Violence And Cruelty In The Age Of YouTube
There is a saying: “Live as if the whole world was watching.” It’s probably not widely followed. But it is a principle to consider.
If you’re not familiar with the story of Elizabeth Lambert, the Universtity of New Mexico soccer player whose recent violent actions were caught on film, here is the Associated Press and ESPN footage of her cruel actions toward her opponents:
Lambert’s status at this point is that she has been indefinitely suspended and she has issued a written public apology regretting her actions.
Elizabeth Lambert on Wikipedia
The footage is appalling.
It is especially striking to watch highly-trained women athletes doing these activities. We probably see equally violent actions between highly-trained male athletes much more often.
Many people still have an unsophisticated calculation that leads them to justify doing things “out of view,” things they would not do if the whole world knew what they were doing.
Take the balloon boy family for example. For their scheme to work, it would have required the entire family, wife and children, to convincingly portray an improbable-to-believe lie for the rest of their lives. Even if they could have pulled it off initially or for a long time, it would not have been a pleasant way to live.
Today I wrote on my 43Things account:
No one else makes you unkind to others. If you are unkind, it is by your choice.
I’m not writing this post to sling mud at Elizabeth Lambert. Her actions have become known, and she will choose the rest of her life to determine how else she will be defined. There probably is not anyone who has played sports on a highly-competitive level who has not done something in a split-second decision they regret. Most of us don’t have millions of people forever watching our momentary lapses of judgment. I wish all the players involved the best going forward.
We’re not simply defined by our mistakes. We’re also defined by how we respond to them – by our accountability, our sincere apology, and where applicable, our realized restitution.
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I really appreciated your last paragraph. So often people do not accept each other’s humanity and they will not accept a person making mistakes.
It is hard to do that when one is disappointed to be sure…but acceptance of each other’s foibles as well as holding people accountable is necessary to community peace…and to just being happy.
How can anyone truly love if they get all conditional about it? Even basic compassion for another human being becomes impossible without the ability to step beyond mistakes and foibles and see a person trying to rise above those things that bring disappointment about themselves.
A good message to bring to the world. Blessings!
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omo: Thank you.