It´s been an intense week on social networks, and, unfortunately, not only for sporting issues. The first controversy happened last Sunday when a delivery man assaulted a youtuber for calling him «anchovy face» while he was recording the so-called prank with a hidden camera.
First of all, and accepting that it is totally unacceptable, not to mention unfunny to walk around the streets disrespecting people and recording their reactions to post on the internet without their consent , in this case I would argue that, despite the bad behaviour of the youtuber, the response should never be physical aggression.
Is this country really so bad as to justify that, just because the man «is working at that moment,”, that he has “a shit job” or is a “low wage earner” -as people have told me in social networks-, he has the right to attack someone or calling him «anchovy face»? How serious is this insult to punch someone in the face?
Well, after infinite tweets and with numerous users disagreeing me, I still cannot believe that people can defend physical violence – even if you consider what the youtuber did was ever so slightly violent.
On the other hand, and less than 24 hours after hearing the news of the attack on the youtuber, I received a chilling video of a brutal aggression of a boy by some bullies, doormen from some pubs in Murcia supposedly for kicking a plastic water-bottle. The attack left the boy lying on the ground on the verge of death, while the doormen leave without helping the dying boy . It´s a scene reminiscent of a mafia film rather than everyday life in Murcia.
In sport, there have been more and more outbreaks of violence every week in several sports venues. The latest , last weekend, in the Primera Regional game in Zaragoza between Miralbueno and San Juan, where a player from the local team punched the referee.
I was convinced that this spiral of violence – both physical and verbal – that we see in the stands of many sporting events were just a few isolated cases in society, the product of the anonymity that you get when you are surrounded by people. But no, all this is the result of a lack of education, motivation, civility and tolerance together with excessive frustration felt by of part of society, which means that, at this moment, violence is becoming an intrinsic part of many of our everyday activities.
Is this the way we want to go?
Is this the society we want?