I found this article, by a Philosophy professor who is also a boxer, quite interesting. I was thinking about recent comments Myoung Jae made about the worthiness of spending money on sports in some contexts. I think there may be something to it, but I also think of John Ralston Sal’s words; he complained that we spent too much of our government funds in Canada on big stars and artists, and did little-to-nothing to encourage local arts communities.
Anyway, and interesting passage from the article:
Americans for the most part live in a culture of release in which passion and spontaneity are worshipped. Beyond being told that troublesome feelings are medical problems, our young people receive scant instruction in modulating their emotions. As a result, there are very few opportunities to spar with heavyweight emotions such as anger and fear. In the ring, those passions constantly punch at you, but if you keep punching, you learn not to be pummeled by your emotions. Keeping your guard up when you feel like leaping out of the ring can be liberating.
What I found odd was how judgmental Marino found his academic colleagues regarding boxing. Then again, when I expressed an interest in my maternal grandfather’s boxing hobby, my Mom discouraged me by telling me about his slurred speech and slow reaction times. Ah well…