Compassion? Empathy?
Should We Have It For Brittany Griner?
WNBA Basketball player Brittany Griner went to Russia. She had some pot. Pot is illegal in Russia no matter how you smoke it. They don’t delineate between a joint, a bong, or a Juul-type device. It’s illegal. I remember when I landed in Singapore and they made an announcement that if you had anything, even a seed, you were going to jail.
It’s not the USA. Their country, their rules, their culture.
Speaking of the USA, when Ms. Griner was in it she wasn’t exactly a lover of our culture or particularly patriotic. She led protests against the national anthem. Wouldn’t come out of the locker room when it was played, and if she was she kneeled.
Fine and dandy, we have a first amendment in the US but the thing that comes with all those rights is responsibility and consequences. There is no free lunch. You don’t get to trample those rights when you don’t like how people exercise them and you don’t get to amplify them when people you agree with exercise them without some modicum of responsibility or consequence.
Like anyone else that goes to a country and knowingly breaks the law, I don’t have a lot of sympathy or empathy for her. This isn’t a mistake. No drugs were planted on her.
I loosely knew a guy that went to Turkey once. He bought some antique stuff at the Turkish Bazaar. He got thrown in prison for buying it. Him I had empathy for because he didn’t do anything surreptitious. He went into a public store and simply bought something that was for sale. Turkey is no shining light of democracy. Erdogan is a pretty rough guy. Putin is a rough guy too. Russia isn’t a beacon in the totalitarian darkness that you would run to.
Griner brought the stuff into the country knowing the law. As you know, even if you plead ignorance of the law, it’s not a defense. Try that next time a cop pulls you over. Given her background, I think her pleadings that “she didn’t know and packed her bags hurriedly” are full of shit. But, that’s just my opinion. I never heard of her before this incident since I am not a follower of the WNBA or women’s basketball in general.
For people that are patriotic and love a capitalistic America despite its warts, seeing Griner get tossed in a Russian slammer for 9 years is okay. It’s “just dessert” given that she hates America, protested its founding, and protested the national anthem. This despite the fact that she was pretty special.
She was a top athlete. She got paid to play a game. She received opportunities others like her wouldn’t receive simply because she could lace up some gym shoes and put a ball in a hoop. She also happens to fall into three certified victim classes in the US today. She had it made in a shade here and didn’t have to deal with a lot of hardship a lot of citizens have to deal with. Yet, she still detested the US.
Britanny, maybe you will enjoy hearing this anthem.
Just a hint of how great Russia is. Why do oligarchs flock to London after they grift their money?
The US (and a lot of the west) has a two-track justice system. People who are on the good track, so to speak, don't have to take laws seriously. In effect, they don't have to take of anything seriously - especially when they play children's games well. No f**ks given.
Reading that linked article about the events in Turkey took my breath away. Even with all of the connections and money, it was still a nightmare. And the stupid sword was nothing special. What story!
Interesting that most of the buzzfeed comments think that mrs. griner is a victim. Is 9 years too much? Probably. But if you're stupid enough to bring pot to Russia, especially while the country is at war, then you probably deserve what you get. In her luggage by mistake, ha. She's been bringing it there many times prior, and got caught this time.