is no doubt. But instead of admonishing him for the act, we should be considering what it is we are frowning upon. He has absolutely obliterated the core arguments surrounding the supposed effects and dangers of marijuana use. Let it be said for now and ever more that people can smoke marijuana and still be productive members of society. If Phelps is any indication, smoking weed doesn’t automatically destroy your motivation, or your physical well–being, a point that Phelps’ superhuman accomplishments hammer home. Instead of repudiating him, nauseating moralists everywhere should be tipping their caps to Phelps while admitting that they have been definitively proven wrong.
The anti–marijuana people have been wrong since the beginning. Examples have repeatedly demonstrated that its criminality is a joke and its place on the list of immorality is a facade. But Phelps is an example beyond all the others. His astounding drive, his athletic supremacy and his personal decision to smoke marijuana should be a death blow to any of the moronic refutations that have muddied the moral waters of marijuana use for decades. That would be the proper use of Michael Phelps as a role model in our society. Instead, many people demand that those who set examples, set a certain example. Society places obscene pressure on role models to fall in line, instead of using these people to consider itself. A society without the ability to reflect, judge and change is a dead society. It cannot move forward, it can only regurgitate. In truth, Phelps’ use of marijuana should make the whole process that much easier. It literally cannot be any more plain to see the flaws in arguments against recreational marijuana use. It should really be boringly simple.
Society should look at these facts and move the fuck on. Mankind’s greatest athlete smokes weed.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: ViewMag.com
Author: Michael Terry
Copyright: 2009 ViewMag.com
Contact: Viewmag Online Edition
Website: Viewmag Online Edition
Mark Spitz, a former Olympic swimmer who won seven gold medals said of Phelps, “His accomplishment is epic. It goes to show you that not only is this guy the greatest swimmer of all time and the greatest Olympian of all time, he’s maybe the greatest athlete of all time.”
Phelps’ incredible focus and work ethic have yielded phenomenal results. Last year, the young man won eight gold Olympic medals in one week. The man who previously held the status of being the world’s greatest swimmer, Australian Ian Thorpe, considered the goal of eight gold medals to be impossible. Phelps worked out harder and more often than any swimmer in the sport’s history. He swam 20 races in just seven days to accomplish this task, setting seven world records in the process. He even set one of those world records while swimming with a pair of broken goggles.
Phelps had come to define athletic dominance, stamina and the Olympic spirit. He had single–handedly saved the sport of swimming, and served as the finest athletic export America has ever seen. So why are so many people, even many who are indebted to him, so quick to tear him down? How could a nation that so thoroughly enjoyed his performance at the Olympics only months ago, be fostering an environment that is making Phelps question whether he should swim again? Because he occupies that slot of society that is more soul–reducing than any other, that of the role model.
Being a role model is a trying task. Most often these people are given money, fame and all the markers of the supposed Good Life. However, the trade off for such glory is that they are asked to live in conformity within the conventions of society. Any time someone such as Phelps strays from the beaten path, trouble is bound to follow. What is ironic is that it is precisely the act of deviating from the norm that allows these people to defy the odds in their given fields. Moreover, role models in a healthy society should not be manufactured to serve as a reflection of the society, they should be looked at to expand conventions, to question boundaries and barriers previously allowed the false authority of rigidity. Too often, exemplary figures are revered for their accomplishments, respected for their talents but they are not reacted to.
When the picture of Phelps smoking weed leaked, I wished he would have not only have admitted his use of the drug, but stood by it. However, the consequences are unfortunately too severe for him to make such a stand. Indeed, when it comes to his sponsorships, he is beholden to the people who pay his salary. The corporations who sponsor him are of course the least likely entities to make a moral shift such as the one Phelps offers. They discard anything or anyone who represents a challenge to mainstream morality and who present a threat to the sanctity of their static image. What’s worse, those corporations who have kept Phelps on have done so after expressing great regret at the incident and demonstrating that Phelps himself understands that he showed bad judgment. Only once he superficially fell back into line could his tattered image begin to be repaired.
Michael Phelps smokes marijuana, of that there is no doubt. But instead of admonishing him for the act, we should be considering what it is we are frowning upon. He has absolutely obliterated the core arguments surrounding the supposed effects and dangers of marijuana use. Let it be said for now and ever more that people can smoke marijuana and still be productive members of society. If Phelps is any indication, smoking weed doesn’t automatically destroy your motivation, or your physical well–being, a point that Phelps’ superhuman accomplishments hammer home. Instead of repudiating him, nauseating moralists everywhere should be tipping their caps to Phelps while admitting that they have been definitively proven wrong.
The anti–marijuana people have been wrong since the beginning. Examples have repeatedly demonstrated that its criminality is a joke and its place on the list of immorality is a facade. But Phelps is an example beyond all the others. His astounding drive, his athletic supremacy and his personal decision to smoke marijuana should be a death blow to any of the moronic refutations that have muddied the moral waters of marijuana use for decades. That would be the proper use of Michael Phelps as a role model in our society. Instead, many people demand that those who set examples, set a certain example. Society places obscene pressure on role models to fall in line, instead of using these people to consider itself. A society without the ability to reflect, judge and change is a dead society. It cannot move forward, it can only regurgitate. In truth, Phelps’ use of marijuana should make the whole process that much easier. It literally cannot be any more plain to see the flaws in arguments against recreational marijuana use. It should really be boringly simple.
Society should look at these facts and move the fuck on. Mankind’s greatest athlete smokes weed.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: ViewMag.com
Author: Michael Terry
Copyright: 2009 ViewMag.com
Contact: Viewmag Online Edition
Website: Viewmag Online Edition
