Toomer's Corner Trees: Auburn Police Arrest Dadeville Man In Toomer's Corner Tree Poisoning - WHNT

Toomer's Corner Trees: Auburn Police Arrest Dadeville Man In Toomer's Corner Tree Poisoning - WHNT

I wonder if this story has anything to do with the current "poisoned" climate in the United States. I mean, really, this appears to be one deranged sports fan who acted out on his sports-hatred... and nothing more than that. For years, sports violence has been an epidemic in Europe an even in some countries in Asia and Africa, even at times in South America. Never really been a problem in the U.S. of America. England (the UK in general really), has been struggling for years with hooliganism,which has been exported to places like Italy, Spain and Greece and even some of the Arab countries. They tend to do a better job of suppressing the violence, but violence persists.

The causes of the violence are many and varied, but in sports it usually manifests in clashes between rivals of two opposing Football (Futbol) clubs. Such matches, are sometimes called the local derby (known here in America as the "cross-town rivalry"). Of course, no-one wants heated passion to escalate to the point of violence, but very often, in European matches this happens.

This has been something that sporting world has NOT experienced in the U.S. Opposing team buses have not been attacked by crazed fans. Oh, objects have been thrown on the playing surfaces of basketball games, or Football stadiums (snowballs come to mind in Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey), but I don't think that things have ever gotten so far out of control in the way that some matches oversees have... where officials needed to be escorted of the pitch in soccer games. Still. This violence epidemic in the sports world spoke of something deeper in the psyche of the common person on the street. Most people on the street were dissatisfied with their lot in life, and sports is just an outlet for this dissatisfaction. Sports attendance is very approachable in Europe, etc...

So, entertainment is the opium for the masses, and Sports has become a sort of Entertainment. It is a drug to keep the masses pliant and acquiescent. Of course, in the U.S. sports events are not accessible by the wider public. They have become too expensive for the median income family to attend. You have to belong to the upper middle class and above, before you can afford them. So most of America are spectators from afar, meaning they have only their TVs to watch from. And it is these same TVs and the TV talking heads who inflame and prod, constantly analyzing everything and anything. They have made the moment an athlete goes into the bathroom an event worthy of analysis: "What did he have for breakfast? How long did he spent in the bathroom? Is he OK? Did he wash his hands after-wards? Did he have contact in that bathroom with someone he should not have?" In other words, if something improper occurred in that bathroom, you better believe it those talking heads will find it, discuss it, and tell us about it.

It does not help either that the country is currently going through the toughest political period it has ever faced. The old timers will tell you things were bad in the 1950s under Jim Crow, or the 1960s with the Civil Rights and Vietnam War marches. History might even tell you that things weren't that good before then either in our history, go further back. What's important to understand is that we're traversing a difficult time, with people with diametrically opposed viewpoints sometimes shouting at each other across a great chasm. Is it any wonder then that people get inflamed in such an environment? Is it possible that a lunatic got crazy enough in an environment toxic enough by the rhetoric to try and assassinate a sitting US Congresswoman? Lots and lots has been written about this, much better than my effort. Ignore my effort. I am only making a roundabout point...

My thesis is this: In a toxic environment, people turn to sports for release. I've seen it happen in Europe. In places like England and Italy and Greece where people feel they have no other say, and can't get their way, they get their release through sports. They do just about anything for their sports team. People HAVE DIED for their sports team, and have attempted murder for their team. Is this acceptable? No, of course not. But, especially, during tough economic conditions, and when the preachers of doom and hate preach their nastiness on TV 24/7, people feel frustrated, and then they react.

This is the way one man reacted. He killed some trees. What will the next "crazed" fan do?

Is the media culpable? Yes, 100%. Both the regular media for preaching hate, and pushing regular people into corners where they find release in such horrible ways, and the sports media--do you have to analyze everything so much?