NPR has a show called Metro Connection. A "senior commentator" named Fred Fisk was spouting off some idiocy Friday about the Kimbo Slice mixed martial arts fight.
Mr. Fisk states,"Individuals with multiple personalities are said to be schizophrenic." Actually, the term for a multiple personality disorder is Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Imagine that. Schizophrenia is more of an inability to deal with reality. How appropriate.
The pontificating pundit pretends that there is no difference between cock fighting, where they have no capacity to consent to the activity and the loser stands a good chance of ending up dead, and mixed martial arts. People competing in mixed martial arts are protected by rules, and are seriously hurt less often than in many other sports.
Mr. Fisk states that, "In which, two men, often in cages, engage in combat, with very few rules, which results in beatings so severe, that people who used to inflict them were arrested."
Wow! Where to begin?
The "often in cages" appears to be a way to suggest that these are not adults with free choice. Cages = lack of choice.
The "with very few rules" suggests a bias toward a lot of rules. This says nothing about the quality of the rules, only the number. When it comes to rules, for Mr. Fisk, more appears to be better. No fan of the Founding Fathers. He would probably be thrilled with fewer rules, if there were a complete ban on the things he disapproves of other adults participating in.
The "beatings so severe" is meant to suggest that there are serious injuries. As with any contact sport, there occasionally are. He does not provide anything other than his opinion of the severity of the "beatings."
This idolater of regulations describes the "beatings" as ones "that people who used to inflict them were arrested." Mr. Fisk is apparently not one to believe in innocent unless proven guilty. He does not consider that the same could be said of skateboarding. It is so bad that people, who used to do this were arrested. And skateboarding doesn't even involve beatings, so that must be unbelievably "barbaric." Try playing golf in a public area, where golf is not permitted. Will that result in an arrest? No reason why it shouldn't.
Sports are activities that involve competition and generally need to be practiced in a controlled environment, so that they do not interfere with the daily activities of others. This does not work out so well, when you are trying to drive a vehicle anywhere near a stadium around game time.
He apparently has no concept of anything good coming from mixed martial arts. He thinks that it is shocking that the military is using this in their training. His opinion of the benefits of this training, "What nonsense. How much hand to hand combat is involved in present day warfare?"
In present day warfare, there is the need to enter homes and clear them room by room. It appears that Mr. Fisk does not wish to have American soldiers get close enough for the possibility of hand to hand combat. The distance, between yourself and a potential opponent, that firearms instructors tell you is unsafe is about 21 feet. This means that if you have a gun and are presented with someone not armed with a gun, the unarmed person may be able to close the distance between you and them before you are able to draw, aim, and shoot effectively to stop that person, if the person is closer than 21 feet.
While the military weapons would be expected to be aimed and used more quickly, do we lower the distance to 15 feet? How many homes have that much room for soldiers to enter, remain clear of each other, not engage in any physical contact with anyone in the room, and remain safe?
Should the military just lob some grenades into the homes that are not certain to be unoccupied? Napalm? Cluster bombs? Tactical nuclear weapons? Certainly, no hand to hand combat. That would be "barbaric."
How do you take someone into custody if you do not engage in different levels of hand to hand combat? Mixed martial arts does a great job of preparing people to restrain others without hitting them.
Fred Fisk would probably be one of the first ones to complain if an American soldier were to kill a civilian, but he does not see that there is a need for options to killing.
Mixed martial arts can give the appearance of out of control violence, but that is only appearance. This, as with other martial arts, can be an excellent form of physical conditioning, which is just one way to instill discipline in otherwise difficult to discipline people.
This may help to keep the idle hands of restless young adults busy and engaged in productive activities, rather than engaging in illegal fights, sometimes with weapons.
I had been looking for the proper music to play while writing this. I like Albinioni's adagios when writing, but this screamed for something more lively. Welcome to the Jungle by GNR? No.
Highway to Hell by AC/DC. After all, this is one of those paternalistic fools, who is willing to give up all of our rights to protect us from ourselves. This road to hell is being paved with what he claims are good intentions, not that he would care.
If only we were as civilized as Mr. Fisk, we could get on the radio and whine about how "barbaric" the peons are.
Added 6-11-08:
The 1955 Le Mans disaster is the kind of tragedy that should not be a concern at any type of martial arts competition. 83 dead and over a hundred injured due to a crash. The hierarchy of ethical worth to Mr. Fisk probably ranks motor sports as more acceptable than fighting, because he sees fighting as an immoral form of sport. Mr. Fisk probably wishes to ban auto racing, too - a waste of fuel, redneck entertainment, no speed limits, . . ., although it is big in Europe.
.
Mr. Fisk states,"Individuals with multiple personalities are said to be schizophrenic." Actually, the term for a multiple personality disorder is Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). Imagine that. Schizophrenia is more of an inability to deal with reality. How appropriate.
The pontificating pundit pretends that there is no difference between cock fighting, where they have no capacity to consent to the activity and the loser stands a good chance of ending up dead, and mixed martial arts. People competing in mixed martial arts are protected by rules, and are seriously hurt less often than in many other sports.
Mr. Fisk states that, "In which, two men, often in cages, engage in combat, with very few rules, which results in beatings so severe, that people who used to inflict them were arrested."
Wow! Where to begin?
The "often in cages" appears to be a way to suggest that these are not adults with free choice. Cages = lack of choice.
The "with very few rules" suggests a bias toward a lot of rules. This says nothing about the quality of the rules, only the number. When it comes to rules, for Mr. Fisk, more appears to be better. No fan of the Founding Fathers. He would probably be thrilled with fewer rules, if there were a complete ban on the things he disapproves of other adults participating in.
The "beatings so severe" is meant to suggest that there are serious injuries. As with any contact sport, there occasionally are. He does not provide anything other than his opinion of the severity of the "beatings."
This idolater of regulations describes the "beatings" as ones "that people who used to inflict them were arrested." Mr. Fisk is apparently not one to believe in innocent unless proven guilty. He does not consider that the same could be said of skateboarding. It is so bad that people, who used to do this were arrested. And skateboarding doesn't even involve beatings, so that must be unbelievably "barbaric." Try playing golf in a public area, where golf is not permitted. Will that result in an arrest? No reason why it shouldn't.
Sports are activities that involve competition and generally need to be practiced in a controlled environment, so that they do not interfere with the daily activities of others. This does not work out so well, when you are trying to drive a vehicle anywhere near a stadium around game time.
He apparently has no concept of anything good coming from mixed martial arts. He thinks that it is shocking that the military is using this in their training. His opinion of the benefits of this training, "What nonsense. How much hand to hand combat is involved in present day warfare?"
In present day warfare, there is the need to enter homes and clear them room by room. It appears that Mr. Fisk does not wish to have American soldiers get close enough for the possibility of hand to hand combat. The distance, between yourself and a potential opponent, that firearms instructors tell you is unsafe is about 21 feet. This means that if you have a gun and are presented with someone not armed with a gun, the unarmed person may be able to close the distance between you and them before you are able to draw, aim, and shoot effectively to stop that person, if the person is closer than 21 feet.
While the military weapons would be expected to be aimed and used more quickly, do we lower the distance to 15 feet? How many homes have that much room for soldiers to enter, remain clear of each other, not engage in any physical contact with anyone in the room, and remain safe?
Should the military just lob some grenades into the homes that are not certain to be unoccupied? Napalm? Cluster bombs? Tactical nuclear weapons? Certainly, no hand to hand combat. That would be "barbaric."
How do you take someone into custody if you do not engage in different levels of hand to hand combat? Mixed martial arts does a great job of preparing people to restrain others without hitting them.
Fred Fisk would probably be one of the first ones to complain if an American soldier were to kill a civilian, but he does not see that there is a need for options to killing.
Mixed martial arts can give the appearance of out of control violence, but that is only appearance. This, as with other martial arts, can be an excellent form of physical conditioning, which is just one way to instill discipline in otherwise difficult to discipline people.
This may help to keep the idle hands of restless young adults busy and engaged in productive activities, rather than engaging in illegal fights, sometimes with weapons.
I had been looking for the proper music to play while writing this. I like Albinioni's adagios when writing, but this screamed for something more lively. Welcome to the Jungle by GNR? No.
Highway to Hell by AC/DC. After all, this is one of those paternalistic fools, who is willing to give up all of our rights to protect us from ourselves. This road to hell is being paved with what he claims are good intentions, not that he would care.
If only we were as civilized as Mr. Fisk, we could get on the radio and whine about how "barbaric" the peons are.
Added 6-11-08:
The 1955 Le Mans disaster is the kind of tragedy that should not be a concern at any type of martial arts competition. 83 dead and over a hundred injured due to a crash. The hierarchy of ethical worth to Mr. Fisk probably ranks motor sports as more acceptable than fighting, because he sees fighting as an immoral form of sport. Mr. Fisk probably wishes to ban auto racing, too - a waste of fuel, redneck entertainment, no speed limits, . . ., although it is big in Europe.
.
8 comments:
The Adagio is the perfect cure for a hangover. (so I've read) ;-)
I think you mean "hair of the adagio." At least if you're thinking what I'm thinking.
hehehe I was actually referring to listening to the piece, but you are pun-tastic as usual!
I don't remember any Albinoni at 109, but I remember some other hangover treatments - fluids, dextrose, and oxygen.
Adagios are good for a lot of things, even calming down hysterical hyperventilators.
Sadly I didn't discover Albinoni until after my 109 days, else you would have been starting IV's on me and infusing 500cc of concerto.
With a needle, the boluses would have to be 33 1/3 ml at a time, or 78, or 45. :-)
I had long thought that Albinoni's adagio for violin, organ, and strings in G minor was the theme music for the old documentary The World at War, but it wasn't. An old false memory. I don't recall my introduction to his music, but it is cheerful. :-)
At least it is very moving.
Along the same lines, if you listen to the Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in E Minor, Opus 85 by Edward Elgar with Jacqueline du Pré on the cello, that is another moving piece.
In a search to find that Elgar piece, I was forced to download an entire library of classical stuff many things I didn't have..so thanks. I like the concerto btw.
There is a good movie about Jacqueline du Pré called Hilary and Jackie. She was a bit of an odd duck, but it is a good movie. Emily Watson is an excellent actress and there is some really good music in the movie.
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