Malcolm X Post 4
I can't imagine the pain Malcolm must have felt when he found out Elijah had committed adultery, going against everything he'd ever known about his leader. To have your whole base of knowledge, your only cause in life crumble and turn on you, could drive a man into a downward spiral. I've never had any drastic letdown like Malcolm must have had, especially when the NOI started plotting against him, but I can understand that feeling of confusion. It's like a little kid finding out his role model is a fraud, or realizing the tooth fairy or Santa isn't real. I can't say I was devastated when I found out my parents were the ones giving me money, but I was confused as to how something I thought was so obviously true could suddenly be a made up fairy tale. This also reminds me of the steroids problem in baseball. I'll use A-Rod as the example, his story shown here: (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090209&content_id=3811116&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb)
Thousands and thousands of little kids idolized him, looking at his poster every day, only wishing they could one day be as great as Alex. Then this comes out, that he had lied, cheated, and possibly ruined his legacy. For a small child, how could they understand that their hero was a cheater? They probably felt just as Malcolm X did finding out his religious organization had turned on him. Elijah Muhammad and Alex Rodriguez had a huge responsibility. They knew what position they were in, an idol to so many, and yet they revealed that they are only human. Not many people are strong enough to be in the spotlight like that, but when they do, they need to try their best to set a positive example. I'm glad I never really had a role model. I admire a lot of different people, and was influenced by family and friends. But, if any one person made a mistake, I wouldn't have been devastated. Its dangerous to think of somebody so highly, especially when you're vulnerable, like Malcolm was in prison, or a small child is trying to figure the world out.
posted by I Blog Hard at
5:38 AM
3 Comments:
Great post Eric. I agree with you that media icons, such as actors, singers, and athletes, have a commitment to present themselves as suitable role models to the younger viewers that idolize them. Yet, in this situation, Malcolm isn't a child anymore. In my opinion, it is his religious fanaticism that led him to ignore common sense and, instead, adopt a child-like worship of Elijah Muhammad. He was spiritually weak after leaving the penitentiary system and was looking for someone - anyone - to guide him and nurture him back into society. Elijah turned out to be this someone. Another hypothesis could be that because of the lack of a father figure throughout most of his life, Elijah Muhammad was able to serve this role for the time being. Nevertheless, Malcolm's realization of Elijah's true nature will serve as a lesson and hopefully make him understand that no mortal man should ever receive that much worship.
Eric, your post here rings true 100%. I was reading two articles in ESPN the magazine, and in the Bergen Record. One of these articles was about Charles Barkley, and how he vowed never to become a role model. The other was about John Elway. What I am trying to get at is that all celebrities, whether they like it or not, are role models. Their actions are constantly under the spotlight of the media, and everyone is always watching them. I think, that Malcolm's situation may be much worse than someone who looks up to a celebrity, simply because Malcolm was so close to Elijah. Not only did Malcolm lose a role model when Elijah betrayed him, but he lost a friend, and a religion. I agree with what Ben said as well. Something like that is bound to happen when you worship a human being as god. Malcolm must have been devastated, and I agree with everything you say here.
I agree with Josh and Benjamen. You are completely correct when you say that athletes and celebrites have a responsiblity to be role models for kids. But, something you said that I thought was important was that they're only human. Everyone makes mistakes, and I think we have way too high of expectations for these leaders in society. It sucks for the fans of Arod and for Malcolm with Elijah, but the truth is they are only humans. No matter how good of a person you are, you are never perfect. I think Malcolm maybe overreacted a little. Just because Elijah made one mistake, doesn't mean he is a different person than the one who brought Malcolm into the Islam religion.
PS u suck and I hate you.
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