Hypocrisy: The Measure of Michael Phelps Success Reflected in the Picture of a Bong Hit?The Michael Phelps bong incident, sometimes jokingly referred to as Bong-gate, seems to have taken hold and ripped out the common sense of some people. The guy was out having a bit of fun, some opport
Michael Phelps Bong Hit: Support Your National Pot Smoker
unistic (and now probably rich) "friend" snapped a picture of him, and the backlash of the publication of the photo has led to a major sponsor dropping him and a 3-month suspension from competition by USA Swimming. If that wasn't bad enough, Richland County Sheriff's office, in whose jurisdiction the pot-smoking allegedly took place, is contemplating criminal charges against the 23-year-old Olympic gold medallist.But Subway, the sandwich-making company, has decided to stand behind its sponsorship of Michael Phelps, according to the Mercury News. In a statement, the company said, "Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior. Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."
Michael Phelps Bong Hit: Support Your National Pot Smoker
unistic (and now probably rich) "friend" snapped a picture of him, and the backlash of the publication of the photo has led to a major sponsor dropping him and a 3-month suspension from competition by USA Swimming. If that wasn't bad enough, Richland County Sheriff's office, in whose jurisdiction the pot-smoking allegedly took place, is contemplating criminal charges against the 23-year-old Olympic gold medallist.But Subway, the sandwich-making company, has decided to stand behind its sponsorship of Michael Phelps, according to the Mercury News. In a statement, the company said, "Like most Americans, and like Michael Phelps himself, we were disappointed in his behavior. Also like most Americans, we accept his apology. Moving forward, he remains in our plans."
Christian Bale, star of "The Dark Knight" and a now infamous audiotape where he unleashes a torrent of abuse on a co-worker, said, "Please, Michael Phelps, swim in the next Olympics. This guy has a God-given talent. So he smoked a bit of weed; plenty of our presidents have."And Christian Bale has a point. Michael Phelps has fallen victim to the kind of hypocritical double-standard that Americans seem to be particularly good at: castigating someone for doing something that many often surreptitiously engage in. Like smoking pot.
NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) cites Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post and Stanton Peele of the Wall Street Journal who have called for change in the excessively punitive marijuana laws extant in the United States in the wake of the Michael Phelps fiasco. As NORML points out, nearly half of Americans 18 years of age and older admitted to smoking marijuana at least once (CNN/Time and 72% of Americans believe that if marijuana is to remain illegal, that possession of it should be met with fines and not jail time.
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1 comment:
Oh, such a clever play on words! I agree, the whole thing was blown way out! People really need to get over it. I seriously doubt someone is going to go out and smoke pot just because M.P. did!
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