Tonight two Milwaukee Brewer teammates Prince Fielder Manny Parra fought in the team's dugout and it was caught on video (Fielder went after and shoved Parra twice after they exchanged some words). Fielder had to be held back by his other teammates. Brewer manager, Ned Yost, was asked about the altercation after the game and his response was, essentially, to tell the media and public to but out. More specifically, he said what went on was going to stay "in the family" and that it's "a little bit rude for the neighbor to come next door and ask what's going on". I see.

Let's be clear about the idea Yost is invoking here. This is what many would call a "man law" that states that real men handle their own business "in the family" and other men should stay out if they have any respect for the code…and unless they want to risk physical consequences themselves.

Sickening. Sickening when you understand the level of violence that men who are handling "their family business" do in this country: a woman is battered by a man every 9 seconds. One in four women will be the victim of some kind of sexual assault in their lifetime. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to females between the age 15-44. In Maine, domestic violence is annually responsible for the majority of homicides.

So much of this violence is perpetrated right under the nose of friends, family and neighbors of the victims. So many people find all manner of excuses to make the violence "none of their business". Particularly among men, the idea the violence committed by another man towards women and children is "nobody else's business" is the crutch that supports this level of abuse that is catastrophic for so many families in Maine and around the country -- a gutless crutch at the end of the day. It # this code - is antithetical to the attributes of true manhood. It rebukes our humanity.

Hearing someone who is a role model and community leader, whether he likes it or not, reprise what ought to be an extinct social sign is disturbing.

When are we going to be done with this? If the initial response by the national sports media is any indication, this will be treated either as a joke, an entertainment, or as some kind of positive affirmation of what competitiveness among men is all about. Let's hope that we hear more thoughtful commentary that that. And, let's demand more from these men who would be role models for other males, young and old alike.

As we continue to move into the deepest parts of a historic presidential campaign, the issue of how Barack Obama's race will affect the outcome continues to be a key point of the political discourse. With Obama being the first black nominee of a major political party, the significance is obvious. But, it would be a mistake to conclude that this is the first presidential election where race (or, sex, as Hilary Clinton was concerned) has been a major factor.

It's been pointed out in the past several months by other progressive political and cultural commentators, race and sex have always been THE most significant characteristics a president can have - heretofore, to even become a nominee you must be both white and male make the grade.

A key element in the dysfunctional way in which we too often discuss race and gender in American politics is the invisibility of a candidate's sex and race when that person is a white male. It's another way we pretend to address these issues without ever really bringing the subject home....never really coming to terms about where we've been as a culture or where we are. How to have real, honest and transformative conversations about race and gender when we so often fail to even see where these lightning rods of our civic and social lives touch down? We can't truly change how a dominant dynamic of our culture does damage unless we can see where it exists. We can't if we keep our eyes closed.

Fact is, it can be argued that this has been our most substantial opportunity to diminish the role a candidate's race or sex has on presidential politics. Perhaps, if we can be honest with ourselves. Eyes, hearts and minds open. Perhaps here and now we can begin to figure out how what has mattered so much before can matter less going forward. Perhaps a chance to make what has hurt so many people before hurt less in the future...and maybe we come out the other side a wiser and better nation.