Shame on you, Olympic Gold Medal winner Michael Phelps. As a role model looked up to by millions, your public actions have the potential to influence our culture in a positive or a negative way. You chose the latter. Edmund Burke said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” You were confronted with evil and you allowed it to conquer you.
You were caught engaging in a harmless activity that was no one’s business but your own and you apologized for it! How cowardly. Stupid ideas should be debunked. Bad laws ought to be broken. Tyrannical busy-bodies ought to be defied until they learn that they don’t own other people. It’s no wonder that our supposedly free country is overrun with intrusive laws fueled by irrational taboos when such things are allowed to go unchallenged. I understand if someone doesn’t want to openly defy a law and go to jail, but that wasn’t really a risk in your case. All you had to be concerned about was your reputation and you shot that to Hell with respect to anyone who’s opinion matters when you failed to stand up for yourself and your own choices as a free person.
Oh, is someone going to say Cannabis is not harmless? Really? You mean like it might interfere with your health? Might it prevent you from being able to win gold medals in the double digits in the most demanding physical competition on Earth?! To those people, I say you need to do some pot and some stretching exercises until you’re limber enough to reach deeply into your ass and pull your head out of there. Who’s buying this nonsense anymore? Really, is anyone out there still deluded by the tired old propaganda of how dangerous and unhealthy marijuana is? Has modern culture not evolved to the point where Refer Madness is worthless for anything more than to remind us of how absurd the drug war is? It’s time to call bullshit!
It’s still against the law. If he wants to fight for new laws, he can do that. In the meantime, I would expect someone like him to understand that millions of children worldwide look to him as a “hero,” and we don’t want our “heroes” breaking the law on camera.
My greatest hero is Lauren Canario, and she’s a hero because she courageously breaks bad laws, laws that no one had a right to create or enforce in the first place. She breaks them on film for the public to see and though she shouldn’t have to, she’s often willing to go to jail if that’s what it takes to bring attention to tyranny. The drug war is one of the greatest tyrannies of our time and he wasn’t even risking jail if he would just speak up in defense of his own freedoms.
Legalize it
http://www.daroom.info
Sarah, he would be a hero to many who don’t watch swimming if he stood up for himself after breaking laws on camera. And yes, I do want celebrities to break bad laws on camera. Actually the laws themselves are already broken.
The legislators will only follow what the people tell them is going to happen anyway. They aren’t going to change from begging. It is the only way that bad laws are ever overturned.
Sarah, what’s so special about ‘the law’. The fact that you think ‘the law’ shouldn’t be broke is a fallacy that is millenniums old which was programmed into our societies by… law makers!
Great one, Dale. Both the cartoon, and the column!
speak for yourself Sarah. Stop using words like our and we.
My heroes do break unjust laws. Ghandi, Rosa Parks, etc.
My hero is Anne Franke, she heroically broke the law by not turning herself in to the authorities.
A lot of the greatest people in history were lawbreakers. Sam Adams and the guys that threw tea overboard. Pretty much all of the Continental army were “lawbreakers”. How about all those who broke the law to run the underground railroads, shuttling people out of slavery; or the slaves themselves? Should all those people have merely petitioned their masters to change the conditions of their bondage? (Note: they tried that, and it failed.)
No, the only times when any major change in justice occurred were when the oppressed rose up. Phelps could have stood up for himself, but he didn’t. Phelps is a coward and a slave.
Every Hero worthy of the name (i.e., not selling Booze, Cereal, Shoes, Sports Drinks, etc, on TV cause they can Jump, Run, or Throw) has begun thier crusade by breaking the law. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Hancock, and the other Founding Fathers of the once free United States were Traitors to the Crown of England. Declaring themselves free of Tyranny was TREASON. And not just guys get into the act. “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” is more than just another catchy soundbite.
Don’t turn smoking pot into a crusade for freedom. There is absolutely no connection between defying a king of a nation because he is unfairly driving your people into poverty for his own personal gain and getting high on a weekend for fun. You’re removing motivation completely from the equation.
Phelps didn’t smoke pot because he was a revolutionary. He smoked pot because he’s young, and that’s what young, stupid people do. You’re all making a mountain out of an ant hill.
Plus, you have to take into consideration his personal image. How good would it look to those who use him for endorsements? He might put a good portion of his financial security at stake for a blunt. I think it’s pretty obvious which one he would choose.
So stop crawling up Sarah’s ass for making a decent point. There’s a time when the law should be respected and a time when the law should be broken. This is one of the former times. At least Phelps has the maturity to own up to his mistakes, especially to the press, which is more than can be said for many celebrities.
I fucking love you, author of this post! You summed it up perfectly!
Ness, it’s the principle of the matter. How many Rights do you need to lose before you realize they’re being stripped away slowly?
Your appeal to authority is of course fallacious. As if the law-makers have all the answers. You don’t feel your freedom is in danger because you don’t even exercise it.
Have you ever smoked the stuff? If so, you probably had a negative experience, if not, you should try it, that might help mellow you out.
The fact that you post a photo of Phelps with the bulge of his penis plainly visible and with arms outstretched Christ-style shows some of the repression that doubtless motivates you to post such drivel.
One day, our nation will legalize marijuana use. I look forward to the coming of that day!
Oh woopsie.. I’ve been quite sick all weekend so forgive me, please apply my comment to any especially anal-retentive person who’s given you flak!
I don’t think he did anything wrong, except getting caught. The fact that you are being so harsh on him is ridiculous.
SarahTress misses the point, which partly is that it is a stupid law, but more importantly that “following the law” should not be the apex of human standards for behavior – that’s called fascism.
SaraTress:
Is Rosa Parks a hero?
Why?
Oh SAVE the “it’s still against the law” crap. Not a poster here that hasn’t knowingly broken the law. Not a ONE. And if you say otherwise, you are lying and you know you are lying which is, after all, a moral failing and you are influencing millions on the web with your immorality.
So for those out there that influence kids while pumped up on prescription drugs and alcohol . . . thank God it’s legal.
Oh wait. Finally. We MUST MUST MUST take any reference to the Founding Fathers out of all textbooks. Those people violated laws that were punishable by DEATH. I sure as hell don’t want people like that influencing my kids. They wanted to change those laws then petition the Crown. Don’t partake in illegal activity where people actually die as a result of your actions and try and convince my kids that people like that should be emulated.
Breaking laws that don’t involve physically harming other people or damaging/stealing property from others is the greatest thing you can do as an American. I hope children look to him and decide that they’re ready to reclaim their birthrights of freedom. In the meantime everyone else can go fuck themselves.
“In the meantime, I would expect someone like him to understand that millions of children worldwide look to him as a “hero,” and we don’t want our “heroes” breaking the law on camera.”
Sarah, you are a nitwit — unjust laws SHOULD be disobeyed!
I find often times people have this arguement that marijuana should be kept illegal. I, myself, have never used marijuana, but have tons of friends that have. Now, being in graduate school involving patient care, I can find no reason to ban marijuana. AZT, chemo, radiation therapy, morphine along with many other prescription drugs tear up the body. Why not have a free “pain reliever” that can be easily used and even eaten to get the effects of a vicodin?
Unless people can explain what’s so bad about marijuana, I really don’t see why not.
And if there are negative side effects, are they worse than the side affects of cigarettes, alcohol, or even coca-cola?
So, it’s ok for him to show his wang in public, but not to smoke a bowl in private? WTF? That’s a perfect message to show our children isn’t it?
To be honest though, do children really look up to Michael Phelps? I mean he’s a swimmer whose won gold medals and that’s about it. (And no, I’m not saying it’s easy to do, I wouldn’t know anything about that.)
I had no idea who the guy was until I saw those cellphone commercials about him and personally swimming is not something heroic in my opinion. You know what’s heroic? Being a policeman or a fireman – All those police officers and fireman that helped out for events like 9-11. That’s heroic.
Personally, I don’t find anything wrong with smoking a bowl occasionally in the privacy of your own home. It’s actually beneficial to your health in some instances. Grant it, passing anything through your lungs is not healthy, but the high could help with pain or anxiety. I’m NOT saying it’s for everyone and people who smoke wouldn’t force it on anyone, so what’s the big deal?
Alcohol and Cigarettes have been known for deaths and are legal, yet Marijuana has no deaths related to it and is illegal. – Just think about it.
He is just a man who won a bunch of medals for being a 100th of a second faster then the other swimmers. But, like all famous people in the world he is placed on a high pedestal that he cannot stay on and so when this average man does something that is wrong in most views he is condemned. People, don’t worship celebs they are not worth it. Be smart and worship the one TRUE god.
I saw the first comment and immediately thought… well it turns out what most of you thought. Sophia Magdalena Scholl is one of my heroes and she broke the law with enthusiam. By doing so she, her brother, her friends and Oscar Schindler (another law-breaking reprobate) basically prevented an entire nation from being seen as entirely corrupt.
Of course another question has to be asked and that is “Why would anyone use someone who relies on fame and approval as a role model?”. Think about it these people, known as “celebrities” have to behave in ways approved of by various people, rather than the way directed by morality. They have to be seen to be righteous in someone’s eyes, which we all know is how most people end up being unrighteous. Only be going against the flow, by saying know to those that try to influence you, can you truly be moral and wise. Celebrities have every reason not to do this, as demonstrated by this case.
I’ll add my two cents in, this time without adjusting for inflation since the saying came into effect.
What moral value is there in the law? Ever? Either “the law” is a reflection of true morality, in which case the action that breaks it is inherently immoral without the law behind it, or it’s some bullshit that has nothing to do with morality, in which case at the least you haven’t become an immoral scumbag by breaking it. The mistake a lot of people make is that there are laws which are concerning such things as killing and thieving. It’s like you’re saying it’s okay to kill, steal, rape, pillage, etc. because you believe law should never be the guide for moral action. A bit like the christians who believe you cannot be moral without following the bible.
Well, I’m here today to say bullshit. Law is not morality. Neither are biblical codes of law thousands of years old. We can be moral without giving two shakes of a shitstick (or a buddha, hope you get the ref) about the law. And Phelps could’ve taken this golden opportunity to say “What I did was not immoral, and I shouldn’t be getting any shit just because it was illegal. This law is wrong!” Instead he apologizes, and it’s not gonna save his sponsorship deals even. He proved he was human, and that’s not what people want on their cereal. He could’ve been a hero, stood up to peer pressure and the law. He didn’t. So he’s just human. I’m neither disappointed, nor surprised. This is a society of ass-covering, and nothing else should be expected. It can’t last much longer, however.
Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank (not to mention the family that hid them), Lauren Canario, all great heroes. anytime i’m tempted to feel superior to anyone i think of Laura’s quiet bravery and dedication and am humbled.
and how bout Wesley Snipes, there was someone who unapologetically drew the line in the sand. that was a high price to pay just to make a statement, and from someone who had so much to lose; you can only admire his courage.
“Ghandi, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank (not to mention the family that hid them), Lauren Canario, all great heroes. ”
Rosa Parks? Seriously? How silly is it to make a fuss over where you sit on a bus? Why did she have to go and cause all that disruption over a silly bus seat? I mean, she could have just gone to the back of the bus when she was told. It was THE RULE, after all.
Guess my two-cents will now cost 10 dollars with our new blank check….And who are we to question a law? When are we going to get lawyers out of the legislature…there ought to be a law about that. And when are we going to stop electing bleeding hearts to the position of Commander in Chief.
The only people who should be pissed are the
poor bastards, who were next to take a hit.
You just know that every time that big lunged SOB inhales
The joint is gone, the bong is empty etc etc !
Pat, are you accusing Michael Phelps of bogarting the pot!?
Did the photographer seek his permission to take the photo, let alone publish it? The photographer is just as guilty of breaking the law, although I doubt he/she has won a gold medal.
Ness: on the contrary, there does not exist any time when the law should be respected. Moral principles (eg, “don’t murder people”) deserve respect. Laws never deserve respect, even on the exceedingly-rare instances when they copy a moral principle.
When laws are respected, there is tyranny.
I totaly agree. Pot smokers are the greatest athletes. This is what our company has been saying for over 2 years. Marijuana Muscle Changing the Stereotype!
He replied because the difference between a not big deal and a not big deal is in this case an apology.
A great fictional hero is Hank Rearden.
On Feb. 12, 1809 a man was born who was a hero. A man who to this day is admired by many people and his likeness is on currency. He wore a beard. That man is Charles Darwin. He is on UK currency. You probably thought I was refering to someone else. No that other guy is no hero to me.
Sam Adams has been mentioned and yes he was a great hero and the original American grass roots liberty activist organizer. Thomas Paine- George Mason- Albert Gallatin- Patrick Henry. Henry and Gallatin wer not in favor of replacing the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution. Mason was one of the very few delegates who did not sign the constitution. In fact Mason served only term in the VA House of Burgesses and only after he was practically begged by others to hold office. He wrote the VA Declaration of Rights. Mason didn’t like politics and he was not a compromiser. Also Thoreau, Benjamin Tucker, and Spooner.
@Sarah,
Heroes are those who break the rules of the slave masters. All the greatest heroes in history broke laws publicly, and did not apologize for it.
Heh-hi, Aaron.
Yeah, heroes shouldn’t break laws on camera. Like…uh, Harriet Tubman. Helping slaves escape! Shocking! She should have changed the law through voting!
Look Micheal Phelps isn’t retarded, the fact is he is tied up in sponsorships, making tons of money through that. If he spoke out against making pot illegal, companies who kept him as their sponsors would face problems, too much to make it affordable. You can’t expect Phelps to speak out against pot use, when he’s indirectly being paid tons of money to apologize. Even if didn’t lose all his sponsorships, it is likely, or at least a moderately high chance that he would lose even more money than he lost just because of the incident. It was in his self interest to go and apologize, give him a break. It takes a strong man to turn down all that money, and I bet many of us would have probably do the same. Perhaps after his career is over, after he loses most of his sponsorships, he’ll make a new statement. To expect a normal person to refuse a large sum of money, because of principle, and for freedom, especially since he might be able to speak later about it, is way too much to expect from a person. Remember, it wasn’t he that he did nothing, it was if I don’t apologize today, I lose a lot of my income.
@Matt
“It takes a strong man to turn down all that money, and I bet many of us would have probably do the same.”
That is exactly why we are disappointed in him. By a reasonable measure of total gold medals, Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever. I expect a man like that to be strong. Phelps revealed himself to be weak. His apology invites all of society to treat pot smokers like second class citizens, regardless of any of their accomplishments. The only just, principled response to marijuana prohibition is righteous indignation. Phelps would rather pander to the inane, coercive demands of power hungry institutions than stand up for his completely justified actions. I think that shows poor moral character. I think it shows personal weakness. It may be typically human, but that only tells me that we ALL need to be a lot better than we are. It’s disappointing that not even a hero can make a stand.
a citizen has every right in the U.S to break the law if they disagree. Such as Rosa Parks sitting in the front of the bus, that was against the law too at that point and with out her standing up for herself things might be diffrnt today!
“It’s still against the law. If he wants to fight for new laws, he can do that. In the meantime, I would expect someone like him to understand that millions of children worldwide look to him as a “hero,” and we don’t want our “heroes” breaking the law on camera.”
Founding fathers?
SarahTress: STFU. I can think of 100 different ways he could have played it off as innocent. You have no idea what, if anything, was in that bong.
JUST LEGALIZE IT AND CALL IT A DAY ‘NUFF SAID!
What he did was in private & the people that were with him doing the same thing as him, exploited him by selling the pics of him smoking. The thing that is most unsettling about it. Is that Both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton admitted to smoking marijuana, as did Al Gore and John Kerry. Obama has admitted doing the same. & none of them have caught as much flack as Michael Phelps.