Jeremy Lin Vs. A Disgusting America

Every time I find a little bit of pride in being from the United States of America, something immediately reminds me why the country makes me sick to my stomach. Enter: Jeremy Lin. He’s absolutely fantastic. In basketball terms from a youth who grew up in the urban areas of the northeastern U.S., “son is mad nice with the handles.” That, Jeremy Lin is. I don’t wish to highlight his story about his struggles. While interesting, I shrug it off. Everyone has a struggle. How he was chastised for being an Asian-American ballplayer growing up is certainly a slap in the face, but that’s not the big issue here. The issue; how America is somehow surprised that Asian-American ballplayers exist.

America is fucked up.

I now have the privilege at view American and the rest of the Western World from Japan. While Nihon may have it’s own set of massive character flaws and tattered history, I feel as though there isn’t a focus on race when it comes to athletics and entertainment. In America, it is. America implies the racial innuendo and continues to enforce it because it’s a country which lacks identity. Why is it a big deal that Jeremy Lin is an Asian-American in a country that is supposed to be a melting pot? Since when was a sport limited to one race? Why is the Black Community so threatened by Jeremy Lin, but wasn’t by Jason Williams? Furthermore, why is America, as a whole, so focused on the kid’s race? He’s a ballplayer, let him play ball.

So, let me get this straight, a baby country with no real identity, and a population of, supposedly, individuals from all walks of life, have to play into a certain stereotype to actually fit in to American society? Does anyone realize how bass-ackwards that is? The sad thing is that the Jeremy Lin issue isn’t a new issue at all. As a Black American who is going through the expatriate process, I have to scoff and scold a country that does nothing but hold people down when they break away from it’s own expectations. Black people who play golf, white people who breakdance, Asians who listen to country music; does it really matter? Does it? If it does, then America is in far worse shape than anyone could imagine, and I recommend you move to Canada (or Japan, Switzerland, Finland, Australia, Singapore, etc, etc, etc). If it doesn’t, then why is it such a big deal?

If you’ve ever been to Asia, you’d know that the kids out here can ball simply because of their devotion to the sport. With that devotion, they absorb every aspect of it in full, to include streetball. There’s a sporting goods store I would frequently pass through that played Michael Jordan highlight reels all the time. At the park around the corner from said store, right in downtown Naha-shi, I’ve seen 16 year old kids that could easily break the ankles of anyone that I’ve seen (the same age) in Philly, Delaware or South Jersey. So, I’m glad J. Lin is doing his thing. All he has to do is be who he is and it will chip away at the preconceived notions that America imposes on its youth. If Lin can shatter the mold, then a black guy living in Japan can win the GT2 class of Le Mans, right?

(Source: twitter.com)