Beating your family is cool if you're an athlete

Ray Rice and AP fucked over my fantasy team

[jvigneault10-blog]

This video, a 16 minute TED Talk from Leslie Morgan, talks about her very dark past relationship and her ability to cope with it. She talks about the "why she stays" question that always arises following domestic abuse cases. She talks about domestic violence as a whole, and focuses it through her own experience. Her perspective and take on the subject as a whole are both highly intelligent and highly poignant. Retrospect is powerful, and she utilizes it masterfully. These are the people who are a byproduct of the violence of athletes on their own family, and often they dont even know they're being abused.

[jvigneault10-blog]

We aren't the weeds in the crack of life. We're the strong, amazing flowers that found a way to grow in the most challenging conditions.

This quote comes from Jeanne McElvaney in her book Spirit Unbroken: Abby's Story. This story revolves around a young girl, named Abby, who is faced with incredible odds as a child. This quote is a fantastic metaphor for the hope that all abuse victims should hold onto, for they can grow greater one day.

[jvigneault10-blog]

Athletes beating the shit out of family; Police beating the shit out of everyone

At surface value, you wouldn't think that my blog and royalissue.tumblr.com would have anything in common, but in reality our topics are almost identical. While I argue that it is immoral for athletes to get away with crimes against their family and others, Royal Issue's blog argues that it is immoral for the police to commit such brutal acts and get away with it. Although athletes and police are not the same, they both represent "power" in society. The people and the athete's families represent the oppressed. As long as the power is able to suppress the oppressed with violence and get away with it, our society will not be functioning morally. Both of our  blogs seek for everyone to be seen equal in the eyes of the law, because that was one of the only inalienable rights america was founded on. 

[jvigneault10-blog]

GW Remix: Earliest memory of NOT writing

"I know, beyond a doubt, that I should be writing right now. I sit here, at my lightly colored wood desk, where I've gotten so much work done before, and I just cant manage to draw my attention away from Runescape. Not even for an hour. This game has consumed what must be hundreds of hours of the past 2 years of my life. But I just need to level up one more time, who really cares about this essay, its only the first one we're doing all year so how hard could she grade on it? Ill just slay one more giant. Maybe I'll fish for a bit, I need plenty of gold for that dragon scimitar."

I never wrote that paper.

I never turned anything in at all.

In sixth grade, this was my first harsh wake-up call that school gets harder. You need to put some effort in, any at all really, in order to succeed. When I got my report card back for my second quarter of sixth grade and saw a big glowing "D" under the english category, I knew I had royally fucked up. I got the classic "Im not mad Im just disappointed" speech from my dad and grounded for 2 weeks. I never neglected to turn in an assignment again, or, at least not unless my teacher was cool with it.

[jvigneault10-blog]

Interview with a Floormate

In light of Ray Rice's indefinite ban from the NFL being lifted and him becoming a free agent again, do you support this decision to allow him back into the league so soon?

Yes. Although I absolutely do not condone domestic violence in any sense, there is a clear line to be drawn here. He was not charged with anything, his wife whom he had beaten has come out in support of him and said that all is well on the homefront. The way I see it is that, yes he did a very bad thing, but that doesn't necessarily mean he should continue to suffer. He has already been alienated from his fans, his team. Its time for him to start anew?

What about Adrian Peterson still being banned?

This is a whole different story. Peterson's son had repeated bleeding wounds as a result of the switch that was taken to him. Ray Rice hit his fiance (now wife) one time in what seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction he regrets. I understand that some people are raised that way, but never can it be considered acceptable. This is a much grosser offence of the human condition.

Has your family had any domestic violence in its history?

Not mine directly, but my aunt was involved in a relationship a while back that ended with her needing to escape from the man. He was a vile human and I wish nothing but the worst for him. She has pretty much since recovered, but she still struggles with trusting other people. The mental scars don't fade the way the physical ones do.

Did anything ever come of him?

He was never documented for anything. As it is with so many cases of domestic violence, the victim is so scared to speak against their assailant. It becomes endless loop of silence that can only be broken by action. We tried to encourage her to speak up, but fear is all that is when she looks for confidence.

[jvigneault10-blog]

Are there any other civil or legal issues that athletes get away with, other than domestic violence?

Generally, athletes recieve special treatment for numerous things, beyond even domestic violence and sexual assault. I chose to focus on those two because they were the most prevalent and relevant in today’s society. Obviously it’s harder to pinpoint specific points where they got off easy on things like theft, because jail time was never a potential punishment that could result.

[jvigneault10-blog]

This political cartoon emphasizes exactly what is wrong with the NFL and its relationship with its players who have committed crime. Commissioner Goodell would do anything to preserve good press, including things which are much past the border of morally questionable. It was long thought that he had been in possession of the Ray Rice video long before popular media saw it, and only acted against Rice because now he had no choice. He tries to sweep things under the rug and only takes action if it tries crawling back out from under.

[jvigneault10-blog]

Lenses

In my first two units a lot of my inspiration for writing revolved around the fact that I come from a warm, comfortable, white, middle class home in a rural area. I didn't know much struggle. Yes, we encountered strife and struggle, but everyone does. We were able to overcome because my family has always been closely knit. We overcome together. What makes this topic so interesting to me is that I was taught a strong sense of morality. I have a penchant for wanting fairness, and searching for the truth above everything else. I find it immeasurably distasteful that the truth and fairness don't matter so much when someone from a position of power is involved. Additionally, I was never physically abused as a child. I was only reprimanded for things verbally. I can't, because of this, truly understand why a parent would need to abuse their child in order to get their message across. This makes me more invested in this topic, as I want to know the ins and outs of a home that behaves in this way.

[jvigneault10-blog]

This is another ad from the recent "No More" campaign sponsored by the NFL. This ad features a variety of players choked up when preparing to talk about domestic violence and sexual assault. I'm not sure if its staged, but the message is the same either way: these things are hard to talk about, but it is the best way to move forward. Domestic violence can impact anyone, even huge NFL players may have been abused as kids. Speak up about it. 

[jvigneault10-blog]

This skit performed by SNL, while very funny, highlights many important parts of the current state of the NFL and its relation to its player's criminal actions. "Accountability" is what this skit says the NFL is all about, but what about responsibility? What about justice? They satirically bring up the "punishments" received for the crimes these players supposedly committed and then stop themselves, because there are none. This is a recurring issue that has always been around in the NFL that cannot continue to stand. For fucks sake, Mike Vick killed dogs and now all we talk about is whether he or Geno Smith should start.

[katlyng6]

Report: Miami Dolphins player got 'special treatment' after arrest in 2010

The New York Times reported that former Miami Dolphins defensive end Phillip Merling was given “special treatment” after he was arrested for domestic abuse in 2010.

Its a shame that we as a community will turn our heads to something so horrible just so that they can continue playing their sport. If we forgive them so easily what is stopping them? There is no justifiable reason why he should not be punished as anyone else would. Worse I think is that as a whole many people will forget about this entirely and still view him as a great person and player. First we have to change our views and morals before the law will come into effect. 

[jvigneault10-blog]

This perfectly fits into my issue. Not only was this player arrested for domestic abuse, he was confirmed to have been given "special treatment" following his arrest. There may not be social equality or economic equality in america, but the one thing we are all supposed to have beyond a doubt is equality in the eyes of the law. Being able to look a judge in the eyes and know that the appropriate punishments will be delivered is a part of what makes us American and violating that violates our nation as a whole.

[jvigneault10-blog]

Remix of GW 21 : A letter to someone about your unit 2 essay

Dear Jordan,

Its great to hear from you, and I'm glad you seem to be doing well in a class that literally all freshmen are forced to take. Your essay, in response to Richard Stengel sounds like you really don't care about it at all. You have so much of who you are that could be put into this essay but instead you make it one long dead-ass recitation of information. More than you may know, professors dont really want to hear all of the same thing that has been spit out about the same essays they've been teaching for years now. For the love of god put something into this thing. Just because you've been drilled into only talking in the third person with an active voice in five paragraphs, does not mean that is the only way to write. In fact, putting some of your own experiences and opinions into it will both make it more exciting and more beneficial to the reader. Yes you may be jaded in some points, but its better to show the fact that you have bias than to mask it in monotonous high school-esque type essays. You're better than that. I think you have a lot of good ideas and are on the right track, but make it worth reading, you fuck-up. 

Sincerely,

Your Brother Nevin

[jvigneault10-blog]

Blogs to follow

Here are some blogs I found from classmates of mine which relate to my blog.

http://cewilson89.tumblr.com/

this blog, although not about pro sports, talks about a lot of the issues surrounding collegiate athletes. Perhaps in seeing their lives now helps us analyze them later. Found thanks to a-roidriguez.

http://thebroadcastblog.tumblr.com/

this blog is about inequality in sports, and mainly focuses on women pro athletes. The inequality in justice for pro athletes is not restricted to men, so I needed this to broaden my spectrum. Found also because of a-roidriguez.

http://domesticabusesurvivors.tumblr.com/

this blog shows the end result of domestic abuse and how those who endure it make it out. It is important to show what happens to the victims of these athletes from their own eyes. Found thanks to katlyng6.

[jvigneault10-blog]

This PSA on domestic violence is gruesome and poignant, showing a woman battered by what seems to be rampant domestic violence. It really strikes the viewer because, although there are no words, her face and expression tell her story. Watching her trying and failing to stop her nose from bleeding and then suddenly looking up as though someone just arrived home, truly makes the viewer empathize with her predicament.

[the6thsiren-deactivated20210702]

Stop defending Adrian Peterson for abusing his child.

Stop downplaying the abuse by saying “every parents hits their kid.” Or “we used to be able to punish our kids.”

This was abuse, not punishment.

A 4 YEAR OLD getting leaves stuffed in his mouth and having open wounds up his legs, thighs,...

[jvigneault10-blog]

For a very long time, a parent punishing their child with a spanking or something of that sort was an accepted method of teaching. Even today, it happens, although less often. However, never has it been accepted to abuse your child to such an extent that he has open, bleeding wounds. This is severely painful and a tremendous level of abuse that cannot be tolerated in any walk of life. 

[teesadutta]

[jvigneault10-blog]

John Oliver, well known political satire master and former Daily Show correspondent, makes a very good point about the Ray Rice situation. It does not take having a woman you care about in your life's face for you to appreciate why what Rice did was bad. By specifying that "oh yeah i have a mom, a daughter, or a wife" you basically say that your opinion is relevant because you have a woman in your life you care about. Lots of people have those things. Its not a new thing. 

[bornandbredginger]

Ray Rice Inspired Makeup Tutorial

guys. watch.

[jvigneault10-blog]

I understand the message that this woman is trying to get across with this video, in fact, she seems to have a lot of the same ideals that I do. However, I get the creeping feeling when watching this video that the way she approaches this subject with passive aggressive remarks about the whole Ray Rice scandal and society as a whole makes some part of my conscious think "hey she really doesnt seem to know what she's talking about." I do like that towards the end of the video she takes on a more serious tone and provides resources to more information, but I honestly wish the whole video was like this. I know many people (myself included) start some videos and never get to the end of them. By having the beginning be so unappealing to me, I feel as though she is driving some people away from getting the helpful information she has on at the end. Making light of such a serious situation might be appropriate in some cases, but not in this one. Here it just feels like she's playfully mocking the NFL.