The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Not So Sharpton

4.12.07 @ 12:01AM

(Page 3 of 5)

A BROOKLYNITE'S VIEW
Re: Lisa Fabrizio's An American Hero:

While it is true that Jackie Robinson lived the last years of his life in Stamford, Connecticut, he was informally adopted by the Borough of Brooklyn as its native son when he arrived in 1947 to play for the hometown Dodgers. The Brooklyn connection never left the man, even after his death, for one will find highways, parks and schools named after #42. He is also buried there.

As a Brooklynite of ten when Robinson was brought up from Montreal, the Dodger's AAA farm team, I saw Robinson play over the course of a decade until 1957, when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to their current digs in Los Angeles. Their crosstown rivals, the NY Giants, moved to San Francisco the same year. That said, Lisa Fabrizio's elegiac account of Robinson does, in my view, blur the distinction between fair reporting and hagiography.

Few of the younger readers of this site can understand what baseball meant to many Americans after World War II. It was not only "America's pastime," it was "the only game in town"; no other professional sport rivaled it for attention. Further, the game of baseball exhibited the virtues and vices associated with what might be called our traditions: the open spaces, the slow pace of the nine innings, and, like much of America, was segregated. Robinson, who started out playing first base, became an instant success in Brooklyn, and, to coin a phrase, "the rest is history." Almost. What Lisa Fabrizio has done is focused on the political side of Robinson. I shall leave to others if John Roosevelt Robinson was a Rockefeller Republican or not, but his "storied career" needs some clarification.

Robinson came to the Dodgers in 1947 at the age of 28, after service in World War II. In that duty he was far from alone, for many not only served, but, as in the case of one of baseball's great natural hitters, Ted Williams, had their careers interrupted again during the Korean War. In those years, baseball careers were subordinate to the national interest. Over the course of the next decade, Robinson would achieve a lifetime average of .311; good, but not extraordinary. His fielding excellence was limited by his inability to "go to his right," which led to his being moved from second to third base. Although not as fast as other players, on the base paths Robinson was extraordinary; he made a reputation by his ability to distract opposing pitchers, and to steal home plate. But what must also be included in this man's athletic career is, during his time with the Dodgers, he never was a major asset to the team during the Worlds Series. During Robinson's decade with the Dodgers, he played in six World Series: the Dodgers lost five; hence, the mantra: wait 'til next year. Clearly Robinson's hitting average did not help the Dodger cause: his hitting average for the six Series was under .230. In short, he was not a major factor during the Series, even when the Dodgers won in 1955.

Nonetheless, because of his breaking the color barrier, not, in my judgment, due to his extraordinary baseball talent, Robinson entered the Hall of Fame in 1962.

Pax tecum,
-- Vincent Chiarello
Reston, Virginia

TOUCHY FEELY EDUCTATION
Re: G. Tracy Mehan, III's Groping for God and Country -- And School:

I would like to comment on the article by G. Tracy Mehan, III regarding women in the service. I am a member of the National Guard and deployed to Iraq from March 2004 through Feb 2005. I was in a transportation unit stationed at LSA Anaconda north of Baghdad, with a primary mission of supplying the Marines at TQ (Al Taqqadum) outside Fallujah.

I disagree with the premise of the article that it is the men who assault the women. While that may be true in some cases, what I witnessed was women using their sexuality to utmost advantage in manipulating men. Whether it was inviting "boyfriends" over to their tent, requesting special assignments on convoys (I want to drive with so-and-so), or twisting schedules to be with their special someone. Nothing was apparently off limits and partnerships sprang up between both single and married soldiers, regardless of rank. In one case a male soldier was assaulted by a female when he refused her sexual advances. Not only did the women in our unit enjoy two to three times the private space in their tent (same size tent, one-third the people), but they put up privacy curtains all around so they could spend time with their boyfriends.

Some things may be excused during war time, but this type of behavior should never be. Not only did I see a soldier leave his post to assist a female companion change a tire during a convoy run, but inappropriate behavior and relationships caused as much trouble as any operational military concerns we had. Women in general tend to be emotional, and when you combine that with the stress of the situation we were in, it left many of us wondering which "person" we would encounter when we had to work with our female soldiers. Would it be the competent, professional soldier or the jilted lover?

As with all things, respect must be earned. For the first time in my memory, the Army is attempting to bring back the "warrior spirit" by instructing soldiers on close-quarters combat. Like the high school wrestling, this involves intimate contact with women as you are encouraged to choke them, lock elbow joints and otherwise subdue your opponent. Unlike wrestling, it could mean your life if you lose. Women claim to want equality, but when it boils down to it, few can compete on an equal footing with men in the arena of physical combat. So when a woman can actually defeat an opponent she earns respect. The forced bravado, foul language, tough demeanor adopted by some women in the Army all tend to diminish respect, not engender it. True equality means the job dictates the standard, regardless of who does the work. In the future, mechanical or robotic devices may allow soldiers of both sexes to lift heavy loads with ease, but what happens when that equipment breaks? Will everything come to a halt?

Women make a significant contribution to the military every day, but do not view them as the inherent victim of sexual harassment. From what I saw, women not only craved the attention, they flat out demanded it!

Warm regards,
-- Douglas J. Strock
Midland, Michigan

Thank you, Mr. Mehan, for your essay on this matter. Like you I also have a son who wrestles on his high school team. While he has so far in his three years of being on the team not yet had to wrestle a young lady from another school, the dread (that is the correct description) of such an occurrence weighs on both him and us, his parents. If you have never witnessed a boy/girl wrestling event you probably cannot understand how brutally creepy it is. No adult watching the match can feel that it is OK. It is very much school-sanctioned molestation. If this were a "date" the young people were engaged in, the girl's father would have every right to pommel the young man in defense of his daughters honor.

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Transportation, Foreign Policy, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, John Boehner, Television, Islam, Movies, Law, Military, Iraq, NATO, Oil