The brutal exposure of history-making Olympian, Michael Phelps, and his pot-smoking incident captured with a cell-phone camera at a house-party has raised a ruckus from the newstand that would not even have made it to a squeezed-in one-line print in the Classifieds section, had it been me caught getting high on a bong-stick plastered to my face at a friend's party.
Why then, is it that 23 year old Phelps is subject to such global scrutiny whilst fellow American peers are condoned when engaging in this smoking activity? I'm pretty sure that Phelps wasn't the one and only man in the room who'd touched that pipe.
This encapsulates the concept of "Figure and Ground" covered in our communications class, falling under the category "Perception" and one of the "Organisational Principles" governing it. Essentially, the "Figure" decribes the focus of out attention while "Ground" refers to the setting or context surrounding the focus. The salient point: it is the FIGURE that exerts a considerable influence on our perception.
Applying these principles...
Ground: A private house-party attended by students from the University of South Carolina. According to illustrated facts provided by "News of the World" (http://www.notw.co.uk/), Phelps had dropped in on the party to visit Jordan Matthews, a student of that school, and with whom he was dating.
Figures: School kids getting high on smoking marijuana.
The Figure that stood out: Michael Phelps getting high on smoking marijuana.
We might think that double standards are being applied to the little scenario we have here, and that it is unfair that Phelps should have to shoulder this guilt of being caught smoking pot. He later confesses to the act after the release of the news by the press and offers a public apology for his actions where he says: “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.” http://www.popcrunch.com/michael-phelps-smoking-marijuana-photo-im-sorry/
However, that is just the way it is. Perceptions are made and formed with the quick transmission of electrical pulses that surge through the synapses residing in the place we call the brain. Before we can catch ourselves from making possible skewed and slanted or biased impressions, it is done. Only upon reflection later on do we find ourselves looking back on an issue and wondering if we had overlooked missing pieces to a puzzle, and if judgement had been passed too fast.
As a repercussion of this published news "scandal", Phelps has lost an endorsement contract with Kellogg, and faces a suspension from partaking in any competition for three months. Some would say he deserves a heavier punishment, undeserving of such "light" sentences simply because of his status as a sports celebrity, implying the presence of special treatment. Others deem that the meriting of attention to such a menial act of smoking pot at all in the first place is ludicrous, when there are plenty others getting killed on the streets over heavy drug-dealings everyday.
We have one figure and one ground, illiciting a million drawn perceptions.
What is yours?
