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Two sporting events remind us that we must not let fear of people who are different from us divide us and, worse, lead to hatred and anger.
For months, the Trump administration and its supporters maligned singer Bad Bunny who was chosen to perform the halftime show during this year’s Super Bowl.
Sunday’s performance by the singer, whose name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, showcased the foolishness, and bigotry, behind the anger directed at him. Bad Bunny recently collected Grammy Awards and is the top selling artist in the world. His performance was the second most watched Super Bowl halftime show ever.
We didn’t understand the words sung in Spanish during the 13-minute performance, but the message was clear. It was about family, community, pride and love. He also reminded us that America is not just the United States, but the many countries in North, South and Central America, and that together we are greater.
The response from conservative, often white, critics was pathetic. Some wanted Bad Bunny deported. He’s Puerto Rican, and therefore an American citizen.
Others complained about lyrics that he didn’t sing on Sunday. Yes, some of his songs contain profanity, but that’s far less of a problem than singing about child rape, as does Kid Rock, the featured performer in the barely watched alternative half-time show put on by Turning Point USA.
Much of Bad Bunny’s message sailed over the heads of his critics. Far-right activist Laura Loomer, for example, idiotically criticized him for not pointing out the poor conditions of Puerto Rico’s power grid. That’s precisely what he did by singing and dancing atop sparking power lines.
If a performance that featured a real wedding — family values anyone? — homages to family and the central role of elders, and messages of love, cultural pride and interconnectedness was so threatening, maybe your worldview is the problem.
The Winter Olympics kicked off in Milan, Italy, days before the Super Bowl. Already American athletes have collected medals, and sparked controversy with mild criticism of the current state of affairs in America.
American athletes who have dared to voice even a hint of criticism of Trump administration policies, particularly ICE’s round-ups of immigrants, most of whom do not have criminal records, have been insulted and threatened by conservatives, and the president.
There is no political litmus test to be an American Olympian. There is no requirement to praise the president or his administration. Those are hallmarks of authoritarian nations, not democracies like the United States.
And, let’s not forget that plenty of athletes representing America in Italy are part of our country’s immigrant success story.
According to research by the Institute for Immigration Research at George Mason University, more than 13 percent of the American athletes at the winter Olympics have immigrant parents. Most notably, celebrated figure skater and gold medal favorite Ilia Malinin, a student at GMU, is the son of immigrants from Uzbekistan. Two-time gold medal winning snowboarder Chloe Kim, who is chasing a third in Italy, is the daughter of immigrants from South Korea. That doesn’t make them any less American than someone who traces their American ancestry back generations or someone whose parents came from Africa or South American, or Puerto Rico.
“Consistent with the ideals of the Olympics — excellence, respect, and friendship — the U.S. has for many generations and in many ways met immigrants and refugees with a welcoming spirit,” Marissa Kiss, the assistant director at the Institute for Immigration Research, and Jim Witte, a professor emeritus of sociology at George Mason and the founding director at the institute, wrote in a recent opinion column. “This spirit has been instrumental in providing a sanctuary and opportunities to millions of displaced individuals. In return, most immigrants and refugees work hard, contribute and give back to their new communities. Some become naturalized citizens. A select, dedicated few even represent their new nation on a global stage as Olympians. We’ll be watching and cheering them on regardless of their place of birth.”
We couldn’t agree more. As we cheer on the world’s best athletes, it is time to put away divisions and fear based on where someone is born, the color of their skin and who they love.
We are all team America.
