Why Inappropriate Behavior Is A Threat To The Global Order
Civility must count for something.
Read the news and you’ll see people everywhere are a little more punchy than usual.
They’re crossing the line to exercise their liberties and take a cudgel to what’s considered appropriate behavior. As of late you make a wrong move and you’ll wind up as a tird of shame on Twitter, not to mention CNN and Buzzfeed. That’s part of the problem and quite stunning to see.
What is appropriate behavior anyway? I think of it as the unspoken contract to conduct yourself within a set of rules of a situation you choose to enter. In other words, if my wife and I get a dog, we train it to not pee in the house. And if I, nor my wife is available, the pooch holds it until a child stops whining and opens the damn door. Under no circumstances should the dog urinate her life story into the carpet. That would be inappropriate.
By the same token, if I walk into my dog’s house and urinate on her floor, that’s perfectly okay. I know it’s her house and also know there are other places to relieve myself. But she can’t train me to pee elsewhere. She doesn’t talk, so it’s fair game.
And in this context, nowhere does it say I have to ask her to let me in or out. Like all dog houses, there is no door. It’s like an open house party where family members, blue birds, coyotes, and children, can come in at their leisure, take a whiz, and leave. After all, when push comes to shove, I own that house too, so I’ll pee wherever I want. That’s appropriate.
And this kind of thing is happening all over the world.
At a beach resort in China, hotel guests filmed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets conducting low-to-ground flyby exercises over the beach.
Is that kind of thing appropriate? According to the Chinese government, that’s perfectly okay. They can fly where they want and however they want. The hotel atmosphere is of no consequence. As far as President Xi is concerned, screaming jets are an aid to rest and relaxation, as is the scent of kerosene over baby oil.
Speculators believe the PLA is training for an air show. The question is, is a beach resort the best place for fighter pilots to perfect their formations. Aren’t there other places better suited for such maneuvers-like Taipei?
Look, China is a big, powerful country where the resorts are few and far between. Why do something so inappropriate over a place where guests have tugs-of-war over beach towels?
Perhaps Xi was inspired by the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. This guy was so bold he forced down a Ryanair flight with a fighter jet just to arrest a blogger who opposes Lukashenko’s authoritarianism. Is this appropriate? Within Belarus, apparently yes. But since when is it okay to pin a plane down so you can pluck off and jail a person you don’t like?
It’s not. It’s completely inappropriate. President Biden thinks so, as does most of the European Union. And as far as the other passengers were concerned, I’m sure they weren’t thrilled to learn their non-stop flight to Lithuania had a stop.
And this kind of thing will go on. As soon as one leader orders a plane down, others will start to do it, including Russia and Iran. Pretty soon, who knows? Maybe we’ll all get to do it. Next time I need a lift, I’ll bring down a 747. If it’s heading toward the mall, why the heck not?
What I fear is all of these actions being precursors to civil unrest because inappropriate behavior leads to infractions against democracy. You’re beginning to see this in sports.
During this year’s NBA playoffs, some fans have “crossed the line”. While one Boston fan threw a water bottle at the Brooklyn Nets’s Kyrie Irving, another dumped popcorn on Washington Wizards’s Russell Westbrook.
I understand this is a free country, and the first amendment gives citizens the right to express themselves. But what gets into the heads of these people, I’ll never understand it. Okay, that’s not fair. I’m from Boston. I totally understand it. That doesn’t mean I don’t believe civility must count for something.
And don’t get me wrong. You’re welcome to dislike a player for any number of reasons. Maybe it’s because they win too much, or they left your team in shambles.
And is it inconceivable that maybe you’re not pissed at a player?
Maybe it’s because you overpaid for crappy popcorn. That’s no excuse. You are free to choose whatever snack you’d like whether it’s a stale pretzel or an unsatisfactory bag of peanuts. But you didn’t choose those. You chose crappy popcorn-something you knew before you bought it. Tossing it on one of the NBA’s fading stars is no way to share your disdain.
Do I get it? Yes! Talk is cheap and arena popcorn isn’t. And if it’s really that bad, you might as well make a statement and chuck it.
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