Commentary on Phelps and Pot...

[traderx]

Kellogg drops Phelps.

Kellogg to drop Phelps over pot smoking photo - Yahoo! News

 

[LuciferSam]

Why do they need a hero? Have you ever told a kid, "Do as I say, not as I do?" It doesn't fly. They're teenaged boys. They want the fame and fortune that Phelps and other athletes/entertainers have. They're human. They want to take the easy road. Some of them have had some hard knocks already. The bar has been set pretty low.

When they see someone who has succeeded with integrity, they know that nice guys don't always finish last. When they see someone who has worked his tail off, beat the odds, and stayed out of trouble, they know that they can do it, too, and that maybe it will be worth it. Teaching them to "think for themselves" and to have personal responsibility has absolutely no meaning if you can't show them success stories. Sheesh--why would they buy into a system that they've never seen work?

As for lumping Phelps with Vick and O.J.--yes, that was a stretch. The boy apologized, and that also takes cajones. But I was disappointed after his DUI. I hoped that he would learn from that. Now I won't be surprised by anything he does. (And it hasn't escaped my notice that, like many of my boys, he grew up with an absent father. Sad situation--I'd love to see that cycle broken.)

My boys don't see the news during the week. If they see Phelps story over the weekend, what should I say to them? (What if I taught YOUR son?) "Hey, kiddo--work hard, be responsible, shoot for the stars, and smoke a little pot. It won't hurt you, and it should be legal anyway. It has absolutely no harmful consequences, and shouldn't get in the way of your ambitions in any way. While you're at it, get ****faced next weekend. I'm sure you can handle it, and it will be legal in a few years..."

Tell them what you should have been telling them all along. Tell them not to try to be like Michael Phelps or any other celebrity. Tell them they should try to be the best person they can be using their own unique talents. In our celebrity obsessed culture I realize that it's difficult even for some adults to think that way.

 

[traderx]

USA Swimming has banned Phelps for three months. I bet there is more to come.

USA Swimming suspends Phelps for 3 months - Yahoo! Sports

 

[Matt J]

My boys don't see the news during the week. If they see Phelps story over the weekend, what should I say to them? (What if I taught YOUR son?) "Hey, kiddo--work hard, be responsible, shoot for the stars, and smoke a little pot. It won't hurt you, and it should be legal anyway. It has absolutely no harmful consequences, and shouldn't get in the way of your ambitions in any way. While you're at it, get ****faced next weekend. I'm sure you can handle it, and it will be legal in a few years..."

I don't think anyone has advocated telling teenagers that pot should be legal. With some of traderx's posts above you can point out that it was a bad choice on his part, he's lost a sponsorship and been banned for 3 months.

P.S. These are teenage boys that idolize Phelps? I don't think drugs is the issue here, seems like a better chance of the ones in love with him winding up in a bad gang of drag queens.

 

[NoHall]

Tell them what you should have been telling them all along. Tell them not to try to be like Michael Phelps or any other celebrity. Tell them they should try to be the best person they can be using their own unique talents. In our celebrity obsessed culture I realize that it's difficult even for some adults to think that way.

I don't think anyone has advocated telling teenagers that pot should be legal. With some of traderx's posts above you can point out that it was a bad choice on his part, he's lost a sponsorship and been banned for 3 months.

P.S. These are teenage boys that idolize Phelps? I don't think drugs is the issue here, seems like a better chance of the ones in love with him winding up in a bad gang of drag queens.

They don't idolize Phelps or any other celebrity (or drag queens.) They are lost. They follow anyone who will lead them: "Hey! Lets go smoke in the stairwell and light the bathroom on fire!" "Hey! Great idea!"

But where are the good role models?* Lucifer Sam says they're only in fiction. As for the flesh-and-blood examples, we have to cut and paste their good parts. It makes me sad to know that there have been so many awful teachers that I can't even hug one of my students when he's upset or hurt.

I don't mean to make a mountain out of a molehill, either--Toots is right to still be proud of Phelps. He has worked really hard, and he is obviously already paying for this mistake.

* Here's a bright side: As I'm typing, I'm thinking of a few: Paul Newman. Harry Connick, Jr. Prince William--I really hope that kid continues to keep his nose as clean as he has so far! Dara Torres. Even Brangelina is making a name for themselves as philanthropists. Bill and Melinda Gates.

I don't know if any of you have heard of Micah Owings, but he's a young baseball player who was with the Diamondbacks and is now with the Reds. (2007 Silver Slugger award. Google him--crazy.) His younger brother is in the minors, and they have 3 other siblings who are all in different ministries and/or run charitable foundations.

There are a few heroes out there...

 

[Beach Runner]

USA Swimming has banned Phelps for three months. I bet there is more to come.

USA Swimming suspends Phelps for 3 months - Yahoo! Sports

He also got dropped by Kellogg's.
Phelps suspended from competition, dropped by Kellogg - CNN.com

This is why I called him a moron in another post. When I tried pot as a college student, I wasn't in jeopardy of losing millions or even being arrested. Tulane "legalized" marijuana on campus. He is in a totally different situation.

 

[LuciferSam]

Getting suspended is tough. Maybe he can do Shamwow commercials. Olympic divers "use it as a tawel", so why not swimmers?

 

[scooterbug44]

I'm not disappointed in Phelps because I need a perfect celebrity on a pedestal to validate my life, I am disappointed in Phelps because I know firsthand what kind of hard work and sacrifice it takes to be a swimmer of that caliber - and he threw it away for drugs (you can justify it all you want, but it's still an illegal drug that ruins people's lives in a variety of ways).

Anyone who scoffs at the importance of a good role model doesn't work with kids. The rare person famous for his hard work and talent is now a punchline whose 10,000 calories a day are for the "munchies" not because he works 5x harder than the rest of the population.

Regardless of your views on whether or not pot should be illegal, whether or not people should be taking pics of him and sending it to the media, and what you consider acceptable as a way to unwind - he chose to risk his health, his future, and his place in history because some stranger handed him a bong full of an unknown substance and he said yes.

 

[Bob]

Why do they need a hero? Have you ever told a kid, "Do as I say, not as I do?" It doesn't fly. They're teenaged boys. They want the fame and fortune that Phelps and other athletes/entertainers have. They're human. They want to take the easy road. Some of them have had some hard knocks already. The bar has been set pretty low.

When they see someone who has succeeded with integrity, they know that nice guys don't always finish last. When they see someone who has worked his tail off, beat the odds, and stayed out of trouble, they know that they can do it, too, and that maybe it will be worth it. Teaching them to "think for themselves" and to have personal responsibility has absolutely no meaning if you can't show them success stories. Sheesh--why would they buy into a system that they've never seen work?

As for lumping Phelps with Vick and O.J.--yes, that was a stretch. The boy apologized, and that also takes cajones. But I was disappointed after his DUI. I hoped that he would learn from that. Now I won't be surprised by anything he does. (And it hasn't escaped my notice that, like many of my boys, he grew up with an absent father. Sad situation--I'd love to see that cycle broken.)

My boys don't see the news during the week. If they see Phelps story over the weekend, what should I say to them? (What if I taught YOUR son?) "Hey, kiddo--work hard, be responsible, shoot for the stars, and smoke a little pot. It won't hurt you, and it should be legal anyway. It has absolutely no harmful consequences, and shouldn't get in the way of your ambitions in any way. While you're at it, get ****faced next weekend. I'm sure you can handle it, and it will be legal in a few years..."

meanwhile the olympics accept official beer sponsorships. alcohol is the american way! yeeha! frank shorter, olympic marathon gold medalist remarked that he often thought of post workout beer during training. had he said he was getting high, he would have been a pariah. as a society we are surely selective about our buzzes.

 

[Bob]

He also got dropped by Kellogg's.
Phelps suspended from competition, dropped by Kellogg - CNN.com

This is why I called him a moron in another post. When I tried pot as a college student, I wasn't in jeopardy of losing millions or even being arrested. Tulane "legalized" marijuana on campus. He is in a totally different situation.

kellogg is not renewing his contract....kellogg, the purveyors of millions of pounds of sugar encrusted grains to our little pre-olympians!