I am a relatively young buck, but I have certainly seen video of the fantastic parade the world threw in honor of the sadistic Austrian following his tragic, self-inflicted demise.
What? There wasn't one? I'll be damned. I could have sworn ...
Well, at the very least, I was certainly old enough to drive all night and attend the candlelight vigil in Raleigh where Rae Carruth was imprisoned after his pregnant girlfriend had the nerve to die and give birth to a child with cerebral palsy due to a tragic and pre-mature birth. All because of a silly little drive-by shooting. The day they found that poor Carruth huddling in a trunk, confused, scared and the true victim in this sordid tale...I wept.
Yeah. You're right. That didn't happen either.
But do you know what DID happen? A steroid-riddled former "professional" wrestler killed his wife and son, co-habitated with them for the weekend, their bodies laying in the house, before sending chilling text messages to his "colleagues" and then hanging himself on weight equipment. Disgusting and tragic, right? Yeah...for the inhuman, muscle-bound, mental midget, right?
At least that's what the world of professional wrestling thinks.
I need to confess that I am NOT a wrestling fan. I think it speaks to the lowest common denominator of society and is an embarrassment to American culture. But this has nothing to do with wrestling. This is a simple issue of humanity. What did WWE do in the wake of this familial tragedy? They ran a three-hour TRIBUTE to Chris Benoit showing his "best" matches over the years and interviews with announcers and "athletes" who knew him.
Words are insufficient to describe how revolted I was when I heard this. What could possibly be the positive outcome of this? Aside from ratings. Quite simply, this personifies the problems with wrestling, the quest for ratings and the mental state of the demographic targeted by WWE and WCW and the like.
This is not to say I am not slightly sympathetic to the individuals over-run by the effects of steroids. They are horrific drugs that morph the body physically, chemically and mentally into a shell of what it once was. But these individuals CHOOSE to take these drugs. They know the risks. Compare this with alcoholics, schizophrenics and others who are mentally ill...admittedly they do not deserve a free pass...but they are not in control of the diseases which afflict their minds and bodies. Instead, we vilify them. We take their jobs, we place stigmas on them, insurance companies are more likely to pay for steroids, destined for nefarious uses, than they are extensive mental health care.
Kill your wife and child, live with their bodies for a weekend and then kill yourself...you get a televised, three-hour tribute. Battle the immobilizing effects of depression and you lose your job and go into bankruptcy trying to hold your life together. Right.
Oh, crap, I have to go. The "Support OJ" telethon is on and I have to pledge.
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1 comment:
I'm pretty sure the details weren't released prior to them doing the tribute... although it is hard to believe they didn't consider holding off until the real facts were out. I think you are on to something there, all Vince has ever done is whatever it takes to get ratings. He is a dick.
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