“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
. ~ 3:8, King James Version of the Bible
Humans, instinctively, attempt to distance themselves from the responsibility they hold when things go wrong. Whether it is going into denial, passing the buck or blaming it on not getting enough attention as a teenager – it doesn’t really matter, it all amounts to the same. As a species we don’t cope well with guilt and therefore try to avoid it wherever we can. Some would argue that guilt is such a strong emotion that it was at the forefront of the Catholic Church’s ability to dominate the world for 1000 years. It is time for wrestling fans to face up to our own responsibility and deal with our own subsequent guilt.
There is no question that on the balance sheet of professional wrestling there is a severe debit of human misery, injury and death for the credit of spectacular entertainment. Professional wrestling with its gruelling schedule, unquestionably, leads many of its participants to a life of pills, drugs and mental illness. It is not necessary to list the names of those who have had their lives savaged by this modern incarnation of an ancient sport to make the point, and to do so would be gratuitous. It is impossible to put an exact value on something as intangible as human life, but similarly it is not within our power to assign a worth to the enjoyment that we and so many get from professional wrestling. We must each, as individuals, decide if the amount of enjoyment that we receive from professional wrestling is worth the damage it causes to other peoples’ lives. Is it worth it?
Of course, many wrestling fans have not asked themselves that question for fear of what the answer may be. As regardless of whether they deem the price too high or to low, they still have some uncomfortable truths to contend with and the misery of many on their hands. No human wants to feel such guilt and thus the easiest way to evade it is to avoid the question. Of those fans who have asked the question many still try to pass the buck and abdicate responsibility. It’s the promoter, not they, who forced the latest wrestler to die from heart complications to pump steroids into their body for the last twenty years. Or it’s the wrestler himself who chose to become so addicted to pain killers that one night he eventually overdosed denying his children the presence of their father for the rest of their lives. It’s natural for humans to try and duck and dive when they see some unpleasant responsibility flying their way, but that doesn’t make it right. We, not the promoters, not the wrestlers, bare the brunt of the responsibility for forcing them into those lifestyles.
The wrestlers must conform to what the promoters want if they want a job; it is true. Also true is the fact that promoters want abnormally built men to throw themselves around a ring and from turnbuckles like rag dolls. But it is the fans who demand a style of product that forces promoters into only recruiting wrestlers who can fit those demands. It is because of what the fans demand that the wrestlers are obliged to take steroids if they want to make enough money to pay the mortgage, that they are obliged to take a cocktail of pills in order to work through the pain and fulfil their contracts. Ultimately it is the fans playing the tune that the rest of the industry must dance to. Don’t get me wrong, whilst we as fans call the shots, it wouldn’t be impossible for either the wrestlers or the promoters to stop the cycle of despair. The promoters could all get together and decide that they were all going to produce a more forgiving style of wrestling that meant wrestlers weren’t on the road the whole time neglecting their families and becoming so depressed that they could only find the answer at the bottom of a pint glass. Realistically, that would never happen as long as we, the fans, still offered a market for a rogue promoter to break away from the pack and make themselves a fortune. And as long as a promoter has the ability to make significant money he will be able to pass those rewards down to wrestlers enticing them to work under today’s gruelling conditions. Thus whilst some idealists can apportion the blame to the promoters and wrestlers for not coming together, those of us living in the real world can see that the real problem is us providing a market for the misery to continue.
Even at this stage it’s still possible to not take on the responsibility for the death and destruction that we each should. The cause is the “fans” – surely that means that me and you can’t change anything against the voice of other millions? Perhaps. It is so easy to distance yourself from a mass group in order to avoid the guilt. If everyone is bullying that kid in school, even if you think they are wrong, you can’t stop them, can you? But unless you make the effort to stand apart you deserve to be tarred with the same brush. You deserve to feel some of that guilt.
Personally, I’ve considered the issues and have come to the decision that the enjoyment produced by sports entertainment outweighs the misery it causes. I can deal with the pain I help to produce, and by confronting it and accepting my responsibility I absolve myself of the guilt. However, that individual thought process is something that all fans should go through. Can you except that you are responsible for the deaths of tens and the unhappiness of hundreds in order to fulfil the temporary enjoyment for the millions? If it turns out the Eddie Guerrero’s heart stop functioning due to weaknesses that professional wrestling inflicted upon it, can you justify it or will you feel guilty that you didn’t act to stop it? Was it worth it?
If you have any comments you can send them to ianweinstein@hotmail.com
RIP Eddie
