Outrageous. It is defined as something that is “shockingly
bad or excessive.” The noun form of this is “outrage.”
It is the word outrage that really springs to mind this week
on a number of levels. When a video surfaced of a drunk driving arrest of
then-Arizona Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd, people were outraged that the
New England Patriots had traded for a guy who had a history of alcohol-related
issues. Because, nobody we know has ever shown sympathy or possibly empathy for
behaviors resulting from a dependency issue. And trust me, I look forward to
any chance to rip into the rival Patriots (go Dolphins!), but not this time.
On a more local level – but something that has blown up
nationally – is the Joe Mixon video. Personally, I was “outraged” two years ago
when I heard he had hit a woman. A dismissal from the team at that time would
have been an acceptable move for me. Instead, he was suspended for a year after
he was tagged with a misdemeanor charge that had more public relations
repercussions than actual legal problems.
What is outrageous to me is this “fake outrage” people seem
to have nowadays when it comes to seeing videos of things that are already
outrageous. I don’t need a video to know it is wrong to hit a woman. Yes, it is
a separate argument as to how a man should act when he is assaulted by a female
first, but the fact remains men who are willing to hit women in any
circumstance place themselves in a situation that today’s society just doesn’t
accept.
He hit the woman over two years ago and yet people are now pretending
to be outraged about the administration’s decision to keep Mixon on the team.
Either you are for giving second chances or you are against them. Stop with the
flip-flopping in the name of fake outrage.
The problem I have is the fake way it comes across when
people get on social media and throw a fit about the behaviors of people who
engage in certain behaviors. It’s ridiculous. My guess is every single one of
us has something in our past that would be deemed “outrageous” by someone else.
Yet, we find it acceptable to embarrass those around us by pretending to be
visibly upset by something that has zero effect on us at all.
This even goes back to those who were so upset about
President Clinton’s behavior but were so willing to accept similar behaviors
from President-Elect Trump. It is outrageous that they pretended to be so
outraged. And then they were outraged at the people who were outraged at Trump
receiving the most electoral votes. The whole thing is outrageous.
It’s a great thing we live in a country that allows us
freedom of speech. I’m all for it and I have a proven track record of standing
up for our first amendment in ways that most people haven’t. But, whether it is
Floyd or Mixon or Clinton or Trump, it all comes across as the same – people in
need of a life pretending to be upset about something that just doesn’t affect
them in their daily life. My advice – stop pretending and find something else
to focus on while you are wasting time scouring through the social media news
feeds. Anything else is just an outrage.
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