The Michael Phelps Scandal
Feb. 6th, 2009 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norsegirlThere's a picture of the boy with a bong and the media is a-buzz. Kellogg's has pulled their sponsorship and the sporting community is thinking of suspending him because his behaviour is not aligned with their values. Everyone is talking about how this is tarnishing his image as a role model.
So here's my question to the world at large... why is someone who has achieved a physical accomplishment being held up as a role model for anything other than that? We unfailingly accept that "normal" people can be good at math and terrible at french, or good at sports but bad at theater, or a great businessman but terrible in bed. We can respect normal people for their accomplishments and skills and forgive their faults. So why do celebrities have to be "good" at everything. Especially at personal decisions?
I can understand an image being tarnished when the scandal is DIRECTLY related to your skill. Famous performer is caught lip synching at a concert, or worse, lip synching on their album (Milli Vanilli anyone?), that is a scandal and a reason to lose faith. Famous lawyer or judge caught breaking a felony law. Left-wing politician accepting bribes from big business. Fitness and nutrition guru disappears from the public eye for a year and reappears in a McDonalds shoving down an extra value meal and massively overweight. MADD volunteer arrested for drunk driving. Child welfare activist caught dealing in child pornography*. Life-long marriage advocate trading his wife in for a younger model. These all represent failure in areas you were previously thought to be successful in, areas where people held you up as an example, and would cause people to question your previous accomplishments and to lose trust in you.
In the case of Michael Phelps, marajuana use would eliminate him from my dating pool, but it doesn't influence my opinion on his athletic ability, nor would it prevent me from holding him up as an example of someone setting a goal for physical perfection and achieving it (if I was the kind of person who cared about that stuff). If he was caught using performance-enhancing substances, THEN I would believe his image was tarnished.
If your kids elevate celebrities to hero status and believe in copying everything their idol does, may I submit that maybe it's time to talk to your children about what it means to be human?
* I will admit that there are certain sins that are unforgivable in my books. Rapists, murders and people who abuse children or animals are scum, period. I don't care what accomplishments you may have, you engage in that stuff and you cease to be human to me.
So here's my question to the world at large... why is someone who has achieved a physical accomplishment being held up as a role model for anything other than that? We unfailingly accept that "normal" people can be good at math and terrible at french, or good at sports but bad at theater, or a great businessman but terrible in bed. We can respect normal people for their accomplishments and skills and forgive their faults. So why do celebrities have to be "good" at everything. Especially at personal decisions?
I can understand an image being tarnished when the scandal is DIRECTLY related to your skill. Famous performer is caught lip synching at a concert, or worse, lip synching on their album (Milli Vanilli anyone?), that is a scandal and a reason to lose faith. Famous lawyer or judge caught breaking a felony law. Left-wing politician accepting bribes from big business. Fitness and nutrition guru disappears from the public eye for a year and reappears in a McDonalds shoving down an extra value meal and massively overweight. MADD volunteer arrested for drunk driving. Child welfare activist caught dealing in child pornography*. Life-long marriage advocate trading his wife in for a younger model. These all represent failure in areas you were previously thought to be successful in, areas where people held you up as an example, and would cause people to question your previous accomplishments and to lose trust in you.
In the case of Michael Phelps, marajuana use would eliminate him from my dating pool, but it doesn't influence my opinion on his athletic ability, nor would it prevent me from holding him up as an example of someone setting a goal for physical perfection and achieving it (if I was the kind of person who cared about that stuff). If he was caught using performance-enhancing substances, THEN I would believe his image was tarnished.
If your kids elevate celebrities to hero status and believe in copying everything their idol does, may I submit that maybe it's time to talk to your children about what it means to be human?
* I will admit that there are certain sins that are unforgivable in my books. Rapists, murders and people who abuse children or animals are scum, period. I don't care what accomplishments you may have, you engage in that stuff and you cease to be human to me.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-02-06 08:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-07 12:31 am (UTC)At the time I thought that accusation was ridiculous. The fact that he did so well with that drug in his system and didn't just sit down on the mountain and munch some Cheetos is amazing.
Not that I support any sort of drug use...
Date: 2009-02-06 10:30 pm (UTC)Re: Not that I support any sort of drug use...
Date: 2009-02-07 12:31 am (UTC)