A Warped POV by A. Dacosta Brathway

February 3rd, Tuesday/ Okay, now that the reality of having a Black president has set in, let's get back to reality. When are we, as a society, going to get off the deal of having a surrogate image raise our children? I am talking about this Michael Phelps person (character, caricature, whatever...). Olympic swimming champion? Right. Multiple gold metal winner? Right! Role model? Wrong! Don't get me wrong. What Michael Phelps has been able to accomplish is remarkable. It's damn near unbelievable! I'm thinking that it will be quite some time before we see another human being even come close to what he has done in a swimming pool./ That being said, he is also a drinker and a pot smoker. Now I raise the argument: Should he be allowed to just apologize for his transgressions and go on his merry way and be allowed to maintain his role model status in good standing, or should he be recognized for who he really is and afford the same scrutiny like everybody else? OR, should alcohal and canabus be reevaluated and reclassified as a necessity in the spirit of athletic achievement, therefore allowing the "average joe" to live his, or her, wildest dream of being super human in the pool, or on the court, or on the field? I mean, is apolgizing in an appropriate time frame (You know, like the five second rule when you drop food on the floor and be able to pick it up and eat it in five seconds) enough time for him to be able to repeat an offense out of the eye sight of a camera or video recorder to be posted on You Tube for the world to see? If image is driving sales of whatever product other than alcohal and weed, should he still be allowed to sell whatever product and rake in millions of dollars in the process while others his age be burned at the stake for the same offense?/ My bad! Maybe what I should be asking is could someone please explain what "double standard means?"