Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Hello Dalai! Or Things You Can't Make Up
Posted by Bruce VanWyngarden on Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 3:20 PM
So I get a call from Film Commission head Linn Sitler today around noon.
"Bruce," she says, "you need to get a reporter and a photographer down to Tom Lee Park in the next 15 minutes."
"Why?" I ask.
"I can't tell you, but it's big, trust me." And she's gone.
So I send out a call for a reporter to check out what's up at Tom Lee. Chris Davis volunteers. He texts me a few minutes later that there are lots of cop cars and that the rumor is that the Dalai Lama is about to appear. It was around lunchtime, so I got on the company intercom, announced the Dalai Lama was soon to be in our neighborhood, and if anyone wanted to say, "Hello, Dalai," now was their chance.
"Hello, Dalai," is, of course, the most obvious and overused joke about the Dalai Lama. I said it ironically, okay?
Apparently Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery thought this joke was somehow original, and somehow a good idea to try out on the Dalai Lama himself. So when introduced to his holiness, Myron babbled something about a fistbump being a local tradition (really?) and started awkwardly forcing his fist at the DL, saying "I've always wanted to say this: HELLO DALAI!"
- Chris Davis
- Mayor Wharton, Mayor pro tem Lowery, the Dalai Lama, and Linn Sittler
Get ready Myron, you're probably going to make the Daily Show, David Letterman, Keith Olbermann, etc. in the next 24 hours. After that, you will live on Youtube.com forever and ever. Yep, the Mayor Pro Tem is fixin' to get his 15 minutes, and he ain't gonna like it much. This clip is going get played and played (The Flyer will have one up by Davis later today.), and it will probably destroy what little shot he had at the mayor's office. Surprisingly, we Memphians still like a little dignity in our public officials, especially after the Herenton clown-show of recent years.
I did hear that Myron and his advisers had been thinking about trying to chest bump the Dalai Lama, but decided to save it for the Pope.
Comments (16)
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Now, not only does Wharton have Herenton to "thank" for the mayorship, he's got "pro" tem himself.
C'mon...Was what Myron said really all that egregious?...It was an ill-advised and harmless attempt at levity that apparently fell flat. Happens all the time.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-09-22-…
The Dalai Lama laughed, but later said the gesture reminds him of violence.
Once again, stupid people make our city shine.
Photographer, that's not exactly what he said and certainly not the point he was making as he very vigorously initiated a fist bump of his own. Besides, The DL has some previous experience with the FB and from the looks of this pic he's kind of into it.
http://static.guim.co.uk/Guardian/world/ga…
Could've been even worse with another candidate. Carol Chumney probably would have asked him if "this new autumn wrap dress makes my ass look big."
I dunno. My initial reaction was that Lowery was making another pathetic attempt at being the center of attention. He's down there w/a rival (AC) and was desperate to figure out a way to make himself stand out. Unfortunately, not in a good way.
Fortunately, the Dalai is a gracious man and made the most of the situation.
But Phlo is right. It could have been much, much worse.
And I am really praying that President Obama doesn't visit while Myron is Mayor Pro Tem. No telling what stunt ML would pull his fruitless pursuit of coolness.
OT, but not really: Is it just me, or does Channel 5 seem to be reporting on every single minute of Lowery's time as MPT?
Yes it was a bit cheesy but obviously you were wrong about our dignity. Seems that Dalai enjoyed this and it was approved with his people beforehand. All the national media seem to find it "charming". Could you imagine if King Willie would have been there...I can't imagine...maybe telling him he should shake them Chinese haters off...
I meant "No telling what ML would pull in his fruitless pursuit of coolness."
More coffee, please.
Has anyone else contemplated the hilarity if Whalum had been there, or heck Lawler or Mongo! Yes, lets send one of the other laughable candidates to represent this city and what its become.
B, I think you've nailed it as far as ML's motive. I couldn't figure out why he would act such the fool, but you're right, it was an attempt to look "cool" next to Wharton. Did. Not. Work. The DL saved the moment with his graciousness, but the "Hello, Dalai"/fist-bump greeting was a very bad idea. Wharton's dignified acceptance of the traditional greeting was much more in keeping with the spirit of the occasion than Myron's "look at me" moment.
I think Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery's fist bump was nothing more than a terribly misguided and impulsive attempt at an innocent greeting. Everybody gets starstruck and goofy at some point in their lives, and I don't know many people who wouldn't be pretty awed by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama's presence.
In my opinion, this fist-bump load amounts to nothing more than the Memphis equivalent of Howard Dean's "Byaaaaaah!" It happened; it's over. So, I think we should all just try to shake it off and move on. There is nothing we can do about it now. If anything, it's just further public audition (like a sort of trial run) by Myron Lowery for the office of Mayor of Memphis.
If you're down with the 'Fist-Bump Incident', and see it as friendly and harmless, then use it to help discern your choice for office. If you think it was a horribly embarrassing misstep by someone who was representing our city, then let that be a determining factor in who you pick. Either way, inform yourself. And for pete's sake, people... CARE! Let's take back our City! Go vote.
How many of our former politician's are in prison right now? Change change change is all we hear as of late. All it seems we are preparing for, is the election of yet another well dressed pimp. Maybe when Memphians get sick of driving around on trashed streets, and when they tire of being robbed while they walk into the grocery store, or when they have their fill of seeing yet another local official popping out of the wrong end of 201 poplar, then and only then, will we make a serious change in our political scene.
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