I’m not a boxing fan. In fact, I squirm, cover my eyes, and scream in terror whenever I watch a match. I like to know the result before watching the fight. I hate not knowing if my bet wins or loses because it’s simply a torture watching somebody get beaten without any clue if he will survive. I definitely won’t pay to watch it live. I’d rather watch it on replay with the result as my security blanket. That’s just me and the softy girly side of me.
Over the weekend, everyone participated in their own individual boxing match. After the highly anticipated Pacquiao-Marquez bout ended, people tweeted and posted in their Facebook status their raves and rants. I was tempted to do the same but I honestly don’t know what to say mainly because I’m not a boxing expert. So I kept reading and reading all the updates in my home page.
Here are my thoughts on other people’s thoughts 🙂
You can easily pass judgment on a person even if you say it in a noble way. I read someone posted something like Pacquiao should give the belt to Marquez for the Filipino people. For me, that is like saying “you cheated and you should give up your title”. The thing with saying pseudo-noble statements like that is you appeal to the emotion rather than the intellect. There were no facts just an implied verdict that you are guilty therefore you should surrender.
Jumping to conclusions is easy when you’re not really part of the issue. There was someone who accused Pacquiao of being a politician in the ring, pulling strings to have his way. Of course it was easy to jump to that conclusion because that person is not in the ring being punched. It’s easy to say things when you’re an outsider because there are basically no consequences to what you will say.
Facts matter. When the numbers were out and videos were posted the next day, a lot of the critics were silenced. I didn’t see people negating the facts or defending the other party. I didn’t see opposing comments under those posts. The truth really sets one free. In this case, one person was freed from millions of criticisms and attacks hurled at him the day before.
Adding insult to injury is plain rude. Marquez got a lot of insults for claiming that he’s been robbed of the title yet again. From being a cry baby to a bitter fighter, people were word punching him on all sides. The man lost and he felt slighted but he doesn’t need to be badgered about it. Just having to deal with defeat is more than enough for one man to handle.
Give credit to where credit is due. Some people gave props to both Pacquiao and Marquez. Some took sides. For me, they are both great fighters who deserve equal adulation. For most people, it seems easier to give a criticism rather than a compliment. I also fall into that trap from time to time. When we give credit to people who deserve it, it strips us of pride and self-centeredness. Spotlights are meant to shine for laudable people not shunned.
Unfiltered words are usually dirty words. When words are said in the heat of the moment, without much thought or consideration, it’s ugly. You can tell the emotions of people by how they write their opinions. Exclamation points and question marks say a lot. We all have to think through our emotions before expressing them because there are only two end results for the words we unleash—it’s either we’re vindicated or we’re shamed.
I didn’t enjoy the fight but I did enjoy reading through the opinions of other people. What Paul said in Ephesians made more sense to me after all the word punching over the net.
“Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)
On that note, I am signing off. 🙂
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