Sunday, September 27, 2015

Lance Berkman -- A Matter of Character

If you've ever read anything I've posted on this blog about National Baseball Hall of Fame voting, you likely recognize that I have pretty liberal standards -- I'd bet among the most welcoming standards around. (For more, see here.) As part of that, I don't put much stock in the "character" criteria that is part of the process. To me, it's about performance on the field, regardless of my thoughts on the "character," "morality," or other such stuff of the players I would evaluate. That said, I think that if character is something folks who actually vote do care about -- and signs suggest that many of them do -- then recent news about Lance Berkman should cast serious doubt about his qualification.

Now, I begin this by recognizing that Lance Berkman is by no means a sure thing Hall of Famer. In fact, I don't think he'll be a Hall of Famer. His 366 home runs, 1905 hits, 1234 RBIs, and .293 batting average, while probably good enough for my very open standards, fall short of or in the same range as other players who didn't even make it past their first year on the ballot (Joe Carter, for example). Still, I imagine Berkman might get at least a handful of votes and some discussion when his ballot time comes. Yet, if those voters use the character test, they ought to examine Berkman's recent appearance in an advertisement against the city of Houston's Proposition 1 -- a ballot referendum that, if approved, would uphold the city's prohibition of discrimination against individuals for, among other things, gender identity.



Here I'm suggesting that in evaluating character, we ought to take into account willful ignorance, by which I mean not just ignorance (as we all have ignorance of some things; none of us knows everything), but maintained ignorance even in the face of clear exposure to knowledge that would keep one from being ignorant. Berkman's arguments about men using a faux "trans" identity to access women's restrooms to attack women and girls fit that definition of willful ignorance. Studies have shown no evidence of patterns of this kind of behavior. And even if Berkman didn't know that -- though it's been pretty prominently publicized by Houston Unites, which is leading the effort to pass Proposition 1 -- a simple cursory recognition of recent stories involving Penn State and the Catholic Church should demonstrate to Berkman that singling out transgendered folks not only perpetuates a demeaning and harmful stereotype, but also doesn't stop sexual assault and misconduct from happening.

So, if I was voting in a few years when Berkman is eligible, and I was of the mind to consider character when voting for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, I would have to have serious reservations about Berkman because of this advertisement. More to the point, Berkman would fail the character test because of the willful ignorance he displays in this ad.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Reflections on this Labor Day

On this Labor Day, I'm taking some time to think of all the folks whose labor contributes through a myriad of ways to my country and my world. Of particular note this year, I want to acknowledge folks who work at fast food restaurants. Amid national discussions regarding significantly raising minimum wage levels, I've seen considerable disparagement of folks who work at fast food restaurants, yet I go to places such as Burger King, McDonalds, and Subway frequently, and I see folks working quite hard whose labor deserves respect, not disparagement. The next time we celebrate the contributions of the firefighter who saves someone's life, the soldier who defends the country, the teacher who puts in long hours hoping to educate our young people, the utilities worker who works overtime away from home restoring power, and so on, let's not forget that the fast food workers who provide that teacher's coffee, that firefighter's breakfast, that utilities worker's lunch, and so on are providing valuable contributions as well. This is one reason why I support -- at the very least -- a living wage for folks who work at fast food restaurants and, for that matter, everyone.