One of the advantages of being a nobody with a blog that nobody reads... is that I get to say whatever I want. I fly under the radar. I don't have to worry about upsetting anyone, because if I did, I wouldn't be able to let it fly the way I'm about to.
We got a bad deal. A terrible deal. We traded a Russian badass for an American dumbass. A "Merchant of Death" for an nobody athlete who plays dribble-jump.
A "Blue-Eyes White Dragon":
For a "Dancing Elf":
Even if you don't get the "Yu-Gi-Oh" reference, you'll still get the gist of it.
Almost everyone, even those on the right-wing talk shows, have been very, very careful to utter the phrase "we're very glad that Brittney is back" before launching into why the trade was so bad. I'm not one of those people. I am NOT glad that she's back. She does not deserve to be standing on American soil. Not after all the bad mouthing and criticisms she had of her own country, even refusing to stand on the court while the American national anthem is being played. All we heard from her was about was how racist and oppressive this country is to "people like her". Namely black, female and lesbian. That's three victim cards she's played better than her sports profession.
Meanwhile, an actual victim of the Russian courts, a former marine by the name of Paul Whelan, continues to languish in a Russian prison on supposedly trumped up charges of espionage. He's been there since 2018. Griner herself has spent less than a year in prison. But now with "The Merchant of Death" Viktor Bout's release back into the arms of Mother Russia, there is next to nothing to offer in return for Mr. Whelan's own release.
What a waste of an opportunity. Biden mouthpiece Karine Jean-Pierre has responded to criticisms of the trade by responding that "it was either her, or nobody" and that "remember that she too is an American citizen".
I'd rather that we had gotten nobody. At the very least, we'd still have Bout in custody, not a free man who will likely go right back to what he was doing best... selling arms to the highest bidder. Including to those who would kill Americans. He's called the "Merchant of Death" for a reason. He's not some Esports geek that picked that name for himself because it sounded cool. He earned that monniker.
So no. I'm NOT glad that Griner is back. She's a U.S. citizen by law, yes. But she's no American. My guess is, the only thing she's learned is that even an anti-American like herself will still get bailed out by the very country she despises. She's just lucky that a fellow anti-American like herself is calling the shots right now, or she'd still be sitting in a Russian prison.
As for Mr. Paul Whelan? Sorry.
Wrong race. Wrong gender. Wrong sexual orientation.