Welcome Sports Haters!

Possibly, u will change your mind.



David

Yaknow, I didn't say a word to you about anything, wmwcjr. If you read back in the thread you can see that we had a previous discussion which was much less acrimonious. Yet you have launched into an incredible tirade which I must admit shows a high level of defensiveness on your part. The fact that you took it so personally only confirms that you suffer the same problems as the people I was speaking to.

I offer you the same advice as 1981 - get the **** over it and stop acting like a child. If you can't handle other points of view than yours, then why are you on this website?

Cycloptichorn

Maybe if you had bothered to participate in some sporting activity, you would have learned that showing respect for other people is what separates you from those you disdain. Instead, you emulate their behavior, and what's worse, you're a whiner about it, insisting that you have the right to emulate their behavior. Well, you're absolutely right: you do have the perfect right to be an insulting, stereotypical ass towards those who play or enjoy sports.

But I don't know how you look yourself in the mirror. You seem to have a great deal of antipathy towards those who act in the very same way as you act yourself. I wouldn't feel good about that personally.



That's the entire point: I don't hate you at all. I pity you. You, on the other hand, seem to have a true dislike for me and those like me who don't share your opinions.

Earlier in the thread, you told someone else that 'some wounds never heal.' Please know that I am being honest when I say: I understand that, but the person that is keeping the wounds open is you, not the people who picked on you as a kid. As you've noted, most of them went on to have crap jobs and make nothing of their lives; so why not let it go? You will be happier if you do.

Cycloptichorn

In 1957, a fat kid in America was really rare. Walking a mile or two to school had something to do with it, as did PE and a handful of other things.

PE at least gave middle class kids some sort of a look at sports other than football and baseball.

One of the funniest things which used to go on was the football players trying to figure out how to play tennis with some sort of a mask or disguise on so nobody would recognize them. Tennis was viewed as a game for rich kids or queer kids but was nonetheless a highly interesting game and was always an attraction to any real athletes in the vicinity.

I usually rode to school.

Well, there WAS gunnery practice.
I was never good enuf to make the rifle team,
but it was fun.





David

cyclo, you are totally out of line.

most of the time I enjoy your posts, but in the last few pages I'm very disappointed.
Not in you, but in myself, for being surprised at your words.

Feeling pity for someone means you are showing sympathy for what they have gone through, or are going through, and implies you would be willing to help.

Your words to 1981 show none of that.

I doubt telling someone to get a life helps at all, and it definately doesn't show sympathy.

Also, what gives you the right to call the people who have been posting here since you last checked in losers?
What type of reaction did you expect, especially when it's directed at those who are quite experienced in being called losers?

Is it that big a stretch to start calling those who you're calling losers "fags", "worthless", "weak", etc?

Way to go in promoting sportmanship and good will to all.

The most brilliant fellow whom I ever met in Mensa,
Marvin, said that he despised his formal education
because he was exposed to ridicule for being too tall,
including by rude teachers.
He is around 7 feet tall.

I never heard him comment about athletics, nor about jocks.
I 'm confident that he did not participate in athletics.

He wished that he coud have been home schooled,
using a computer, but back then, we did not have
home schooling nor computers.

He said that he had never fired a gun,
nor even held one in his hands.





David

SO STIPULATED





David

You are correct; I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who blame their problems on other people, on things that happened in high school. I lose even more sympathy when those people attack me for liking something.



I believe it is an accurate judgment of the behavior that is being engaged in. I need no other justification than that, because I post here entirely for my own reasons and benefit - the same as you or anyone else.



I expected the reaction that I got. And I don't feel bad about it at all. Why should I? After all, this is an entire thread which is dedicated to denigrating myself and those like me. It was not me or Kuvasz that showed a bigoted stereotype towards those who don't care for sports, but the other side which seems intent on proving that they are useless and that those who enjoy them are stupid. Perhaps you should review some of the comments made by the people I am talking about and apply the same standards that you feel fit to apply to me.

Cycloptichorn

Oh right, you feel sorry for me, do you? Well if you truly did, then you would try and give me kind advice instead of berating my life and the way I do things. You're not here to show any sympathy; you're just here to have a go at me for attacking your fellow sports fans which I can do if I want. Seriously, lots of people blame their problems on other groups and I do that to sports fans because they made my high school life hell. Do you know how it feels to be on the receiving end of a swirlie? There I was, having a pee, then some meatheads came in for a smoke and saw me on my own and I instantly knew what the deal was. I tried to leg it. I even kicked one of them in the bollocks, but he was wearing a cup so it didn't do any good. Before I knew it, I was winded by a hard blow to the solar plexus and had my head stuck in the bowl of one of the sit down toilets, whom someone had already pissed in and not flushed. But now my head was being pummelled by the flush water. I was close to being sick. That was in May of 1996, a rather **** year for me at school. Did you go to school in central London? You don't know how rough it was and how thuggish some of the kids could be. Seriously, I had people my age in my class who knew drug dealers and had connections to the world of crime. This is an area known for knife crime sometimes which can be racially aggravated. If you're popular and well-built it's fine to go to school there, but when you're small, scrawny and have no interest in sports or so-called "manly" activities, you're almost bound to get a hard time. I had to move a fair distance away from that area to help me detach myself from the bad memories once I left home and am currently residing in the West Midlands of the UK. So unless you too grew up in my area, don't call me out.

And please, why does this thread pose such a threat to you? Think of all the threads for sports fans out there to participate in their own discussions. They outnumber threads like this by 2,000 to one. Probably. Every clique of people receives criticism. Some of it's unreasonable but in this thread, we have reasons for feeling how we feel. Jocks deserve as much criticism as they give the nerds. But if you sports fans are so high in number and sports are so important in society, why does the odd thread on sports hate trouble you so much, Cycloptichorn? Please, we're not going to eliminate sports (unfortunately for us). We're just talking with like-minded people who similarly don't feel the urge to watch overpaid men on TV whilst stuffing ourself with pork rinds and making ape noises when they score a goal. To tell the truth, it's those armchair sports fans who seem to live their whole lives through the achievements of others that bother me the most. I have nothing against people who show true passion for their sports but don't feel the urge to ram it down people's throats and act aggressively towards people who don't share their interests, which you appear to be doing to us. NOT EVERYBODY IS A SPORTS FAN! Everything has fans and haters, from films, books to flowers. What makes sports so different? Why do they seem to be above any negative comments in your mind? And might I ask, how is a single thread on a website going to bring down and be the end of physical activity and professional league sports? We're not here to make a difference. We're here to meet others like us. We're here because we aren't afraid to speak up against something mighty which we haven't chosen to submit to!

Best regards,
i_like_1981

You said you pity 1981, and I'm guessing, the rest of us "losers".

The definition of pity is to show sympathy. It shows some sort of willingness to aid that person.

Your definition of pity seems to be more akin to being repulsed, angered by, and or a feeling that not only does another person not have right thinking, but has no right to that thinking.
If you say that the other person did the same to you, well, #1, no one said you specifically, it's your choice to include yourself in the group that was being talked about. #2, you are talking about specific people here being losers, you are getting personal. #3, what kind of dialogue do you think this initiates?

If you mean I'm the one attacking you, well that's an agressive overreaction.

As far as losing sympathy for those who you think are attacking you for liking something, aren't you doing the same thing to others for Not liking something?

You expected the reaction you got? Which was the person trying to defend their integrity?
Your reaction is exactly the same, you're trying to defend your integrity.

Where is their any difference?

I too believe we make our own future by constructively dealing with our past. However, what if I, a 50 year old woman, was gang raped by a group of classmates back in high school? If I was unable to prove this happened, and the entire group was found not guilty? In addition, the people who were supposed to protect me from this did not believe me either, because I was a chronic liar at the time, and had a lot of willing sexual encounters.

Would I be remiss in blaming my anxiousness, sexual dysfunction, depression, etc on the people who harmed me physically and phychologically way back in high school?
Even if I did everything in my power to get over it, would you blame me if I was never 100%, because I lay the blame of those who abused me, and those who denied such abuse occurs?

I think my frustration lies not in people saying they personally never treated others unfairly. I've felt this insinuation that people being made to feel bad because of who they are, sports wise, are isolated events, and not as widespread as other people are saying they are.

I think....and I'm just musing here, it's akin to a black person saying that he encountered racism every day growing up. Some white people, because they never acted racist, might say, "well yes, I'm sure that happened to you, but it must have been isolated, because I never saw it" Would you blame the black person for thinking the white's are in la la land?

I'll make it one better, I've been treated unfairly in many ways because I happen to have been born with ovaries. You could be the kindest, most empathetic man in the world Cyclo, and have always treated women fairly and with justice. However, just like I could never really understand something you may have gone through, you will likely never really get what it's like to be pushed aside by people (ususally people less intelligent or less talented than you are) based on your gender alone.

I said this before, and the point was apparantly missed. Many people, whether they were made to feel less than because of their feelings towards sports, because they were abused by family, because they had a million tough breaks in life, are under your very nose. They in general just keep their mouths shut because (a) they've gotten over it, (b) what's the use? you're going to tell me it was an isolated incident, (c) I'll be called a pathetic loser or (d) any other reason, or no reason.

We live amongst you. We've learned to deal with it and/or avoid you.

(that's a general you, not a specific)

Just like every gay person doesn't come out, just like members of minorities sometimes try to pass themselves off as the more acceptable group of people.
In real life, someone who doesn't like sports has learned enough of when to stand up and cheer, even if they have no idea why, or to smile when someone starts talking about the big game.

aside: just a couple of days ago, someone said something to me about a local football player at UT, and when I said "I'm sorry I don't know who that is" they replied, quite brightly and with much amusement I must say, "What's Wrong with you?"
This isn't a mean person, it's just one of the hundreds of times I've been expected to know who some sports figure is.
BTW, I just laughed.
I mean, what else could I do? Start a big discussion like this thread? Get mad? What's the use?

Good afternoon everybody.

And especially, a good afternoon to Mr. Cycloptichorn!!!

I'm also a another member from that Anti-Sports forum over at sportssuck.org where I go by the name Fat Man.

A friend of mine, who's name I won't mention, from the other forum told me about this one, so last night I registered so that I can post here.

Mr. Cycloptichorn!!! (or is the Cyclops?)

You're the reason why I'm inspired to post here, thank you very much.

You say that we go around blaming other people for our problems?

Are you saying that we should "stop whining" and take responsibility ourselves for what has happened to us?

Ah yes! This is my most favorite cliché and standard rhetoric that people like you enjoy using so much.

Oh! And another all time favorite of mine is "get over it!" I just love that one! That's just got to be the best one yet!!! I love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!

While your at it, please do tell someone who has been mugged or beaten and raped to get over it!

Tell the Jewish survivors of the Nazi Holocaust to stop whining and get over it!

Tell them this to their faces if you have the guts!

Oh! I'm really quite sure that would go over real big with them! I'm really sure that they'll love to hear that one, before you wind up modeling the latest fashions in tar-and-feather-wear!

Has it ever occurred to you that some of us here have a damn good reason to hate sports?

As a kid, I was lousy at sports.

At the age of 4, my left knee was injured in a car accident, so I walked with a limp, and I couldn't run like the other kids.

I was once suspended from school because I failed to climb a stupid rope in the gymnasium. Never mind that I was making decent grades in all of my other academic subjects. Never mind that my left knee was all crippled up.

NO! That was no excuse! I could not climb the rope, so I got suspended. I guess that it was my responsibility to climb the rope in the name of physical fitness.

When I was in high school, my interest was mainly in science and art, getting an education, because being in sports was not an option for me.

But I was even denied the option of getting an education as well!

My high school science teacher was also the school's football coach, and during football season, he was too damn busy coaching his team of pre-frontally lobotomized baboons to be teaching in the science class.

So, my teacher would set up the movie film projector, then turn off the lights, and leave the classroom, leaving us all to sit in the dark, watching a bunch of stupid cartoons.

I wanted to learn science damn it!

The only thing we learned in my high school was how to play Charades and fold paper footballs!

This was back in 1969. I'm 58 years old now.

Back in 1996, about 27 years later, I knew a kid who was going to the very same school that I had gone to, and he was telling me about this "really cool science teacher" that didn't make his class study, but allowed them to watch movies and cartoons instead. He would bring in a TV and a VCR.

When I asked this kid the name of his science teacher, it turned out to be the very same science teacher that I had, and after all these years, he was still teaching. I was surprised that he hadn't kicked the bucket yet!

Many schools don't actually teach anymore. There are schools that need new equipment for their chemistry, physics, or biology labs, but in most school districts, they have decided that it's much cheaper to put up new basketball hoops and buy new football uniforms, and to Hell with teaching science.

Some schools have even laid off science and math teachers so they can hire athletic coaches!!!

Yeah! I guess here in the USA, we have decide that we don't need to teach our kids science and math. Just teach them sports, because we can always import well educated techno-geeks from overseas to keep the wheels of our modern society turning.

Oh! And if any kid is no good at sports, and if he can't get into professional sports, well, then he can always get a job bagging groceries in a Walmart.

Yeah! That's the ticket!

And you, Mr. Cyclops, you wonder why so many of us hate sports???

Well, now you know!

NOT EVERYBODY LIKES SPORTS! GET OVER IT!

Ya got that? Jimbo Bubbah Booey???

It sounds like u had good reasons to vindicate your rights thru litigation.

It might have been fun.





David

Let me get this straight; you're equating the survivors of Auschwitz to the fat kids in junior high who couldn't climb up a rope?

Uhmmm....okaaaay

I think his point is that people who 've been traumatized,
and who bear residual emotional injury shoud not be dismissively trivialized.





David

do the scales have to balance exactly pan?

is that comparison overblown? well, yes, no disagreement here.

However, you're using deflection to try to totally negate fat mans point.

I know you're intelligent enough to not take that comparison literally.

Also, not everyone experiences the same level of stress over something.

I'm thinking of my sister. Not related to sports, but she's a very good example of how one man's annoyance is another man's traumatic experience.

Things that most of us here don't think twice about incapacitates her. I feel a lot of anguish because I wish there was a way to inject her with a little of my strength. I can't remember a time in her adult life she has not been in therapy. Her pain isn't imaginary, it's real. What is a fly momentarily buzzing near my ear is her Auschwitz.

If only it were as easy to just tell her to get over it.

I think I have to leave this thread now.

Sure dave , but you missed my point: comparing the angst of a PE student to the trials of a camp survivor trivializes the Holocaust

I didn't



agreed



You're trivializing one of the most horrific events in human history



I wish you didn't have to go.

I understand your point, and I acknowledge your reasoning,
but this thread includes instances of brutality and intentional,
sadistic, humiliation, leaving the kid broken, bleeding and
weeping on the ground at the hands of a mob,
after having been publicly beaten and insulted,
such that the victims wish to draw attention to their plight,
or to its residue. Thay have my sympathy.





David

I don't think anything like that goes on over here. At least I hope not.