011: We Need Better Heroes




Uncommon Sense: the This is True Podcast show

Summary: In This Episode: Some people — usually people with Uncommon Sense — aspire to something greater than the whims of the masses and can make a huge impact on the world. This episode looks at what we as a society pay a lot of attention to, at the detriment to the much more important things we pretty much ignore. The difference: mind-blowing.<br> <br> <a class="twitter-share-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Tweet</a><br> <a href="#transcript">Jump to Transcript</a><br> <a href="https://thisistrue.com/category/podcasts/">How to Subscribe and List of All Episodes</a><br> Show Notes<br> <br> * KUSA Denver’s report on the <a href="http://www.9news.com/news/local/investigations/videos-show-east-high-cheerleaders-repeatedly-forced-into-splits-1/466845236">cheerleaders being forced</a> to endure pain, despite their protestations. Note that the TV station has a warning at the top: “Editor’s note: the video included in this story is difficult to watch and may not be suitable for all viewers.” (Note this report isn’t the basis of True’s story: that was from reports by the Denver Post, <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/24/denver-east-high-school-cheerleader-splits/">here</a> and <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/25/cheerleading-coach-fired-ozell-williams-denver-east-high-school-forced-splits/">here</a>.)<br> * <br> The Honorary Unsubscribe of WWII spy <a href="http://www.honoraryunsubscribe.com/jeannie_rousseau.html">Jeannie Rousseau</a>.<br> * The Washington Post’s 1998 interview of Rousseau is <a href="https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/doc/408407921.html">here</a> (but note: as an older story, it’s behind a paywall.)<br> * I mention that Rousseau was “humble.” Here’s an example quote from that Post interview: “What I did was so little,” Rousseau said. “Others did so much more. I was one small stone.”<br> <br> <a name="transcript"></a><br> Transcript<br> We get more of what we pay attention to. But some people — usually people with Uncommon Sense — aspire to something greater than the whims of the masses and can make a huge impact on the world. This episode looks at what we as a society pay a lot of attention to, at the detriment to the much more important things we pretty much ignore. I have a story about each, and the contrast is mind-blowing.<br> Welcome to Uncommon Sense, I’m Randy Cassingham.<br> This is a redo of a first-season episode through the lens of the newer Uncommon Sense slant. It was triggered by a story from issue 1211 of the This is True newsletter, which will be included on the Show Page at thisistrue.com/podcast11. It’s called, “Save The Cheerleader, Save The World.”<br> The title is a catchphrase from the TV series “Heroes” …which I actually didn’t watch except for the episodes featuring my friend David Lawrence, who played the Evil Puppet Master toward the end of the series.<br> I’m not going to read the story to you — you can find it on the Show Page — but you’ll get the idea. Apparently, East High School in Denver, Colorado, is known for its cheerleading squad. KUSA TV news in Denver was given some videos taken at the school’s Cheer Camp in June 2017. The eight videos show multiple cheerleaders being pushed — verbally and physically forced — to do splits, and every one of them is screaming in pain and asking the coaches to stop.<br> That sounds pretty horrible, and parents complained about this, putting the blame on coach Ozell Williams. And even though several parents complained, and showed school officials the video evidence, the school didn’t do a thing about it. They specifically complained,