This past weekend, in an event in Miami, a young NFL Player found himself walking away from his team after ongoing bullying.
This morning, Rush Limbaugh took the airwaves to let people know that this was an 'example of the changing culture of masculinity' and that 'while I could be wrong about that.." He called into question the sheer concept of people calling foul at being bullied. And that these kind of events had always gone on, and more then that, it's what men should expect.
From Rush's commentary:
"I so little trust what I see in the mainstream media.
But the first thing that intrigued me was.. how in the world do you have bullying in an NFL lockerroom?
How does a 300lb guy get bullied by a 280lb guy? Martin is bigger than Incognito.."
Because we all know, violence against someone harassing you, or your ability to enact violence against that person completely negates any concept of bullying.
The right wing and general echo chamber jumped in, filling message boards, laying out Rush's theme.. that this is in some way a slap at the 'gender roles' as Rush puts it of the culture.
Rush:
Now there have been other, former players - now commentators who have said what Martin needed to do was punch him in the face, not take this kind of stuff. That's the old way of doing things. But the new way is not. There is conflict resolution 101, people sitting down, hammering out differences, trying to feel better. And I wonder how much of this is cultural change, and the new culture of diminishing masculinity
http://espn.go.com/...
"Hey, wassup, you half n----- piece of s---. I saw you on Twitter, you been training 10 weeks. [I want to] s--- in your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your f---ing mouth. [I'm going to] slap your real mother across the face [laughter]. F--- you, you're still a rookie. I'll kill you."
Sources tell ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that officials from both the NFL and the Dolphins have heard the tape and have copies of the message.
Sources familiar with the tapes say these are terms Incognito used over time and were not isolated incidents, including the use of the racial epithet multiple times.
As the story came to fruition, it became obvious that series of racial slurs, threats against his person and an ongoing campaign that involved everything from prank calls, repeated text messages and reported keying of his cars along with extortion of money was happening.
Rush's solution of 'they should sort it out like men' is the kind of advice we normally try to avoid in harrassment cases - you never know what the other side will do; tell a battered woman to child to 'confront their abuser' is horrible advice that is just as likely to get someone really hurt.
But it's OK, because in Rush's world, that's how 'men' solve things, and all of this 'reporting people to the law' is just a wussy approach to the problem.
Except, of course, when it comes to Rush, who admits he too was bullied.
So, which is it? And more then that, if you don't know the facts, why jump in and make assumptions about how this speaks to making men weak/etc.?
Martin did the right thing. He involved his employer in a case of ongoing workplace harassment. That's what we want to happen; would you want any conflict in you office solved by people fighting in the break room? Is walking up and punching a co-worker an effective strategy?
For Rush and his ilk, it's just a 'damn shame' that solutions through violence don't exist any more, because darnit, you're trying to stop 'men from being men'.
Well, as a guy.. I have no desire to start a brawl. I'll let the law handle that.
Mr. Incognito can find out what life is like on the outside of football, and realize just because he has talent doesn't mean he's above the law.
