As an English literature "Professor" I am continually telling traditional age students not to focus as much as they are inclined to do on "hypocrisy" in fictional characters. That is, many of my 18-22 year old students are all too delighted to think they have discovered something important in a text when they see a character acting hypocritically.
In other words, if a character acts against values he professes he is quickly marked a "hypocrite!" and students stop thinking and writing because they imagine a golden key that fits all doors has been realized. For example, Prince Hamlet talks a lot about "acting" and "taking action" but he famously stalls in revenging his father, King Hamlet. "Hypocrite!" the students cry -- play over. Term paper thesis: the play is about hypocrisy ("Professor, can I have at least a B+ please and I won't bother you with a grade appeal?").
My non-traditional age students (22-85) are less captivated by hypocrisy as their life experience has shown them that people -- including themselves -- act hypocritically everyday (well, at least every week). To most adults hypocrisy is, then, rather banal. Pointing to hypocrisy in people tells us little other than a basic tautology: people are people.
Still, every adult understands the pleasure in discovering the hypocritical. This pleasure is akin to schadenfreude (secretly enjoying the misfortunes of others). Today I indulge the pleasure of pointing to two rather striking pieces of hypocrisy that emerged over the weekend.
One is directly related to soccer, the other....maybe...I'll make it fit.
Northern Michigan is known as the "red" part of the state: conservative, evangelical, militia-minded. Politically the north has long pointed to "Detroit" as a welfare drain that hogs all the state resources while rugged individualists in the north care for themselves and want the government out of their lives. So I couldn't but smile when I read the story below (blue link) that cites Alcona County "up north" as being 44% on the dole. According to these graphs N. Michigan is certainly "red" but not in the way we usually use that code.
U.S. | February 12, 2012
Even Critics of Safety Net Increasingly Depend on It
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM and ROBERT GEBELOFF
The government safety net was created to keep Americans from abject poverty, but the poorest households no longer receive a majority of government benefits.
Soccer seems to stop at Grand Rapids with the "Crew." Perhaps Northern Michigan needs some of our more entrepreneurial soccer coaches to create jobs an income rather than relying so much on the state. Can you get to the "next level" from Roscommon?
Point of hypocrisy number two is directly related to soccer. I have blogged on this one before.The EU -- even before it was the EU -- has long prided itself on its cosmopolitan nature, its thoroughly globalized view of the world that is distinct from provincial -- and racist -- America. Without discounting continuing problems of race in America I think it is virtually impossible to believe the actions of English Premier League star Luis Suarez (click on link below) being tolerated anywhere in American sports, particularly at the highest level. Picture little "fiery" Luis not shaking hands with Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/9078689/Luis-Suarez-handshake-row-The-New-York-Times-story-which-prompted-John-W-Henrys-action.html
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