“Who Killed Benny Paret?”
Much of the blame goes to the crowd who cheer as people kill one another. The crowd often cheers louder when someone is knocked down or hurt by another (Kirszner & Mandell 339). What matters most to anybody in the crowd is to see someone injured or knocked down. It is even more surprising that no one cares whether a fighter dies des or not. To the crowd, entertainment comes before life. This can be seen in the interview of Mr. Jacobs by Norman Cousins. The position of Norman is clear, and this is pretty much what everyone should see about boxing. The rules, the patterns of entertainment and everything about boxing are evil. Why must people enjoy a sport where fighters intend to harm and kill one another? Why must one human die for another to be entertained? And what does this communicate about human priorities? So even as much as the blame is on the crowd for being the catalyst of enmity, constantly pushing two fighters to knock one another out, what brings the crowd there is the sport itself (Kirszner & Mandell 339). This explains why the sport is to be blamed most. People ought to see the evil in boxing. The fact is that in boxing, death is one of the most likely outcomes.
Causes of apathy
Apathy has made the world a worse place and transformed the intentions of humans. Many ancient civilizations fell because of apathy, and the results have been harm, destruction, suffering, and lack of harmony. The structure of society is such that people have the opportunity to work together for the benefit of everyone. Nevertheless, when a child is born, the society trains him to care about his needs more than anything else.
The main cause of apathy is selfishness. Selfishness in this context means committing to the need to satisfy one’s desires even if it means the process of achieving this might be harmful to another person. Every government is founded bofy some guiding principles, and when these principles are decayed, destruction looms. Selfishness could be seen in the audience, cheering Paret and his opponent to knock out one another (Kirszner & Mandell 340). Did any member of the crowd stop and care about the fact that one of them could be injured? No, they didn’t. All that mattered was entertainment. This lack of concern comes from the inside feeling of selfishness: concern on one’s personal affairs only.
Secondly, ignorance breeds apathy. Humans have just become so ignorant about what is happening in the world around them. No one seems to care about things that deserve great concern and attention. People may reason that if they have no control over something, then it should not be a matter of concern to them. Priorities have been so misplaced to the point that people do not know what to fight for and what to stay away from. This ignorance can be seen in the story of Paret and how he meets his ending after the fight (Kirszner & Mandell 340). People are ignorant of the value of human life. They do not want to know what happens to either fighter along as they go home entertained.
Plato once said that evil men rule the price of apathy directed to public affairs. When people become so self-centered and self-involved, the result is apathy. Everyone ought to concern himself with effects everyone. It is more humane to stop and wonder if your neighbor is okay.
Work cited
- Kirszner, Laurie G, & Mandell, Stephen R.. Patterns for college writing: A rhetorical reader and guide. Macmillan, 2011.
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