Why does everything have to turn into a battle? Any time something happens, it seems like everyone has to choose a side on how they feel about it. There were two things that happened this past week that illustrate this point perfectly. The Will Smith Slapping and the Oneil Cruz Situation.
As everyone knows, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards. It was an outrageous moment and naturally everyone had opinions on it. Seriously, the entire world had to voice their opinion on this. People were either pro-Smith (he was defending his wife’s honor since Chris Rock was making a joke about her very serious medical condition!) or pro-Rock (comedians make jokes, they should not have to fear for their lives when they are on stage!) and there could be no middle ground. It is quite possible to think that Chris Rock made an inappropriate joke about Jada, but also that Will Smith overreacted.
And yet people are ridiculous. I have one friend who has posted about five hundred times on every social media platform about how Will Smith should be in jail and that if people disagree with him they are idiots and are immediately being blocked. Can you imagine blocking people because they don’t think Will Smith should be in prison? It just sounds so stupid. And no, I do not care to argue either point in this pointless debate.
The Pirates decided to send Oneil Cruz down to AAA to start the season. This sparked a huge debate/argument on Twitter about the Pirates reasoning for doing so. On the one side you had the people saying that this is a smart decision because it slows the service time clock for Cruz (the Pirates would have control of him until 2029 instead of 2028) and this is something small market teams need to do in order to compete. The other side hates that the Pirates are cheap and that they constantly do whatever they can to save a few bucks, while also holding back their best hitter in Spring Training.
My friend Sean posted something about it and I disagreed with him. It started to turn into a battle, but then I realized that there is a middle ground. You can believe that this is a smart business decision, while also being frustrated that the Pirates are constantly kicking the window for competition down the road. A few years ago it was Bell and Taillon were the future. Then it was Reynolds and Hayes. Now it Cruz and whoever else. The future is always just a few years down the road and we just need to be patient. It is okay to be frustrated with ownership, while at the same time understanding that they are operating within the parameters of MLB. It is okay to want to keep a player around for an extra year, but to also want to see him right now. Also, I should note that I am oversimplifying this whole thing quite a bit, so there is no need for anyone to try and explain all the points I missed…trust me, I have read them all.
Anyways, my point of all this is…you do not have to fight with everyone. Hell, you do not have to choose a side. Sometimes both points can be valid.
