I think most of you will agree that when you were a child you did not get a reward when you screwed up. There was never a time my dad ever said, “Hey Randy, great job breaking the window playing ball near the house, let’s go get some ice cream” or “I am so proud of you for skipping school, I bet the other kids are not as good at it as you.” Here’s one, “Can’t you get at least one more speeding ticket, maybe one for drag racing that will skyrocket the insurance? Maybe even get it canceled?” Maybe some were rewarded for misbehaving, but never in my world. It just didn’t happen.
It seems so often today that bad behavior is covered up with the reason why. Many of the reasons why are real issues that real people deal with. But let’s face it, many are made up reasons to condone poor choices and bad behavior.
Case and point: I was showing a house the other day to a family from Springfield wanting to move to Highland County. They were telling me about another student that went to their child’s school. The issue was that the student identified as a furry. For those of you who don’t know what that is, that’s a whole other column. The student was at odds with the school because a litter box was not supplied for the student. The student wore a cat costume with a tail and claws. Call me old school, but this is wanting a reward for bad behavior, among many other things.
We all know today’s world is a bit different than the past. Now, some things have changed or evolved to something better. I’m not sure why all of us talk about how much better and harder life was for us than the generation following. Maybe it’s like the stories my grandfather used to tell me. Each time they morphed just a little making him more immortal almost compared to the same story as told previously.
I will say my faith in professional sports was renewed during the playoffs this past January. Some would consider me a fair-weather fan and that would probably be correct. I don’t watch many regular season games, but I do watch the playoffs for most of them.
A couple of months ago two professional teams were playing to obtain a spot in the biggest game for them of the year. Some athletes have had spectacular careers and never have gotten a chance to play in the Super Bowl. Millions of us saw it and could not believe it was actually happening. A player, obviously was upset, took off his uniform down to the waist and did jumping jacks out of the stadium. He quit just like that towards the end of the game. The reason why depends on who is telling the story. According to the ,he was forced to play hurt. According to the coach, he was benched. Now, this player has been suspended in the past and has always been a problem on and off the field. There’s really no way to be sure unless you were there, but my money is the coach had very good reasons for taking him out of the game.
What I got out of the situation wasn’t the “why”, but the immediate outcome. There wasn’t any talk about what the team or the coach could do for him. Nor anything mentioned about how the player was coping. The coach made a monumental speech in my opinion. He said, “He will no longer be on this team.” That was so huge to me. No discussions. No concessions. He is out of here. What if the crazy things we have all seen and even been involved in today were handled this way? What if the child wanting the litter box was just told to find another school?
There are rules, laws (written and unwritten), and systems in place for most everything we do. In time a few may need to be amended, but for the most part they are there because they work. So many things today just do not make good sense.
I wonder if we have become so concerned with each other’s feelings that it has clouded our judgment about right and wrong?
My grandma used to tell me that no matter how many people are doing or involved in something that’s wrong, it doesn’t make it right.
Is this true?
Randy Butler is a lifelong resident of Highland County and a licensed real estate agent for Classic Real Estate in Hillsboro.
