Basketball's Steve Nash: "A voice of resistance when it mattered most."

As one of the few sportswriters who truly matter, Dave Zirin's essays always are a must read for me. That's because the world of sports does not exist in a vacuum, untethered to society in the main. When you've read one account of a high school football game, you've read them all, but blessed are those capable of viewing sports in larger context, as Zirin always does.

And yes, as both a writer and brewery owner, I believe Zirin and Steve Nash are role models. Our machines do kill fascists, after all.

The Bridge: A Political Appreciation of Steve Nash, by Dave Zirin (The Nation)

... The appreciations of Nash and his arsenal of ambidextrous passing will continue to fly fast and furious, but we should also take a moment to appreciate Nash for reasons apart from his ability to do this. We should also thank him for daring to be a voice of resistance when it mattered most. As the war on Iraq was being planned early in 2003, there was silence throughout the sports world. This was not surprising. It had been years since athletes had put themselves out there to use their hyper-exalted brought-to-you-by-Nike platforms to make political statements. Today, as jocks—from Richard Sherman to Serena Williams to Robbie Rodgers to Jason Collins to the Miami Heat—have used social media to speak difficult truths in unwelcome spaces, it is difficult to remember just how deafening the political quietude was back in 2003. While several million people converged on New York City to say no to what we then called “Bush’s war,” the sports world institutionally, from team owners to media puff pieces, was a center of unquestioned patriotism. For people who only read the sports page, and stay off the front page, being confronted with dissenting views was a non-option.

Derby, schmerby. It’s May 1, May Day ...

... and here’s a Wikipedia overview:

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by unions, anarchists, and socialist groups. May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures.

In all my many trips to Europe, only once did I find myself in position to attend a May Day celebration.

It was in Vienna, in 1987. I walked into the city center from my hostel off Mariahilfer Strasse, and found a comfortable place to stand along the Ring. The various unions, workplaces and districts were represented, and at the end, after the sanctioned elements had marched past, there were a series of piggybacking anarchists, radicals and even hooded Muslim extremists.

Ah yes, I remember it well. Afterwards I splurged on schnitzel and draft beer, reflecting on the way that America detached its labor holiday from the rest of the world’s.

It’s another wonderful of our oblivious exceptionalism at work, and accordingly, I find it delicious that on a day when Louisvillians will be drunkenly gazing at race horses, people will be on the streets of cities throughout the US in protest of Arizona's immigration law. That’s the spirit. Perhaps when the race is over, and the horse pimps have gone home ...