Opinion: What Steve Kerr and Beto O'Rourke are exposing for all the world to see
Opinion by Peniel Joseph
Millions of Americans have responded to the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde with wrenching and public displays of anger, sadness and rage against the nations broken political system. This latest tragedy comes a little more than one week after 10 people were killed in a racist hate crime that purposefully targeted Buffalos Black community. The massacre in Uvalde coincided, almost to the day, with the second anniversary of George Floyds murder.
Two years later it is worth questioning: how much has really changed?
Thats a question without a satisfying answer. But as so many in America grieve and grapple with their anger, its striking that a chorus of White men are among the loudest and most visible voices exposing the fundamental crisis of American democracy, for all the world to see. There is something particularly significant about the fact that three high-profile White men, all leaders in different fields, are speaking out about the underlying crisis that allowed the horrors in Uvalde and elsewhere to continue unabated. So much of contemporary American politics seems to pit people of color on one side and a declining White majority on the other. And yet Steve Kerr, Matthew McConaughey and Beto ORourke all serve as courageous models for a progressive White male identity that challenges systems of oppression, speaks truth to power and confronts the divisions of our current moment by publicly highlighting the gap between the nations professed values and a more bitter reality that allows nineteen children to be killed in such grotesque fashion.
Steve Kerr, the three-time NBA championship-winning head coach of the Golden State Warriors, conducted a news conference Tuesday that turned into a bold political sermon. When are we going to do something? demanded Kerr, who challenged all Americans to let their voices be heard and to demand justice in the memory of those lost in Uvalde and Buffalo. Kerr, a longtime advocate for gun reform whose own family has been touched by violence, has a history of making powerful political statements.
There was also actor Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde. He released a statement after the shooting that openly questioned the nations moral and political values. We cannot exhale, make excuses, and once again accept these realities as the status quo, observed McConaughey.
A similarly enraged Beto ORourke, a former presidential contender now running for Texas governor, interrupted a Wednesday news conference with Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, to publicly accuse Abbott of doing nothing to halt gun violence, besides perfunctory statements and news conferences that avoid the heart of the issue. Abbott is currently scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention Friday in Houston.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/opinions/uvalde-mass-shooting-kerr-mcconaughey-orourke-joseph/index.html
elleng
(130,865 posts)all leaders in different fields, are speaking out about the underlying crisis that allowed the horrors in Uvalde and elsewhere to continue unabated.'
I agree, significant, and hope it continues.
babylonsister
(171,056 posts)they have so much more class and compassion than the politicians.
elleng
(130,865 posts)agingdem
(7,845 posts)this is the National RIFLE Association...not Woodstock...
babylonsister
(171,056 posts)the attention.
calimary
(81,212 posts)Just a guess. Agent, manager, whoever, just looking to get them out on more stages in front of more people, especially if they have a new album or single or film or whatever to promote.
Again, just a guess. I know some celebrities, especially in the Country/Western world, ordinarily have no problem with this particular audience. But maybe even for them, the ol' "now is not the time" thing may step in.
Frankly, I would not want to have my client performing for that audience. I think the guilt-by-association thing would be screaming at me. But hey, what do I know, at this point? The exposure's good. And those folks have discretionary income to buy albums with.