Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
My new career as an acrobat (part one)
“I must be an acrobat to talk like this and act like that.”
—"Acrobat," Bono (and he would know)
Regular visitors here know I’m smack dab in the middle of a family illness situation. As a vocal critic of Western medicine, helping my mom undergo cancer treatment has been more than a painful human experience...it’s also been an awakening of sorts. No, this is not a deathbed conversion...it’s the first of two posts in the name of re-examination.
George Bernard Shaw says: “I had become a new person, and those who knew the old person laughed at me. The only man who behaved sensibly was my tailor: he took my measure anew every time he saw me, whilst all the rest went on with their old measurements and expected them to fit.” (Man and Superman, Act I)
So, as I find it increasingly difficult to endure the type of book I’d typically devour in the past, I just read Lance Armstrong’s autobiography. Who knew “It’s Not About the Bike” would provide me with so much food for thought? Sure, Lance is a spoiled zillionaire athlete but his background was far from privileged. The work he did to recover from cancer and become the top cyclist in the world was considerable. Plus, he’s spoken out against the Iraq War (http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=105&ItemID=8382) and the guy is a friggin’ atheist, for chrissake.
Here’s something that got me thinking: In the book, Armstrong tells of a Nike representative who spoke with him as he recovered from brain surgery. Even as Lance broke down crying on the phone, the Nike rep promised: “Well, don’t worry about us. We’re with you.” Unlike other sponsors, Nike never deserted Armstrong...even when it looked like he may not ride again. This gesture of kindness and support, of course, does absolutely nothing to help the poor souls slaving in Nike factories or those conditioned to think they need a $120 pair of sneakers to “just do it.” However, this episode does demonstrate how good people can sometimes become mired in bad situations...and perhaps not even realize it (G.K. Chesterton: “It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem.") Nike is part of the problem, as far as I’m concerned, but so few people even know there is a problem that I wonder: Is it productive to flippantly generalize about those who earn a Nike paycheck or wear Air Jordan sneakers or can we discern new ways to interact with them?
Another paradox: Armstrong has created a foundation that assists those with cancer. This includes helping individuals without the means to get care. Another service involves a yellow bracelet bearing the words “live strong” to create solidarity and awareness (a much-copied and watered down tactic now). Anyway, I pondered the gesture of buying a batch to bring to Texas for my mother and my family but after a little poking around, I learned that Lance’s foundation supports and funds animal testing (They told me: “We have funded a limited number of studies that utilized mice. All studies have conformed to strict government regulation.")
Should Armstrong’s efforts be judged by this? Am I to spend my money to buy bracelets from a group that will not allow animals (or sweatshop laborers) to “live strong” too? How does one make sense of all this?
I didn’t buy the bracelets. Was that the “right” move?
(Part Two on Friday...I think)
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
