Why do You Stand?

It is not often that you hear an elite level athlete make a statement about society that angers many people. Statements that athletes make are normally minimal and not detailed, so that there will not be too much controversy attached to their name. Kobe Bryant did just this recently, calling out black America, specifically the Miami Heat, for collectively taking one side in the Trayvon Martin case.

Bryant said about the situation, “I won’t react to something just because I’m supposed to, because I’m an African-American. That argument doesn’t make any sense to me. So we want to advance as a society and a culture, but, say, if something happens to an African-American we immediately come to his defense? Yet you want to talk about how far we’ve progressed as a society? Well… then don’t jump to somebody’s defense just because they’re African-American. You sit and you listen to the facts just like you would in any other situation, right?”

Bryant’s words carry a lot of truth. He says that his reason for doing things will not be because his fellow African-Americans do it. That would just create more stereotypes and be counterintuitive to any anti-racism movement. Bryant says that people need to defend others based on evidence, not based on skin color.

I am not here to take a side on the whole Trayvon Martin case. Obviously I think it is horrible that someone died. I do happen to agree with Kobe, because his words are so insightful. I see people all around me in my life make decisions and take stances without actually looking at evidence, and instead going with the crowd. This lesson that Bryant gives transcends the world of racism and can be applied to many different things. Some people hold political views without doing any research as to what exactly they believe and why they believe it. Instead, they let other people think for them, like the media. If you take a stance on an issue, make sure you are taking the stance intelligently, and not just going with the flow.

Read more here.

Comment below to weigh in.