One of the more fascinating phenomenas we\u2019ve witnessed as of late \u2014 and remember, \u201cfascinating\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to good \u2014 is this quiet recognition of the benefits of having an enemy. Having an enemy gives us something to fight against. It inflames our passions\u2026 makes us rise up\u2026 calls us to action!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Or as Jakub Grygiel wrote in The American Interest <\/em>in 2018,<\/em>\u201cThe enemy provides an organizing principle for our strategy.\u201d We \u201ccompete with them and defeat them \u2014 yes, of course.\u201d But no doubt before that, \u201cwe can benefit from them.\u201d And alas, we can benefit even if the enemy doesn\u2019t really exist.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at how we justify talking about politics. It\u2019s almost as if the tribes \u2014 I mean parties \u2014 encourage <\/em>viewing the other as the enemy. That goes for the parties, Presidents, pundits, you-name-it. It oft seems they spend more time creating and condemning enemies than actually finding solution to the underlying problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenge then is that when our leaders resort to such dishonorable behavior, it begins to play out in other circles. Note, for example, what began to unfold last month on the college campus\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duke\u2019s volleyball team was playing against Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. Rachel Richardson, the only black starter on the team, said after the match that she was \u201ctargeted and racially heckled throughout the entirety of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She shared this with her godmother, a criminal defense attorney, currently running for office in Texas, who then tweeted: \u201cMy Goddaughter is the only black starter for Dukes [sic] volleyball team. While playing yesterday, she was called a [n-word] every time she served. She was threatened by a white male that told her to watch her back going to the team bus. A police officer had to be put by their bench.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the next two weeks, an enemy was created. The story went viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richardson\u2019s father spoke with multiple media outlets. In his interview with the New York Times,<\/em> he described an alarming scene. Even though the racial slurs continued, his daughter just tried \u201cto keep her head down and continue playing.\u201d He added, \u201cAs the crowd got more hyped and the epithets kept coming, she wanted to respond back but she told me she was afraid that, if she did, the raucous crowd could very well turn into a mob mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her own interviews, Rachel herself said that as the match progressed, the \u201catmosphere of the student section had changed,\u201d growing \u201cmore extreme, more intense.\u201d Increasingly more, then, we went after the enemy\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n LeBron James tweeted his emphatic support. The Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, released a statement of disgust. The University of South Carolina women\u2019s basketball team cancelled their upcoming game in November. The Washington Post, CNN, Sports Illustrated, NPR,<\/em> etc. each published pieces decrying the incident. Note MSNBC\u2019s<\/em> headline: \u201cThe racism on display at Brigham Young Friday fits a historical pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To their credit, BYU also quickly issued an apology, starting with \u201cAll of God\u2019s children deserve love and respect.\u201d Indeed they do. There is no place for racism and bigotry in a wise, thriving society. And not only did BYU apologize, they also swiftly banned the fan deemed primarily responsible from all university athletic venues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s only one rather significant problem. As the weeks and investigation continued, zero evidence<\/em> has been found of any <\/em>of the above happening to Richardson or her teammates. There is no evidence of even a single slur. More than 5,000 people were in the arena that day. None of the big cameras covering the court or all the smaller cameras in people\u2019s hands offer evidence supporting Richardson\u2019s account. No one has acknowledged hearing any such utterance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let it be said that evidence could still be forthcoming, and again, in no situation should we be supportive of such disparaging behavior. Perhaps, too, Richardson genuinely felt unsafe, but didn\u2019t have an accurate grasp of why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But let it also be said: what does it say about our journalism when the sources rush to judgment with zero evidence or corroboration? And what does it say about what happens when we create an enemy? There are some reports that the young man banned is mentally disabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fascinating, as well, no doubt, is that the journalistic source that broke the story that there exists no corroborating evidence was none of the media outlets mentioned above. It also wasn\u2019t ABC, CBS,<\/em> or NBC<\/em> \u2014 none of the national outlets. No. It was the Cougar Chronicle, <\/em>the BYU student paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember: fascinating doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of the more fascinating phenomenas we\u2019ve witnessed as of late \u2014 and remember, \u201cfascinating\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily equate to good \u2014 is this quiet recognition of the benefits of having an enemy. Having an enemy gives us something to fight against. It inflames our passions\u2026 makes us rise up\u2026 calls us to action! Or as … <\/p>\n