Vogue Magazine Casts LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen in Remake of King Kong

How I Stopped Loving the Internet and Learned to Love My Neighbor

If you haven't seen the latest cover of Vogue magazine, you might be living in a cave. Vogue's latest edition features Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James and super model Gisele Bundchen. It has the internet ablaze with controversy and accusations of racism. The cover photo depicts James in a typical, aggressive dribble stance, one which typifies his style of basketball, with his arm around Bundchen. The point is to juxtapose James' athletic mass with Bundchen's super-model singularity for Vogue's "shape issue."

What the Vogue cover-shoot became is a rally point for those looking for any excuse to be offended. The criticism is that the photo makes James look like King Kong abducting Fay Wray as played by Bundchen. What it really looks like is a wafer-thin super model air-brushed in beside a professional basketball player playing basketball. There isn't a Cavaliers' game played where James doesn't look exactly as snapped on the Vogue cover.

Let's try to look beyond the racial divide that still exists the world over and take something away from this furor that can be applied to life. In general, life teaches us these things.

Prejudice is human nature
People read what they want into any writing. They will interpret photographs through their own refractive lenses. They hear conversations only in the context of their agenda.

Were they the subject of discrimination? Race is their issue. Were they jilted by an ex-lover? The evils of the other gender are their issue. Were they passed over for promotion because they are a woman? Sexism is their issue.

These are all valid issues that must be dealt with by a civilized society. Maybe without these one-note champions, we would not think about them as often. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe these people just get tiresome and grate on my nerves.