Jon Stewart gave us one final lesson on Bullshit. In the NFL, bullshit resides at the top, but it’s not everywhere.
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Last night, on Jon Stewart’s last performance on The Daily Show, he called on us the viewer to actively sniff out Bullshit. To be vigilant.
Bullshit is everywhere.
There is very little you will encounter in life that has not been, in some ways, infused with bullshit, not all of it bad.
General day-to-day free ranch is often necessary, or at least innocuous.
‘Oh, what a beautiful baby. I’m sure he’ll grow into that head.’
That kind of bulls–t in many ways provides important socialcontracts fertilizers and keeps people from making each other cry all day. But then there’s the more pernicious bulls–t, your premeditated institutional bulls–t designed to obscure and distract.
Designed by whom?
The bullshit talkers.
Comes in three basic flavors, one, making bad things sound like good things.Organic all-natural cupcakes. Because factory made sugar oatmeal balls doesn’t sell.
Patriot act, because are you scared enough to let me look at all your phone records act, doesn’t sell. Whenever something is titled freedom, fairness, family, health, and America, take a good long sniff. Chances are it’s been manufactured in a facilitate that may contain traces of bullshit.
Number two, the second way, hiding the bad things under mountains of bullshit.
Complexity, you know I would love to download Drizzy’s latest Meek mill diss…But I’m not really interested right now in reading Tolstoy’s Itunes agreement, so i’ll just click “agree” even if it grants Apple prima noctae with my spouse.
Here’s another one; simply put, simply put, banks shouldn’t be able to bet your pension money on red.
Hey, a handful of billionaires can’t buy our lexingtons, right?
Of course, not, they can only pour unlimited anonymous cash into 501-c6 and 527 unless they’re gonna be doing 50% issue…Education at–” “I think they’re asleep now. We can sneak out.”
And finally– finally, it’s the Bullshit of infinite possibility.
These bullshitters cover their unwillingness to act under the guise of unending inquiry. We can’t do anything because we don’t yet know everything.
We cannot take action on climate change until everyone in the world agrees gay marriage veex won’t cause our children to marry goats who are going to come for our guns.
Now, the good news is this; bullshitters have gotten pretty lazy, and their work is easily detected. And looking for it is a pleasant way to pass the time like an “I spy” of bullshit.
I say to you tonight friends the best defense against bullshit is vigilance.
So if you smell something, say something.
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People who cover the NFL are starting to smell something. After Tom Brady’s testimony was unsealed, news broke of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s blatant misdirection, and outright lies to better serve himself.
You can read the Washington Post call him a liar here.
You can read Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio question the independence of the independent investigation led by Ted Wells here.
Or, you can read Dan Wentzel’s takedown of the NFL and Goodell on Yahoo!
The thing about Bullshit is, once you find the source, you start to realize how much bullshit there really is.
It’s important, however to isolate the bullshit. On September 10, the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers will open up the NFL season. Almost 1700 players will be putting their future on the lines in a career that has caused more than a few ex-players to take their lives due to symptoms caused by the heavy hits we cheer for every Sunday.
Those players are not the problem. They do great things in the cities that support them that most of the time go unnoticed because of the bullshit produced at the top.
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Last year, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins gave a heartfelt speech about 12-year-old Tamir Rice who was gunned down by police.
When Baltimore was still simmering from the riots after Freddie Gray’s death, 55 current and former Ravens walked the streets of West Baltimore, visiting schools and giving hope to an area in desperate need.
From the Baltimore Sun:
The Ravens broke into groups and visited Henson Elementary School, Douglass High and Excel Academy. They spoke to students and staff members, along with local residents, helped distribute food and tried to lift the spirits of a community that they said badly needed it.
By the time the Ravens departed about 21/2 hours later, local residents had lined the sidewalks, looking for a hug, handshake or a photo. Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, wearing a purple Ravens hat, also joined the group.
On May 12, an Amtrak train derailed killing 8 people and injuring over 200. Over the next several weeks, various members of the Philadelphia Eagles visited hospitals uplifting those who were happy to be alive.
When a Pennsylvania High School Football player was diagnosed with a brain tumor, Eagles Tim Tebow and Riley Cooper sent him a video to keep his spirits up.
When a racist terrorist opened fire at a Black Historic Church, killing 9 people as they prayed in Charleston, South Carolina, the Carolina Panthers stepped up offering to pay for all 9 funerals. Owner Jerry Richardson wrote a check for $100,0000 to be used to “defray funeral costs and other financial needs.”
In July, the Arizona Cardinals followed in the footsteps of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs by hiring a woman on their coaching staff. Jennifer Welter is a preseason/training camp intern coaching inside linebackers. While her title will leave more to accomplish, she is very cognizant of what this means for her and women everywhere.
“What I love is that this changes the dynamic of the dreams that little girls who love football can end up having from this day forward,” Welter said. “They can literally said ‘I want to be a coach in the NFL one day.’ I never could have seen that, because it never happened before.”
“Our players only want to be taught how to get better, they don’t care where it comes from.” @BruceArians on @jwelter47
— #CardsCamp (@AZCardinals) July 28, 2015
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Like Jon Stewart said, Bullshit is everywhere. While it is our job to be vigilant and sniff it out. Let’s not forget that there are elements of our society that are bullshit free. As much as we call out the putridity that permeates throughout society, let us not forget the men and women who are working to keep our society headed in a more positive way. In the NFL, these people exist, there’s just a ton of bullshit resting at the top of the heap.
Just remember, bullshit is always there, but so is progress, and hope, and life. Let’s seek that out too.
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Photo Credit: Keneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun via AP
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The post The NFL’s Bullshit is Nauseating, But The Stink Is Solely At The Top appeared first on The Good Men Project.
