Friday, September 4, 2009

What are we teaching our children?

The headline at CBS Sportline read: LeGarrette Blount suspended for season for punching taunter.

LeGarrette Blount is a college football player. He may be suspended, but he retains his scholarship and will be able to practice with the team.

Meanwhile his victim, who "asked for it" is probably contemplating suing Blount for assault. Well...he's probably not contemplating it, but lots and lots of lawyers are undoubtedly contemplating it and contacting him promising he won't have to pay a thing unless they get a sizeable settlement from the University for whom Blount plays.

A couple of weeks ago, some college coach wanted his players to shake hands with the players of the opposing team before playing the game. And sports pundits wagged their heads, saying that could never happen because, if two football teams got near each other before the game, emotions would be running so high that fights would undoubtedly break out.

What kind of human beings are our schools churning out, that "men" in college can't even shake hands with each other before a sporting contest. And of course, it's not just the athletes, most of whom wouldn't even qualify to be at that college at all, except they have the physical skills to play football.

But it's not just football players who are animals, of course. What's worse is that the fans are - sitting around in sports bars and getting drunk, and then if some poor nebbish comes in wearing a hat from another team, he's going to get stomped into a coma and the only reaction will be, "Well, he should have known better to go into a sports bar wearing that hat."

Then there's professional wrestling. I never watch that crap, but I see the commercials on TV and they are all the same, lots of over-muscled jocks preening and prancing around, lots of over-endowed women strutting around on high-heels knowing that they are no more than eye-candy and sex objects, with no respect in any gaze looking at them. And what do kids learn? Why, that it's perfectly all right to hit a referee trying to stop you from beating up on a downed opponent, it's perfectly all right stomping someone lying helpless on the ground before you, it's perfectly all right to show no sportsmanship whatever.

And then we wonder how gangs of young kids - both girls and boys - can be wandering around throwing rocks or snowballs at people, and should their victim get angry and tell them off, they'll surround him and stomp him into a coma like the animals they are.

I hate to insult animals with my analogy, by the way. Humans are worse than animals, because they have the brains to know the consequences of their actions. Sadly, they just don't care....

And that makes for a frightening world. 4,000 years of "evolution", and people are just as vicious and psychotic now as they've ever been.

No comments: