Dennis Rodman Arrives in North Korea. Is this a good time for the U.S. to send in the drones?
For what it’s worth, Dennis Rodman, also known as “The Worm” is visiting North Korea. Yeah. Dictator 3.0, Kim Jong-un, is apparently big on the NBA, and Rodman is probably the only guy nutty enough to pay his Royal Kimness a visit.
The 51-year-old former NBA standout, both on and off the court, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday with three Harlem Globetrotters in tow. Rodman, who will play some exhibition b-ball and run some workshops for kids, also visited the national museum where a Michael Jordan-signed basketball given to Kim Jong-il in 2000 by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright is displayed among national treasures.
Rodnam is also taking part in a documentary being filmed there by Canadian-American journalist Shane Smith, who told reporters:
It’s weird because when you go there, it’s all very anti-American,” Smith said. “North Korean kids are fed anti-American propaganda from pretty much the day they are born. But it’s O.K. to like American basketball.
While people may rag on Rodman for this enormous publicity stunt dubbed, “basketball diplomacy,” I think it’s a good thing and certainly can’t make the U.S.-North Korean relationship any worse than it already is.
We got invited and we just came over to have some fun,” Rodman said. “Hopefully, everything will be O.K. and the kids will have a good time with the games.
Apparently, Rodman is not well versed in geography, much less diplomacy. This was made painfully apparent by his dispatch on Twitter:
Maybe I’ll run into the Gangnam Style dude while I’m here.
Weak Dennis, very weak.
And yet, for all his weirdness, geopolitical ignorance and bad hair, his intentions seem valid and worthy.
I’m not a politician. Kim Jung Un & North Korean people are basketball fans. I love everyone. Period. End of story.
Perhaps the best quote was when he was introduced to the General Secretary of the North Korean Basketball Association. Rodman extended his hand and said “Cool man, nice to meet you.”
No, no wait. This one is even better. From ESPN:
Shown a photo of a snarling Rodman, piercings dangling from his lower lip and two massive tattoos emblazoned on his chest, one North Korean in Pyongyang recoiled and said: “He looks like a monster!
Ah yes, the nuances of diplomacy.
