1972
My son and I got into Buffalo in the mid-afternoon on Saturday. The four hour ride for his fight in the finals of the NYS Golden Gloves was pleasant. We enjoyed the weather, and talked the entire time about psychology and sociology. That mood changed as soon as we entered the hotel's lobby, and saw the news reports about the horror that had taken place a short time and distance from where we stood.
I was reminded of the same ill feelings I had watching the 1972 Olympics. Although the vicious attack was not aimed directly at the Golden Gloves, a similar reaction permeated the neighborhood, the city, and soon the country. And that is saying something in a country that has suffered from such a high number of mass shootings in every week of 2022.
Now, this essay isn't intended to be about boxing, but rather to use the great sport as a vehicle to make a point. For centuries, in times of social stress, variations of "replacement theory" have taken root. Every tyrant knows that to exploit the fear and anxiety, they need only blame a small group, to confuse the majority into blaming that smaller group for all of their problems. This includes normalizing the hatred of their target, which gives license to the most disturbed among them aiming violence against their "enemy."
Human shit-stains like the one in Buffalo do not tend to watch Fox News. Rather, they inhabit the darkest corners of the internet. But there are connections between a Tucker Carlson and that guy: older men like Steve Bannon that understand that young men often follow the orders of their gym coach/ drill instructor without question. When Fox News -- the voice of the republican party -- repeats lies about "replacement theory" over and over again, it becomes normalized in times of social stress. I remember my late uncle, a WW2 hero, telling me that the Trump cult was what he fought against in Europe.
Now back to 1972. When my brothers and I traveled to cities across New York State to box, the locker rooms were not pleasant places. Different races occupied different sections of the rooms, and there was open hostility between the groups that came as quite a surprise to three hay seeds from a rural, upstate farm. But that has changed for the better. These days, there is a brotherhood among the young men preparing to compete in the ring. Even the old trainers who fought in circa-1972 all get along!
There was the traditional "ten count" to honor the victims at the beginning of Sunday's finals. Plenty of those involved in or at the fights knew one or more of the victims. We were not far from where the savage attack had taken place. Normally, the audience at boxing matches -- especially where alcohol is sold -- are noted for good behavior. So I was glad when the crowd was silent in honoring the dead and wounded.
However, it is important that people not be silent about the horror. To let what is unacceptable to be normalized. We need to counter the efforts of the Tucker Carlsons to normalize racism, and crush the Steve Bannons that inspire the unhinged, And I know that is easy to say. I know. Watching the news reports on the horror after my son dropped me off in the early hours on Monday was extremely upsetting. The more I saw, the more disturbing it was. It brought up old feelings.
I contacted a Clan Mother that I know from the days when I worked with Chief Waterman. Within a couple minutes, I was snarling about if I were as tough as I was in 1972, I'd teach people like the racist gang that attacked my nephew in 1998 -- they didn't like the media attention a brown-skinned high school scholar/ athlete was getting -- a lesson. "Then you'd be in jail, and that wouldn't do us any good," she responded. "Think back to the lessons of the past, and apply them today, for a better future."
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K&R. 
Magnificent 