Shame on you, Dennis Rodman

Mr. Rodman, you come from the United States of America. This is the country that allowed you to reach your full potential in athletics, in which you ended up becoming a professional basketball player and played with greats such as Michael Jordan and Isaiah Thomas.

How can you befriend a man who leads a government that is drenched in the blood of its citizens? A government that can barely afford to feed its own people while developing nuclear weapons.

Mr. Rodman, the timing of your visit to North Korea could not have been worse. Your friend, Mr. Kim Jong-un, is now known across the world as the man who had his own uncle executed.

Americans like me are very familiar with your attention-seeking behavior. Wearing a wedding dress to a book signing is one thing. However, being a propaganda tool for a Stalinist dictatorship is an all time low, even for you. Living under the Kim family is no laughing matter. For some ungodly reason, you seek the attention of Kim Jong-un. But you would act differently if you were one of the North Koreans stuck in a prison camp or evading Chinese police for fear of being repatriated back to North Korea, just because you wanted a decent meal or higher standard of living. The last thing you would want is the attention of Kim Jong-un.

As you head back to the world’s last Stalinist dictatorship, just remember that you are giving credence to a man and a government that would throw you in jail just for acting in the eccentric way you do if you were a citizen of North Korea.

Your visit does nothing to help the North Korean people; you are only shining more light on a man who keeps his people in the dark, just like his father and grandfather before him. Shame on you, Dennis Rodman.

*Abdiel N. Lawrence English teacher currently residing in Geoje, Korea