When Men Were Men

I always find it interesting when societal issues arise to watch the hysteria and the lack of clarity in analyzing what's appropriate for our culture. The most recent bullying issue involving the Miami Dolphins is just the most recent example of this. It is very clear what happened and very obvious that the infractions that occurred were culturally, personally, and professionally unacceptable. As a society we are constantly struggling to rise above are lowest common denominator and exhibit behavior reminiscent of a more intellectually advanced society. We are constantly condemning gay bashing abuse towards women and racial profiling as unethical and unacceptable in our society, yet somehow when this abuse occurs in a professional football locker room it's somehow less than terrible. The talking heads on the radio and television have actually raised the question as to whether the simple solution would have been for the victim to punch the other person in the mouth as the proper way of correcting this injustice. Better yet I would prefer a dual at Dawn with pistols at 10 yards. Martin the victim, tried to be a good soldier and work through this abuse and when he couldn't take it anymore he did the appropriate thing, and went to his superiors and the powers to be to correct the situation that had gotten out of control. When people start making death threats and threatening your family, ignoring the situation is impossible. Rather than respecting Martin's professionalism and class in some circles he has somehow been cast as a snitch and male content because he tried to take care of the situation by taking the high road. It's amazing to me that this is the kind of message some of these talking heads are trying to send. If this situation had occurred at a high school a workplace environment a private office or anywhere else there would be no question about how to handle it and the solution would not be to have a mud wrestling match in the middle of the office or hospital or school room; but because it's football we have to solve this man to man. I'm all for being tough, defending yourself, taking responsibility for your actions, and not letting people intimidate you, but going to superiors rather than using a gun, smashing someone in the face, or killing a person does not mean you did the wrong thing. Crosby Stills Nash and & Young have a song called "Teach Your Children Well ". We are taught our society is only evolved if we are able to gain justice for all, how we do this also speaks to our character and our commitment to that idea. Martin is trying to do it the right way. He should be supported not criticized...