Rodney King Punches On!!!

Coming soon to a TV near you. This is good. And wrong. It's good and wrong, and i'm not sure why.

Former race-hate attack victim Rodney King will be punching on with a renegade LA police officer who was booted from the force for his "Shoot first, ask questions later" policy as part of America's "Celebrity Fight Season"

What the fuck is going on in the world?

First and foremost, how is there an entire season dedicated to celebrity fights? I envisage people having diary's with appointments and such.

"What are you up to this week Lisa?"

"Well, I'm going to see Judy on Tuesday, then the dentist on Thursday morning, then... Oooh! Friday night is the first night of Celebrity Fight Season"

Say what you like about the Americans, they sure know how to squeeze every last drop of dignity out of their celebrities.

I'm not really sure what this match is going to achieve. If Rodney King wins, will he finally feel like justice has been served? Will he get closure on the issue by getting more points than the other gent in this televised event? It's not likely.

And what if the white guy wins? Will the black community put their hands up and say "Yes, you've won the fight. And our respect."

At best, this fight will stoke the fire of racism. At worst, this fight will stoke the fire of racism.*

I think what's most interesting about this though, is that I feel like Rodney King shouldn't be involved. I read this and for some reason, I figured being the victim of a racist beating automatically gives you a certain level of personal pride and morals. It appears it doesn't. Or maybe it does, and they can just be bought for the right price.

*I read a letter to the editor in some magazine a while ago and they were discussing the issue of racism in Australia. And someone had written in saying they went to Qatar and were ritualistically harassed for being white. The argument went along the lines of "Don't worry about racism in Australia, the people of Qatar are the biggest racists in the world, the blame should be put on them."

Despite the glaring hypocrisy of this statement, and the blatant passing the buck, don't you think this person over reacted a bit.

I'm white. I live in the first world. I am super-privileged. If I go to the middle east on holiday and feel some resentment from the locals, I hope I experience racism. Coz at least then some of the guilt of my incredibly fortunate existence is lifted off my shoulders.

You know when you beat someone to the finish line and feel a bit bad? If they're an arsehole about it, that victory is all the sweeter. It's not a just attitude or a particularly righteous one, but it's real and satisfying. I've got mates I love winning money off in poker, but only coz they're massive pricks when they win. If you don't like it when they win, don't play. If you don't wanna be maligned for your lifestyle, don't go to foreign cultures.