UNSOPHISTICATED EUROPE
One of the annoying side effects of the Global War on Terror is the resurgence of Europe's moral superiority complex. The United States, goes the continental thinking, is run by an imbecilic cowboy (and his evil partner) whose unsophisticated worldview reflects the general ignorance of the Americans who twice elected him. Sniff, sniff. If you think this is an overstatement, spend some time at virtually any gathering of European politicians or watch the BBC for any random quarter hour.
So it was with particular interest that The Scrapbook read a June 2 article by Kelly Whiteside in USA Today, previewing the upcoming World Cup, to be held at 12 sites throughout Germany. "Concerns Raised Over Racism During Cup," read the headline. It should be noted that The Scrapbook normally has a low tolerance for sociology-of-sports thumbsuckers turned out by liberal sports reporters. Our colleague Stephen F. Hayes tells us he took a course at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism devoted to just such "reporting" co-taught, as it happens, by Kelly Whiteside. The first class featured a lecture about the evils of keeping score, particularly in youth sports, where everyone is a winner. But we digress.
This article is different. Europe, it seems, has serious problems with racist fans at sporting events. So serious that a former spokesman for Gerhard Schröder warned non-whites visiting for the World Cup to avoid traveling in certain parts of the country. "There are small and medium-sized towns in Brandenburg, as well as elsewhere, which I would advise a visitor of another skin color to avoid going to. . . . It is possible he wouldn't get out alive," said Uwe-Karsten Heye. Overstated? Perhaps. Uwe-Karsten Heye now runs an anti-racism organization and could be expected to dramatize the problems.
Then again, maybe not. According to USA Today:
Samuel Eto'o, who is from Cameroon and plays for FC Barcelona, threatened to walk out of a game after being showered with monkey chants and peanuts from opposing fans. Last November, Marc Zoro, who is from the Ivory Coast and plays for the Italian club Messina, picked up the ball and threatened to walk off the field because of racist chants from Inter Milan fans. Last December, Paulo Di Canio, a striker for the Italian club Lazio, was suspended for giving fans a straight-arm, Nazi-style salute. He said he was supporting fascism, not racism.
In that same article, Oguchi Onyewu, a standout defender for the U.S. World Cup team who plays regularly in Belgium, said, "I've been harassed while in a car, punched in face, heard monkey chants." Onyewu said he was punched in the face by an opposing fan in April after the fan's taunts failed to rattle him. "I was going to throw the ball in, and some fans started doing monkey chants and I made a gesture like, 'Whatever.' And a guy reached over and punched me in the mouth." Onyewu told the paper that the fan was fined.
U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who is black, plays for PSV Eindhoven, based in Holland. "In America," he said,
"we don't have that. No one is saying racial things at you. It's pretty bad in Spain, some in Italy. That goes with the territory."
Perhaps the rubes that behave this way are in the minority, so to speak. There are anti-racism efforts springing up throughout Europe. But what about at the games? Where are the typical, superior Europeans? Why don't they shout down the racists? Says U.S. defender Eddie Pope: "Making monkey noises at an NBA game or an NFL game? It would be ridiculous." Indeed.
Secretary of Ornithology
Almost everyone seems gratified by the appointment of Goldman Sachs chairman Henry Paulson as secretary of the treasury--even Chuck Schumer calls it a "pleasant surprise"--and The Scrapbook is no exception. When a left-wing canary-in-the-mine like Schumer can't think of anything obnoxious to say, that's a good omen.
Part of our enthusiasm, however, is based not so much on Paulson's record as a Napoleon of Wall Street, or his views on exchange rates, but on his status as a dedicated bird-watcher. Befitting a successful capitalist, Paulson's hobby tends to run toward raptors and exotic birds of prey, which he has been known to bring into the Goldman Sachs offices to show selected colleagues. (Whether for professional inspiration or scientific admiration, we cannot say.)
To be sure, The Scrapbook's tastes run more toward songbirds and selected waterfowl--ducks, geese, herons, etc.--and regulars at the backyard feeder. But we're not complaining. It's been awhile since an amateur ornithologist exerted the sort of influence Hank Paulson promises to wield in Washington; and as any political scientist will concede, successful statesmen have something to learn from the habits of hummingbirds (energy), barn owls (aggressiveness), blue jays (adaptability), and mockingbirds (communications).
Moreover, there is distinguished precedent. Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary in the early 20th century, and a famous birder, once invited the retired President Theodore Roose-velt to join him on an extended walk deep in the English countryside. Roose-velt's status as an amateur naturalist was well known, but Sir Edward was not prepared for what he learned on the excursion.
"We began our walk," he wrote after Roosevelt's death, "and when a song was heard, I told him the name of the bird. I noticed that as soon as I mentioned the name, it was unnecessary to tell him more. He knew what the bird was like. It was not necessary for him to see it. He knew the kind of bird it was, its habits and appearance. He just wanted to complete his knowledge by hearing the song.
"He had, too, a very trained ear for bird songs, which cannot be acquired without having spent much time in listening to them. How he had found time in that busy life to acquire this knowledge so thoroughly it is almost impossible to imagine, but there the knowledge and training undoubtedly were."
Dr. Dobson, We Presume
A tip of The Scrapbook's hat to regrettheerror.com, the always invaluable blog devoted to media retractions, for its recent discovery of a fascinating--and apparently quite longstanding and entrenched--phenomenon involving Focus on the Family chairman James Dobson. Here's a taste:
A May 14 article about Sen. John McCain's speech at Liberty University incorrectly referred to the chairman of Focus on the Family as the Rev. James Dobson. Dobson is not an ordained minister.
--correction in the May 16 Washington Post
In the May 10 edition of "Heard on the Hill," James Dobson of Focus on the Family was misidentified as a reverend. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in the field of child development.
--correction in the May 11 Roll Call
A headline April 20 with a story about the 70th birthday of Dr. James Dobson misidentified him as an evangelist. A child psychologist and best-selling author, he is the founder and chairman of Focus on Family, a nonprofit Christian ministry that helps families.
--correction in the April 27 San Diego Union-Tribune
Craig Silverman of regrettheerror.com reports that at least 18 different American newspapers and magazines have run one or another version of this same mistake since 1989. Curiouser still, five of those publications--the Washington Post, Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the Kansas City Star, and the Chicago Tribune--have done it twice apiece.