Some Questions & A Rant
Questions
If you’re walking up and down the aisles of the grocery store and notice that someone has a box of Fiber One or All Bran cereal in their cart do you draw conclusions about the reasons for their cereal choice? Maybe you don’t pay attention to that stuff, but if a person’s mind works in that direction I wonder if bran cereals shouldn’t maybe be treated like other personal items and put under a bag of chips or something to keep it private like other possible unmentionables.
If a company has “Affordable” in their name does that imply that the service they offer might not be quite up to par? Like Affordable Roofing, or Affordable Carpet Cleaning, or Affordable Lawn Care. Why are they affordable and what do they not give you that the unaffordable companies do give you? Maybe I’m looking at it wrong, but I think “affordable” is a red flag for me when it comes to product quality.
A Rant
Why do we tolerate violence in sports? I’m thinking about this now after the most recent incident involving NBA player Meta World Peace celebrating his two-point dunk by leveling his elbow into an opposing player’s head and giving him a concussion. In his apology, World Peace said the incident was “unfortunate” and that he was simply “emotional and excited” after scoring making his basket and the elbow to the head was “unintentional”. However, in handing down a seven-game suspension, NBA commissioner David Stern said the elbow was “recklessly thrown” and went on to say: “It’s really very serious stuff and it does take in account the fact that the perpetrator is who he is and has the record that he has, and this called for, in our view, a very stiff penalty. And we think that seven games, which only includes one regular-season game, is such a stiff penalty.”
The “perpetrator”? Wow, sounds serious. Pardon my cynicism over Stern’s announcement, but why is seven games such a big deal? If this guy is a perpetrator with a sketchy record, why not simply ban him from the game and end of problem?
And the same with all those goons and “enforcers” skating in circles and beating up people on NHL rinks. Does professional hockey really need “enforcers”, and by allowing the fighting to continue, are they not-so-secretly telling us the game – their (not-so-affordable!) product – which is played so beautifully at the high school, college and Olympic level, can’t generate interest without breaking down into a melee from time to time?
Finally, how about an entire team of perpetrators like the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and their “bounty” system where players were financially rewarded for purposely injuring opponents?
Why are these players, who I admit are exceptions to the norm, allowed by their employers to continue playing and making hefty multimillion dollar salaries? The better question, and the one that bugs me, is why do we tolerate it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Michael B. Fishman
Michaelsfishbowl 
I don’t get the sports thing either.
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My theory is we sink money into these people for their talent (more money than we pay our highest government officials) and that gives them a pass to behave badly. They are talented so we let bad behavior slide. It’s the same with movie stars they are in the spotlight and suddenly our tolerance of their badness goes up (see also Lindsay Lohan). We do tolerate it and it’s sad. We pay them to perform and their performance is more important to us because we want to be entertained.
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I agree, but I wonder if we don’t have a sort of double standard in place? We let these people get away with what they want until they do the one thing that insults our sensibilities and then suddenly we’re up in arms and firing/suspending/fining them? I don’t know what it says about us that we’re willing to sacrifice our values for the sake of entertainment or for entertainers?
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I think TheOthers1 hit the nail on the head. I think also that some people go to the games for the fights or to the races to see the crashes
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Hockey fans I’ve talked to here have told me they like the fights and that they’re necessary because the game is too fast and too emotional and they players need to let off steam. Haven’t they ever heard of self control? I’ve got one of those stress balls they can have to squeeze!
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We in the UK have similar problems, and I think it is the arrogance of money and wealth they obtain through their sport. This country has actually just jailed a footballer for violence. I think no one should tolerate it,the same violence on the street would result in criminal action, so why not on the sporting arenas they are on… nice thought provoking post…;)
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PS our government is allegedly trying to clean it up, but we all know money talk louder than actions…
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That’s exactly how I feel, Gerry – no one should tolerate it. If a guy walks up to someone on the street and punches him in the face he’s going to go to jail. But if a football player (UK or US version) or a hockey player or a basketball player does it they get little more than a slap on the wrist.
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I can only echo your thoughts, 😉
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#1. I see no need to hide foods that contain high fiber. I think its more of a health conscious thing nowadays.
#2. I wouldn’t trust any company with “affordable” in the name, or “best”, or anything along those lines. To me, it screams “if we only put ten seconds of thought in to our name, just think how much time we’ll put into the work we do for you!”
#3. I am a hockey fans and no the fights aren’t necessary, though the occasional fight can be fun to watch. They usually are only each guy throwing a few punches then getting tired. Very rarely is there any actual damage done. It’s the cheap shot checks to the head that are the biggest concern in hockey. Recently, Raffi Torres got suspended for 25 games for a head shot. Personally I think he should be thrown out of the league, but nobody really seems to care what the fans think as long as they keep opening their wallets.
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I agree completely, Michael. This is the main reason that I don’t like or watch hockey. I do love basketball, but it also has malcontents and brats like Ron Artest (Metta World Peace–what an ironic name for him to choose), not to mention Latrell Sprewell, who tried to strangle his coach and yet was still permitted to stay in the NBA. I always liked Stern as a commissioner, but lately he’s becoming as gutless as Bud Selig. Seven games? That’s supposed to be a severe penalty? Especially with a history like Artest’s? I’d love to see the commissioner take a strong stand and throw these guys out of the sport for good. I mean, Artest isn’t exactly a superstar. It’s not like its Kobe or LeBron, who probably would’ve gotten only one-game suspensions.No one–not even the superstars–should be allowed to get away with this kind of behavior. But as always it’s all about the money. The purity and beauty of the game don’t mean anything anymore. Sad.
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