“Dirty Vikings,” reads one post.
“It’s what those a-holes do best,” reads a follow-up.
Whether the hit was legal or not is certainly up for debate. Did Barr take two steps or one before hitting Rodgers? Did Barr have malicious intent? All of these are reasonable questions as football takes on elephantine importance on Sunday afternoons for all of the self-described “experts.” What is not up for debate is the disturbing way in which we have become accustomed to interacting with one another, especially on social media.
“Best play of the first half? Rogers...down!!! Lmao!! Bye bye Sharon,” went one post from a former classmate.
“Nice to see golden boy down on ground. Now u know how other QB'S feel buddy!!! Enjoy the ride!!” typed another shortly after Rodgers was taken off of the field on the back of a golf cart.
I wish I could say that these responses containing an insane amount of glee at another person’s misfortune were the exception rather than the norm. I wish.
Full disclosure: I do not believe the hit was illegal, malicious, or incredibly violent in the realm of professional football.
What I do believe is that our manner of discourse is appalling, especially on social media. Almost immediately after it was reported that Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone, jubilation reigned on the social media feeds of some Vikings fans. The interesting thing is that these FaceBook posters are generally decent human beings who would be more than happy to help out someone in need. However, these posts show a lack of empathy that is incredibly mean-spirited, NFC North rivalry aside.
It is easy to see Aaron Rodgers as some sort of horrible enemy out to destroy all Vikings fans’ hopes and dreams for a Super Bowl. In a sense, his play is almost otherworldly at times and it is hard to see him as a real person.
Social media has given everybody a platform (myself included) where they can shout loudly to all as self-proclaimed experts on everything, including topics that extend well beyond the NFL. People instantly become constitutional lawyers who are smarter than those who have actually studied law. People comment loudly about stories that they clearly haven’t read, or if they actually have read the story, fail to comprehend. Many people feel the need to convey things in a way on social media that they would never dream of doing face-to-face. And if someone happens to confront the self-proclaimed experts about their behavior, they had better be prepared for an elbow smash off of the top rope in this no-holds barred free-for-all that is social media.
This attitude extends well beyond the realm of football into politics where those who disagrees with one’s beliefs is seen as an enemy and is subject to a flurry of personal attacks. This behavior is encouraged by our political parties who speak about the “other side” as being wrong about everything as well as corrupt and malicious. For the most part, these things are not true. We have reasons for the beliefs we hold. Healthy debate is good, but not at the expense of acting decent toward each other.
The Internet provides us with an opportunity to share ideas with an incredible number of people from many places and all walks of life. Instead of seeing it as a football game to be won or lost, let’s consider other ideas so that even if we don’t agree with what other people think, we can at least understand what they are saying.
