America's Pastime Boosts America's Cultural Fads
             What does one usually envision when they think of America? Stereotypically responses include apple pie, cheeseburgers, liberty, and baseball. All the previously mentioned things have a significant cultural place in America. For example, baseball has been our "National Pastime" for over 100 years. While maintaining its status as our national pastime, baseball has influenced our society throughout its storied history. Baseball players are superstar icons who have a gripping effect on society. Because the high stature baseball has held over the years, it is a surprise that it has recently aided in a new cultural phenomenon of victimization. The current popular trend in America is to be considered a victim. Jack Solomon and Sonia Maasik explain this phenomenon in their essay, "Representing the "Other" in American Culture", when they say that "in the current discourse of 'otherness' in America, not to be a victim is often held equivalent to being a victimizer"(606). Baseball players have demonstrated this way of thinking in the notorious strike of 1994 and the recent labor disputes in August of 2002. Baseball players felt they were being bullied by owners and were victims of their tyrannical demands during labor negotiations. If these predominantly white, multimillionaire players can be victims, why can't all normal Americans be? With a spotlight example, Americans have pop culture
             support, in baseball players, to continue the expansion of the victimization in our society.
             When someone thinks of victims, one does not usually think of a multi millionaire of an athlete as the epitome. Some of the issues the "victims" and the owners discussed during labor talks related to the collective bargaining agreement, which is the basis of negotiations and determining player salary during free agency. (These...