The Romans who, when the stern and simple strength of Rome was departing, flocked to the
gladiatorial shows, were influenced only by a ferocious craving for bloody excitement; not by
any sympathy with men of stout heart and tough sinew. So it is, to a lesser extent, today. In
baseball alone, the professional teams, from a number of causes, have preserved a fairly close
connection with non-professional players, and have done good work in popu- larizing a most
admirable and characteristic American game ; but even here the outlook is now less favorable,
and, aside from this one pastime, professionalism is the curse of many an athletic sport, and
the chief obstacle to its healthy development. Professional rowing is under a dark cloud of
suspicion because of the crooked practices which have disgraced it. Horse-racing is certainly
not in an ideal condition. A prize-fight is simply brutal and degrading. The people who attend
it, and make a hero of the prizefighter, are, excepting boys who go for fun and dont know any
better,to a very great extent, men who hover on the border-line of criminality; and those who
are not are speedily brutalized, and are never rendered more manly. They form as ignoble a
body as do the kindred frequenters of rat-pit and cock-pit. The prizefighter and his fellow
professional athletes of the same ilk are, together with their patrons in every rank of life, the
very worst foes with whom the cause of general athletic development has to contend
Miss Piggy wrote:Never eat more than you can lift.
Just for some context, the shameless prick wrote this on the heels of running out on his fatherly responsibilities for six years (his wife died soon after childbirth).
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule
He left his son with his sister after his wife and mother died on the same day. Not exactly the same thing. Here's his diary entry for that day:
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there." - George Orwell
Sorry yeah it was a daughter, but the point stands.
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there." - George Orwell
Fat Cat wrote:Sorry yeah it was a daughter, but the point stands.
Does it? HOw can we ever trust anything you say again?
You mean you trusted me before?
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there." - George Orwell
Turdacious wrote:He had a son named Alice? And still not exactly the actions of a paragon of manliness.
Ever cared for an infant? Giving the child over to a female relative is a more humane option.
So he did his daughter a favor by moving 1500 miles away to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a deputy sheriff and a rancher?
How many kids do you have turd?
"That rifle on the wall of the labourer's cottage or working class flat is the symbol of democracy.
It is our job to see that it stays there." - George Orwell
If you read some of his bios he was very close to his daughter after he got the ranching thing out of his system. The guy was from a whole different caste during an age when men didn't rear children. He probably knew he couldn't properly take care of his daughter. Just like mothers give up their children to adoption, because they know can't handle a child at that point in their life.
Turdacious wrote:He had a son named Alice? And still not exactly the actions of a paragon of manliness.
Ever cared for an infant? Giving the child over to a female relative is a more humane option.
So he did his daughter a favor by moving 1500 miles away to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a deputy sheriff and a rancher?
In those days men went where there was work to be done, often leaving family behind and sending money back to them. Canadian hero Sam Steele spent years away from his wife and children while he brought law and order to the Yukon and the West.
We womenfolk actually do pretty well with the children, with only occasional correction from our menfolk. The man's job is to go out and be awesome and occasionally come back home to show the little menfolk how to be awesome. This is how it works. It doesn't work when the menfolk are always around causing committee decisions 24/7.
Turdacious wrote:He had a son named Alice? And still not exactly the actions of a paragon of manliness.
Ever cared for an infant? Giving the child over to a female relative is a more humane option.
So he did his daughter a favor by moving 1500 miles away to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a deputy sheriff and a rancher?
Probably, Yes.
Since you think so little of the man's choices, I'm sure you would not want him to be the sole parent in charge of raising her.
But what about the original topic?
He runs off for a couple of years and then comes back and is writing to criticize athletes who are trying to make a living (many doing so to support their families) in a tough world. It comes off as a little hypocritical, almost like he didn't learn much on the frontier.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule
You should read the whole speech if you're so worried about context.
Most masterful nations have shown a strong taste for manly sports. In the old days, when we ourselves were still a people of backwoodsmen, at every merrymaking there were sure to be trials of skill and strength, at running, wrestling, and rifle-shooting, among the young men. We should encourage by every method the spirit which makes such trials popular; it is a very excellent revival of old-time American ways. But the existence of a caste of gladiators in the midst of a population which does not itself participate in any manly sports is usually, as it was at Rome, a symptom of national decadence.
This preceding section is a worthwhile critique regardless.
"He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." JS Mill
Screaming Flying Monkey wrote:We womenfolk actually do pretty well with the children, with only occasional correction from our menfolk. The man's job is to go out and be awesome and occasionally come back home to show the little menfolk how to be awesome. This is how it works. It doesn't work when the menfolk are always around causing committee decisions 24/7.
Exactly! Men and women have different talents and this is one where the man should defer to the woman's judgement.
When I had my first, Crom's dad (who I respect more than 99.9% of humanity) told me " For the first few years he's going to be all about Mommy, he's barly going to notice you. Don;t let that bother you because one day between 6 and 7 you'll find you have a new shadow who is trying to be just like you."
"God forbid we tell the savages to go fuck themselves." Batboy
Turdacious wrote:He had a son named Alice? And still not exactly the actions of a paragon of manliness.
Ever cared for an infant? Giving the child over to a female relative is a more humane option.
So he did his daughter a favor by moving 1500 miles away to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a deputy sheriff and a rancher?
In those days men went where there was work to be done, often leaving family behind and sending money back to them. Canadian hero Sam Steele spent years away from his wife and children while he brought law and order to the Yukon and the West.
Just knock it off with the good daddy bullshit. Its not the topic of the essay. It doesn't matter who wrote the essay, the point is to discuss the ideas found in the essay.
Miss Piggy wrote:Never eat more than you can lift.
Holeyfraggaroley wrote:If you read some of his bios he was very close to his daughter after he got the ranching thing out of his system. The guy was from a whole different caste during an age when men didn't rear children. He probably knew he couldn't properly take care of his daughter. Just like mothers give up their children to adoption, because they know can't handle a child at that point in their life.
Blaidd Drwg wrote:You should read the whole speech if you're so worried about context.
Most masterful nations have shown a strong taste for manly sports. In the old days, when we ourselves were still a people of backwoodsmen, at every merrymaking there were sure to be trials of skill and strength, at running, wrestling, and rifle-shooting, among the young men. We should encourage by every method the spirit which makes such trials popular; it is a very excellent revival of old-time American ways. But the existence of a caste of gladiators in the midst of a population which does not itself participate in any manly sports is usually, as it was at Rome, a symptom of national decadence.
This preceding section is a worthwhile critique regardless.
True.
"Liberalism is arbitrarily selective in its choice of whose dignity to champion." Adrian Vermeule
Sounds like Alice was a bit of a pistol herself.....
She was known as a rule-breaker in an era when women were under great pressure to conform. The American public noticed many of her exploits. She smoked cigarettes in public, rode in cars with men, stayed out late partying, kept a pet snake named Emily Spinach (Emily as in her spinster aunt and Spinach for its green color) in the White House, and was seen placing bets with a bookie.
I like her.
"He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that." JS Mill
