Dennis Rodman in North Korea

Ideally, everybody's supposed to be equal in this country, but we're really not. It all depends on who you are. Some people can do things that are deemed OK, while if others do the very same thing, people are outraged.

Dennis Rodman seems to be a good example. Recently, the Worm took a trip to North Korea. Evidently, he was not only welcomed with open arms, but treated like royalty. Rodman was photographed sitting next to the Premier of the country, one Kim Jong Un, I believe, yukking it up at a basketball game. At that, Americans have been led to believe North Korea is bad. Even part of "an axis of evil". How do we know this? Because our government says so, and they've never lied to us -- right? In reality, the average American citizen has no idea what's going on over there.

Nevertheless, nobody seems to be in an uproar over Rodman visiting North Korea and hanging out with the Premier. On the contrary, it's generally looked upon almost like some form of entertainment. After all, with his various antics over the years, Rodman is sometimes viewed as the world's biggest kid. He's just having a good time experiencing something new. No harm done. In a few days everybody will forget about it.

But just for kicks, imagine what the reaction would have been if, say, Bill Laimbeer, a former teammate of Rodman's on the Detroit Pistons, was doing the same thing. Just a guess, but Laimbeer may very well have been painted as some sort of public enemy, much like Jane Fonda was decades ago when she went to North Viet Nam. Instead of his action being considered harmless, Laimbeer might have been hauled before a Congressional committee to be grilled, and likely stigmatized for life as some sort of traitor. Between two former teammates -- going to the same country, sitting next to the same guy, and having a few laughs watching the same basketball game would likely be viewed in vastly different ways. One guy can slide. The other probably wouldn't.

It all depends who you are. A guy like Ernie Els, "the big easy" could probably goose the Queen of England and get away with it. Royal laughter would resound throughout Buckingham Palace. Plug another guy like Manny Pacquiao into the same scenario, and his Filipino butt might find itself in a dungeon somewhere. Her Highness would not be amused -- as they say.

I hope they hurry up and decide on a new Pope. What I REALLY want to see is Sir Charles Barkley, the former "round mound of rebound", give the new Pontiff a "wedgie" when His Eminence delivers his inaugural address to the adoring throngs below in St. Peter's square. That dude can get away with just about anything, and already has, including his golf swing, but somehow everybody still loves him.