I think I'm a far better man than I once was. I'm less prone to angry outbursts. I'm far more attuned to my privilege and so many others' lack thereof. I'm (a bit) less selfish.
But I've got work to do.
I confess that I'm not above hate-rooting. The edge might've come off some of the garden-variety stuff, like the Yankees and Auburn and Manchester United. Still hate 'em, just don't get as easily exercised as I once did. But newly inflamed passion still has a way of getting into the quick of my emotional fingernails (what?), even when I really don't care all that much about the broader context.
To wit, I will root fervently against the Cleveland Browns* for as long as Deshaun Watson is on their roster. That has less to do with Watson himself (though, fuck that guy) and far more with the vocal minority (we must hope) of Browns fans who are willing to overlook the very credible allegations against the quarterback.
Gleefully so, in the case of these fucking assholes:
We're tribal. We have a basic human need to belong. That makes us do incredibly stupid shit on occasion in the name of the group. I have personal regrets about some of that shit, as do most of us, I suspect. But when we fail the simplest test of decency, well, then we should be scorned, mocked, and cast out from the regard of polite society.
* With yet one more acknowledgement that I wish Johnny G were still alive so we could pillory him for the fuckery of his team's ownership (for signing Watson for a stupid amount of money when they were bidding against themselves) and fellow fans. His defense of the Brownies in this case would be half-hearted, like their effort in the fourth quarter against the Jets last Sunday.
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