{"id":524706,"date":"2022-12-10T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-10T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-memo-two-americas-draw-vastly-different-lessons-from-brittney-griner-saga\/"},"modified":"2022-12-10T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T17:00:00","slug":"the-memo-two-americas-draw-vastly-different-lessons-from-brittney-griner-saga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-memo-two-americas-draw-vastly-different-lessons-from-brittney-griner-saga\/","title":{"rendered":"#The Memo: Two Americas draw vastly different lessons from Brittney Griner saga"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407175bc1fc\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a407175bc1fc\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-memo-two-americas-draw-vastly-different-lessons-from-brittney-griner-saga\/#The_Memo_Two_Americas_draw_vastly_different_lessons_from_Brittney_Griner_saga\" >The Memo: Two Americas draw vastly different lessons from Brittney Griner saga<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Memo_Two_Americas_draw_vastly_different_lessons_from_Brittney_Griner_saga\"><\/span>The Memo: Two Americas draw vastly different lessons from Brittney Griner saga<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/griner-supporter_120822ap-rick-scuteri_griner-memo.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Basketball star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony Thursday \u2014 and America\u2019s reaction has been so polarized, it\u2019s like watching a split-screen.<\/p>\n<p>Did Griner\u2019s release show that \u201cPresident Biden gets it done\u201d as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), the soon-to-be leader of House Democrats, claimed? Or did the White House deliver \u201ca gift to Vladimir Putin,\u201d as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) asserted?<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Was Griner\u2019s release proof that \u201cGod is good,\u201d as an exultant Joy Reid of MSNBC tweeted, or that Biden had gone out on a limb for an athlete who \u201cdespises the United States,\u201d as Tucker Carlson indignantly told viewers of his Fox <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> show?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Was Biden right to celebrate what he called \u201ca day we\u2019ve worked toward for a long time\u201d or was his predecessor, former President Trump, correct to assess the episode as \u201ca stupid and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA!!!\u201d?<\/p>\n<p>Polarized reactions are hardly a surprise in today\u2019s hyperpartisan political climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But the contours of the Griner matter make it a particularly combustible element in a fractious nation.<\/p>\n<p>The bare facts are these:<\/p>\n<p>Griner was arrested in February at a Moscow-area airport with vape cartridges containing marijuana oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty at her subsequent trial and, last month, was moved to a penal colony with a grim reputation in the western region of Mordovia.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In order to get her out, the Biden administration agreed to release a notorious Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, who had been serving a 25-year sentence imposed in 2012 for crimes including conspiracy to kill Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, the deal failed to spring from captivity another American in Russian detention, Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges. Whelan proclaims his innocence despite having been convicted by a Russian court in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond those details, the symbolism is at least as important as the substance \u2014 particularly when it comes to conflicting views among Americans as to what the events really mean.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Griner is a Black, lesbian athlete whose plight became a cause celebre, especially in liberal circles and in the worlds of sport and popular culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Whelan is a white, middle-aged former Marine whose family has struggled to get his case into the headlines at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bout, for his part, has a story lurid and macabre enough to inspire a Hollywood movie and earn him the nickname \u201cThe Merchant of Death.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Anyone looking for ammunition to fire new volleys in the culture wars could hardly have designed things better.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe entire decision to release Griner and then the response to it is emblematic of America,\u201d said Tobe Berkovitz, a Boston University professor emeritus who specializes in political communication.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne part of America is celebrating the release of an African American gay woman, and another part of America is bemoaning the continuing long imprisonment of a white Marine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is also the broader backdrop of Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine to consider, as well as the frayed nature of American political culture.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is really the perfect storm,\u201d said Democratic strategist Joel Payne. He added that, within the case, there are \u201ca number of thorny domestic cultural issues exploding, along with difficult geopolitical challenges outside the U.S. \u2026 What h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens when those things meet?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What happens, at least in part, is that huge numbers of Americans seem to pick a side.<\/p>\n<p>Carlson, in a segment on his show Thursday \u2014 the day of Griner\u2019s release \u2014 put the contrast between Griner and Whelan in especially stark terms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe former Marine, who has been there for four years already,\u00a0gets left behind in Russia, while the celebrity athlete [who] gets busted with hash oil is championed by her celebrity <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> friends like Gayle King [of CBS News] and is home in just months,\u201d Carlson complained.<\/p>\n<p>This, he added,\u00a0\u201cseems like a metaphor for how America under Joe Biden is working at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>But to Democrats like Payne, it is precisely those kinds of arguments that expose an unfair, derogatory view of Griner.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose folks who over the last 24 hours seem to have been rooting against Brittney Griner\u00a0are telling on themselves, because I think they are telling you who and what they value,\u201d Payne said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you are someone who thought Brittney Griner should have spent nine years in a penal colony, I think it probably says something about the value you put on her as a Black woman, an athlete and an LGBT woman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Griner and Whelan families are trying their best to avoid the pitfalls of partisan politics or divisive public statements.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Cherelle Griner, Brittney\u2019s wife, speaking alongside Biden at the White House on Thursday, said the couple \u201cwill remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today as we celebrate BG being home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Whelan family has endorsed Biden\u2019s decision as the \u201cright choice\u201d \u2014 given Paul Whelan\u2019s release\u00a0was apparently not on offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Still, the matter is far from settled. Paul Whelan himself told CNN from Russia that he was \u201cgreatly disappointed that more has not been done\u201d to get him home.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration has been emphatic that it will continue to work for Whelan\u2019s release, as well as for other Americans held in foreign nations.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>When it comes to the Griner situation, the refrain from the White House has been that the president\u2019s only choice was whether one or zero Americans would be released.<\/p>\n<p>By most accounts, that seems to be true.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s an argument that has no chance of quelling a controversy that so neatly fits into America\u2019s deepest divides.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/3769387-the-memo-two-americas-draw-vastly-different-lessons-from-brittney-griner-saga\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Memo: Two Americas draw vastly different lessons from Brittney Griner saga Basketball star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony Thursday \u2014 and America\u2019s reaction has been so polarized, it\u2019s like watching a split-screen. Did Griner\u2019s release show that \u201cPresident Biden gets it done\u201d as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), the soon-to-be leader&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":524707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/griner-supporter_120822ap-rick-scuteri_griner-memo.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,113545,134343,134353,87077,124783,991,134614,35813,71525,136955,4975,4965,27002,72576,137046,42873],"class_list":["post-524706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-brittney-griner","tag-campaign","tag-court-battles","tag-hakeem-jeffries","tag-international","tag-joe-biden","tag-judiciary","tag-kevin-mccarthy","tag-national-security","tag-paul-whelan","tag-russia","tag-technology","tag-trump","tag-tucker-carlson","tag-victor-bout","tag-white-house"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}