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One of the most fundamental reasons I blog is to improve my writing. As the old saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” How else can I get good at it if I’m not well-practiced? The other reason is to try and undo some brainwashing. To all of us, it can be unkind for someone to tell us that a mysterious person/s has brainwashed us. But… it’s the truth! Some brainwashed people don’t realize it. The most brainwashed people may try to teach others their brainwashed point of view and rebuke those who reject it. Ouch! Due to this, I’ve coined terms like “legal corruption,” “self-justified bigot,” or “heathenistic shot callers.”
You’re the ultimate fan for life!
As you may imagine, this has not sat well with everyone. I’ve been called rude and arrogant. One critic even scolded me, “who made you a philosopher?!” In that person’s mind, I needed someone’s permission to point out the cultural mentality we inherited in the West. Take sports, for example. If you’re a sports fan, you have a favorite player, team, or sport. You spend money and time watching games, following players’ careers, and supporting your team. You proudly buy and sport their merchandise – hats, jerseys, wristbands, sweaters, bed sheets, curtains, bumper stickers, etc. You’re the ultimate fan for life!
Whenever your team wins, you celebrate. Whenever your team loses, you go down with them. You are a diehard fan! So what’s wrong with this? Absolutely nothing! You’re a warm-blooded national of whatever country you come from. You love the team you support. In some cases, your team support is downright patriotic. However, here is where brainwashing comes to play. You love your team. Check. You have a favorite player or two. Check. Your support and cheer! Check. Have you ever observed who is involved in the games you watch? In every game, three distinct groups of people influence the outcome.
Yet, the ref played a crucial role in the game. Ultimately, we hear players explaining, coaches interviewing, general managers, etc.”
Who are they? They are the players on each team, the commentators who make announcements and reports, and the referee who officiates it. These are the people who influence every game. You’re probably saying, “well, I already knew that” That’s great. Have you watched the highlights after a game? Or read the paper the next day? Maybe you saw the report on the game on your social media newsfeed. Did you notice that those reports were JUST about the teams? Not a thing about the referee? This is wrong! As if to say the players showed up and played, and the outcome was based on their talent and efforts.
The referee plays a significant role in the game. Every call that he makes, every call that was never made, all contributed to the game’s outcome. However, you never hear the commentator say, “and the _________ team lost this game because referee so and so did not call such and such.” Someone has programmed you to think only about the players. So you think it’s crazy for anyone to expect the commentator to condemn or praise the referee on their excellent or lousy officiating of the game? If you think I’m being preposterous, it brings me back to my point. Who said we shouldn’t question the referee?
Have you ever seen a ref interviewed after the game? Has anyone asked a ref to explain the calls he made or didn’t make? Yet, the ref played a crucial role in the game. Ultimately, we hear players explaining, coaches interviewing, general managers, etc. The commentator and the ref, who was also involved in the game, are absent in accountability. Why so? Because worldwide, someone has brainwashed fans to ignore the ref and the commentator. We only praise or condemn the players. However, that player or team may have lost or won based on the calls that the refs made during the game… tell me where I’m wrong.*
