Sure, I admit that to some, we are witnessing a time period that may seem a little strange. A black man is president, a white man is MVP of the NBA Finals and a white RUNNING BACK graces the cover of Madden Football. But those facts, odd and extraordinary as they may be, do not give anyone the right to assume that our society now runs entirely counter to all accepted norms and common decency; that the expectations of civility, shared experience and solidarity with those who have suffered in kind should all be tossed out the window; and, for the millionth time in the past few years, just because somebody puts a microphone in front of somebody’s lips doesn’t obligate said person to open their mouth – even and especially if the microphone is possibly one last stepping-stone back into a once bright but short-lived spotlight.
For those of you who don’t know, here’s a brief overview of this entry’s antagonist: David Tyree literally used his head in making one of the most dramatic, unlikely and memorable catches in recent Super-Bowl history, a catch that turned the tide in one of the NFL’s most shocking upsets of all time as the New York Giants defeated the heavily favored, undefeated New England Patriots.
Unfortunately, Tyree failed to use his head in the past few days, instead opting to blather on about a delicate subject, arguing a point difficult enough to defend in and of itself, but as a member of a minority group, his stance remains utterly and embarrassingly hypocritical and, frankly, despicable.
If you don’t have the foggiest clue what David Tyree has said over the past week or so, please refer to the following hyperlinks: from ESPN here, and yesterday’s even more ridiculous follow-on from USA Today here.
Bottom line: How dare you, David Tyree?
No matter what you may believe as it relates to another human being’s right to marry, based on religion, economic ramifications or “common sense” as Tyree calls it, you need to keep it to yourself, unless you are arguing the other side and trying to usher in long-overdue change to some archaic and indefensible marital laws.
But if you yourself are part of a minority group, a group that has only recently gained long-overdue changes in archaic and indefensible civil rights legislation itself, then HOW DARE YOU publicly question and dishonor another minority group’s effort to effect similar change.
As a black man, you should be ashamed of yourself. Even if these comments were made entirely from a religious point of view – which you admitted they weren’t – you need to understand a few crucial points:
1) The scripture you quote and rely on as your ultimate truth also heavily features slavery throughout;
2) The general populace that supports and bolsters your logic are by and large the very people who once owned slaves themselves in our country, who don’t believe in evolution, and the same Red State Bible-thumpers who elected GWB not once but twice – a president who set the civil rights movement and African Americans in general back decades during his administration;
3) But most importantly, even if you are so convinced that you are right regarding some religious objection to gay marriage that it hurts you inside, you still should keep your friggin’ mouth shut and disconnect your social media accounts because, according to you and the rest of the ignorant homophobes, God will cast final and eternal judgment. You need not judge or act in any way, for a homosexual’s time on earth is minimal compared to an eternity post-damnation.
And god did not “orchestrate” that freak play so that one day, nearly four years later, you would have a podium to regain the spotlight that faded so quickly after you made that catch. Your talent was marginal to begin with, and therefore luck was imperative for you to ever make a play of consequence. Without the talent to maintain a career in the NFL, you needed to focus on you, David Tyree. Not others. You. But looking in the mirror every day became unbearable, didn’t it. Where did the attention go? Why isn’t my mug on magazine covers anymore? Why doesn’t anyone talk about me? And so you needed to go find the attention again, didn’t you? And what better way to secure the limelight than to open fire on another minority group by weighing in on a polarizing argument.
And then you had the audacity to ask the bleeding heart Bible Belt nation to pray for you because you are being targeted on all sides – despite the fact that you opened yourself up for the backlash over and over again by daring rational humans to refute your ridiculous rhetoric.
But your unbelievably moronic arguments and rants didn’t limit themselves to just religious reasoning. No way. You used political arguments too, didn’t you? A choice jewel in your original rant was the following enlightened musing regarding the possibility of gay marriage becoming legal: “What I know will happen if this does come forth is this will be the beginning of our country sliding toward, it is a strong word, but anarchy. The moment we have, if you trace back even to other cultures, other countries, that will be the moment where our society in itself loses its grip with what’s right.”
These wise words, spilling from the lips of a black man, whose ancestors marched and protested and fought for their own liberties, and certainly for his right to earn millions of dollars in the NFL playing a game for a living.
But this is no game David Tyree.
Finally, religious and political reasoning be damned, you went for the trump card, didn’t you? You argued your point on the grounds of “common sense.” And it is in the twisted logic of this unreasoned argument that you truly incited me to write this open letter and air my grievances with you and all the rest of the ass clowns out there who continue to boggle my mind with what can’t be described any other way than as insight into the decline of Western civilization.
“This is what I do know, you can’t teach something that you don’t have,” Tyree said. “So two men will never be able to show a woman how to be a woman. And that’s just simple. That’s just for a lack of better terms, common sense.”
Oh My Fucking God! I can’t believe a 30+ year old man and graduate of Syracuse University could say such a thing. Frankly, I can’t believe a learning disabled 4 year old could say such a thing. But you did, didn’t you, David Tyree? You played the common sense card.
Fact: According to the U.S. Census, from the perspective of children’s living arrangements, over 50 percent of African American children lived in mother-only households in 2004, again the highest of all racial groups. Even today, more African American children are raised without a father or father figure than any other ethnicity in America.
So again, David Tyree, an African American yourself, HOW DARE YOU?!
Homosexual men have mothers and sisters, and we all know they have female friends. So while your concerns are noted, they are pointless.
You battled alcoholism and crack addiction throughout your adolescence. In 2004 you were arrested for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute. And when you were released from prison you discovered your girlfriend was pregnant with your second child. She presented you with an ultimatum, and you “found god” in an effort to turn your life around. A noble act indeed – I fully support your decision.
But your newfound spirituality was YOUR ticket back to the path of the righteous. It has nothing to do with anyone else. YOU made mistakes. YOU jeopardized your own life and the lives of those close to you. It is YOUR own actions that precipitated and necessitated a spiritual change. Why are you concerned with the actions of anyone else as long as said actions cause nobody any physical harm? What are you worried about? Are you homosexual yourself and simply expressing your disgust and confusion regarding your own feelings by lashing out?
Once upon a time, you used your head to make a great catch David Tyree. Luck was certainly involved, but there is no doubt you made the catch that changed the game.
Now please, I beg of you, and all those who vocally and publicly agree with you, use your head again and keep your mouth shut.
We would all prefer to remember you, David Tyree, as the man who made the spectacular catch to help the Giants win Super Bowl XLII, and not the man who used his fading celebrity to endorse a cause that is wrong on every possible level, and even more so by a man of your color.
Regards,
IDROS
idontrollonshabbas 