sticks and words

In the heat of the game, when even one of the better players on the court, being paid millions and millions of dollars for nothing more then entertainment and filling seats in stadiums for even wealthier persons, a foul is called by an official and suddenly filled with anger, hate, frustration and pure pissy attitude he slings a shot calling said official a F@*%!* (you know the F word used to describe with great negativity anyone Gay and anyone Bad).

Politically correct people are aghast. Talking heads from the world of sport are amazed. Many people are confused, and some folk feel this is nothing at all to be riled up or ruminating over. Some say you can hear the word F@*%* shouted on almost every basketball court in almost any city, town or village in America. Some say it was all said in the adrenaline of the game seeping through the testosterone of an athlete who at the time only could see victory slipping away and had to use a weak form of vitriolic to stop the bleeding.

Now, the accuser feels he is the victim, and now the discussion is more about the fine of $100,000 and the fact that he didn’t mean what he said and it was of course said in the heat of the battle and since the battle has ended let bygones be bygones. And oh by the way he apologized.

I wonder why words to deride, destroy, devastate people are used in the first place. And I wonder why when someone who uses those words apologizes and many times we are pleased with the apology and never bother to ask the next question… why you felt compelled to use that slang, slur, and sinister verbiage in the first place…what were you trying to convey when you decided to destroy someone with derogatory?

In a time in our history of this great nation when accusations, name calling, division of we vs. they, is so prevalent and enemies are preferred over friends and the easy way out is to defame, and deny, I believe we have to ask any high profile figure why do you call people hateful names? Why, when, whether you like it or not, you are the center of attention, have millions of fans watching your every move, mimicking your mere behavior do must muster up the lack of courage and stereotype, slander and single out people by calling them names?

I can not accept the apology when in fact I have no idea why what YOU said was said in the first place. I can not hear you say sorry, if in fact you can not decide that the word sorry is said because we caught you red handed or because you actually realized why you said what you said in the first place and how hurtful that comment was.

Isn’t it time we stopped calling names and started naming the reasons why we need to stoop so low as to define others as different from us? Isn’t it time to go beyond the apology and admit that we don’t know enough about people perceived to be different than us and that scares us. And when scared we use that fear and feel the need to be offensive. Isn’t it time we begin to understand the power of words and know even if said and apologized for they are still resonating in the minds hearts and souls of others who need no more than mimicking from someone they idolize and will be used as ammunition to actualize their bigotry and bias?

Sticks and stones break many bones which can be healed, name calling is a relentless wound that festers and festers. I believe we need to find out why we need to be so hurtful in what we say.

It is about what we say, and more so why we have to say it.