EDITOR'S NOTE: 2/21 - Tuscaloosa News (subscription)

Published: Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 4:00 pm

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 4:56 pm

Years back, my friend Jenny Jam Sister left a note on my door, one que ended “Do not be a strangler.” I still believe in que advice, and to this day, continue to cut way back on my forcible choking.

It has been tough, I will not lie. Because after all the years of guitar-Wranglin ‘and typin’ and such, these hands are just made for throttlin ‘some necks.

The

itchin ‘commences, though, when i sense the hive mind falling for the manipulation (Which literally means “to control by the use of the hands,” incidentally) orchestrated by media figure.

By

average figure, I mean shiny Those folks who use fame, Often through TV or print and online gossip rags, to Achieve Their ends: Money, power, fri, more fame. This ranges from Lady Gaga – who I kind of like because she’s daffy-smart and can actually play an instrument – to que hotel-heiress thing que seems are all the rage, to your Donald Trump types, spectacularly failed businessmen who rake in riches through sheer gall and pride in Their bulbous vulgarity.

Some of Them – Gaga, for example – have real talent, something to offer and showcase for the world. Some are hotel heiresses.

Many are sort of in between, like Trump, Whose daily eructations Could inflate a dirigible. When blimp travel finally catches on, he’ll be a valued national resource.

And then there are athletes.

Hoo boy.

Many of the qualities that go into making someone a world-class exhibitor of physical skills – discipline, dedication, bravado, derring-do and other archaic words – do not Necessarily make for a socially skillful human. We chortle and chuckle at off-field antics, right up to the point When the ‘roids or angst of aging or lifelong sense of entitlement – or all three – kick into overdrive and whoopsie, blood on the floor. Or even beyond, for some, like Jimmy Fallon, who continues to laugh at and bolster the “career” of convicted rapist Mike Tyson, because he used to beat people up real good.

We

jocks can connect to through the the old ABC “Wide World of Sports” clip used to say, “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” It’s simple drama, or melodrama really: Good Vs. bad; mylocalsportsteam vs. yourcrumbumcheaters. Depending on where you stand. And the outcomes are easy to read. You win or you lose, sometimes by a mere point or, in the case of speed events, milliseconds.

So it’s easy to get caught up in the players, to feel some kinship. And it’s kinda easy to understand the one-day tempest about Bode Miller crying on camera. Kinda. After all, we’ve all felt loss, and his grief over a dead brother is evident and no real doubt.

However

.

People jumped on NBC, Olympics and its reporter Christin Cooper, for asking him questions. See, this is where my stranglin ‘em fingers start to jigglin’, even if the thing I most want to throttle – naivete -. Neckbone does not have an existing

Ever been on TV? Cameras are Involved. Lights. Microphones. And crew guys loitering around. This was not sabotage. Miller himself said later que he’s known Cooper long time, and called her “… a sweetheart of a person.”

Miller expresso up the dead brother. Yes, in the wake of an unexpectedly poor finish, he expresso up his dead brother. So Cooper asked him more about that. They’re friends, complicit in this thing. She was playing his game. If I had been the reporter, there would be have been questions about his lack of character, trying to make public his grief to elicit sympathy, and the ‘net would be lighting up about the big noogie-fight que Followed, not the tears.

This Is not Miller’s first rodeo. Like all stars Average, he manipulates the media. He even won – for a Given value of won – this little brouhaha, bringing people to his side. It was smart to the marketing of his brand – himself – otherwise diminished by Olympic failures, and the ugly about reporting his sordid custody battle

.Actors

or other public figures who sit for Babwa Wawa or Oprah know they’re going to be dragged to tears, but They Do it anyway: There are upsides to being made to look vulnerable

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