BLM and the Twin Cities Maslowthon

It ain't easy to get that "26.2" sticker for your car. Especially if Black Lives Matter stops you:

Four days before more than 11,000 runners line up for the start of Sunday’s Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, the threat by protesters to disrupt the 26.2-mile race has some marathoners on edge about their safety, while others are angry that months of training could be jeopardized as they approach the finish line.

The St. Paul chapter of Black Lives Matter says it’s planning on “shutting down” the annual October running event near the finish at the State Capitol to raise awareness of recent incidents involving St. Paul police and people of color.

It's a cagey maneuver for BLM, because as the definitive "Stuff White People Like" site says, white people love marathons:

If you find yourself in a situation where a white person is talking about a marathon, you must be impressed or you will lose favor with them immediately.  Running for a certain length of time on a specific day is a very important thing to a white person and should not be demeaned.

Also worth nothing, more competitive white people prefer triathlons because Kenyans can’t afford $10,000 specialty bicycles.  If the subject ever comes up, just say that triathletes are in better shape than football and basketball players.  It’s not true, but it will make the conversation a lot more genial.

It's not clear whether BLM organizer Rashad Turner has a $10,000 specialty bicycle, but he does have a good sense of what buttons to push:

The St. Paul group’s spokesman, Rashad Turner, declined an interview request but sent a text quoting Martin Luther King Jr. saying that “the Negro’s great stumbling block to freedom…is the white moderate who is more devoted to order than justice…who constantly says, ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action.’ ”

A well-chosen quote that's especially amusing given Turner's mode of operation. I'm not convinced that Rashad Turner gives a damn about anyone other than the fellow he sees in his mirror, so this is a great battle of narcissists. Woe betide the person who gets in the way of self-actualization, especially the sort that comes with months of training. The famous psychologist Abraham Maslow believed that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment through personal growth, and training for a marathon is a good example of theory meeting practice. Let's face it -- any schlub can go to the State Fair or a Vikings game, previous targets of the Turner Troupe, but fat dudes can't run marathons. If I need to travel 26.2 miles, I grab the car keys, and maybe a donut to eat in the car. Your hierarchy of needs may vary.

Maslow also said "if the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." Turner is a 5-lb. sledge. This will be interesting to watch.