4.22.2009

Googling Myself

Man, that title almost sounds dirty, doesn't it?

Growing up, I was a HUGE Mike Tyson fan. I'm talking about the
pre-prison Mike Tyson. The Mike Tyson who hadn't yet beaten his wife or been accused of rape. This was the guy who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of twenty. He won his first 19 bouts by a knockout, including 12 that occurred in the first round. He was the baddest man on the planet. He was "Kid Dynamite!"

I remember clipping out pictures of Iron Mike in S
ports Illustrated delivering a blow to Michael Spinks with sweat and saliva exploding off Spinks' battered face. I played Mike Tyson's Punch-Out on Nintendo endlessly (How is it that Little Mac only comes up to the other fighters' knees?). I could never beat Tyson at the end of the game though. I remember one time I actually landed a punch on
him. That was a great day.

But best of all, his last name was the same as my first name. Tyson! I would tell kids at school that I was named after Mike Tyson, even though neither of my parents were boxing fans in the least bit at the time of my birth, and Kid Dynamite didn't explode onto the boxing scene until after I was born. Nevertheless I was so incredibly proud to share something in common with Iron Mike. I was certain to have a bonafide ice-breaker if we were ever to meet.

Fast-forward a few years... After the time spent in prison for rape, and after his messy divorce from actress Robin Givens, Tyson looked to get back into boxing and seemed to have put his dark past behind him. He stepped into the ring to face Evander Holyfield to regain his heavyweight title. Unable to overpower Holyfiel
d, Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield's ear, not once, but TWICE! With Holyfield's bloody and mangled ear lying on the mat, I knew that Tyson was never going to be anything but a psychopath.

Naturally, I tried to distance myself with the guy. When I lived in Korea, I would tell people my name and they would say, "Oh Tyson...
Like the famous boxer?" I would sigh and then tell them, "Yes, but I'm not a psycho like he is."

Now years later, Google has effed up all my damage control. When people google my name, my facebook and blog show up obviously. But there is
also so much more thanks to the athlete formerly known as Kid Dynamite. Here are some listings underneith the Google search "Tyson Camp":

"Tyson camp makes threats – Las Vegas Sun"

"Turmoil in Tyson camp"

"In the Tyson Camp, Truce is Tenuous"


and the worst of them all...


"Tyson Camp Dismisses Allegations of Rape..."

You can see why I would be upset, right? Obviously these articles aren't about me. And I guess it isn't so much Google's fault as it is the media who use the words: "Tyson camp." Why couldn't they use "Tyson entourage" or "Tyson posse" or even "Tyson people"? I know my last name isn't the most common of names, but I bet you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone on this earth named "Tyson Entourage".

But I guess that's what happens. I guess I'll just have to make a good name for myself to make these changes.


I just hope my future potential employers will have enough sense to distinguish that guy from me.

4.11.2009

Some People Just Don't Get It

I was quite intrigued with the group's presentation today. Racist and sexist humor in the media have been on my mind lately. There was an interesting question posed at the end that, unfortunately, we didn't have time to discuss much. The question was: does racist and sexist humor merely perpetuate stereotypes in the media or does it point out the fact that stereotypes are ridiculous?
I'm kind of on the fence on this one. I think it depends on a couple of factors. First of all, it obviously depends on the joke. Jokes like the one that was brought up in class: "What's strong enough for a man but made for a woman? The back of my hand" obviously cross the line. Anything that depicts anybody being the victim of violence is never appropriate in my mind. Plus, it just isn't funny. Guys who make jokes like that, even if they aren't violent towards women, are just losers to me. Come up with someth
ing funny. That's just wrong and lame.
When Chappelle's Show was on the air, I did not miss an episode. It was just so ballsy and edgy to me. My friend once told me he didn't like that show because all Dave Chappelle did was make fun of white people. I couldn't believe what I heard! Had he ever seen the show? I think Chappelle made fun of his own race more than any other race. Plus, he took shots at everyone. No one was safe, and that's what kept me coming back. Chappelle took ridiculous stereotypes and magnified them in an effort to show the world how stupid stereotypes are. Educated people got the joke, and I think Chappelle did a lot of good to open peoples' eyes. He certainly opened mine. But unfortunately a lot of people are stupid. They see Chappelle on TV portraying these stereotypes about different races and take it as truth. That's one of the reasons why Chappelle quit the show when it was at its apex.

So I guess my point is that I see racist jokes and sexist jokes differently. I hardly see any value in sexist jokes. To me, they are just unfunny for the most part and less than progressive. I think of an uneducated backwoods hillbilly stuck in the 1950s coming up with all these jokes and burdening us with them. Racist jokes, I think, can be have a positive effect if used correctly. It can open people's eyes to ways in which they subconsciously act around other races. But it can have the same effect as a sexist joke if it is mean-spirited and/or the listener is too stupid to really get it.
And it's a shame because I sure miss Chappelle's Show
.

4.03.2009

Am I Bad Person For Hating Women's Basketball?

I thought both groups today provided some interesting insight on women in the media.
I'll admit (and I'll probably get skewered for this) that I don't watch women's sports because I find them uninteresting. And I know I'm not the only one in the class that thinks that. I actually don't mind watching volleyball or tennis--and it's not because of the skimpy outfits. I think that both sports are something that men and women can play together.
But I can't watch women's basketball. The disparity level between men's and women's basketball is huge, and anyone who argues otherwise is crazy. I know several women who say they can't watch it either. Don't get me wrong... I'm not saying that women shouldn't play basketball. I'm just saying that there are some sports I can't stand watching: hockey and women's basketball.
It was also interesting to learn how beauty is interpreted in other countries. The tanned, hourglass body that is considered "beautiful" in America is different than in Asia. When I lived in Korea, I could not figure out why Korean women tried so hard so lighten their skin.
They would go so far as to apply powder to their faces, and in many instances, they looked like they were wearing clown makeup. But I guess it's better than fake baking. Instead of looking like the old lady on There's Something About Mary by the time they're 40 they actually have healthy skin brimming with smoothness and elasticity.
But we should always remember that beauty is only skin deep, no matter where you're from, and a woman's merits should not be based on her external beauty.