MovieChat Forums > Catching Hell (2011) Discussion > Most people miss the point

Most people miss the point

posted 13 years ago by james-1609
5 replies | jump to latest

What this story is really about is mob mentality.

The story that springs to mind Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery".

The scapegoat analog the preacher was talking about comes closest to what was really going on here.

It is interesting because you see a very ugly side of human nature-the ganging up of an relatively innocent "victim" against a mob of a million people who decided that this guy was going to be the scapegoat. Just like the poor hapless goat who got tossed over the cliff in the biblical days. If this dude was a 6'5" 285 pound black guy, rest assurred he would not be taking as much crap from everybody. But since many of the frustrated male fans felt they could take him in fight, and they had the "politically correct" backing of the masses, it allowed them to unleash a side of human nature that society rarely allows to be unleashed.

On a very deep level, I remember when this was going down, it was fascinating to watch. On a primitive level there is part of everybody that relishes seeing this poor guy get abused and part that says "Thank God it wasn't me."

People are inherently evil.

[–] JohnnyCastle 11 years ago

What a crap post. It has to do with sports but also a mob mentality. People will kill over sports because it is something we hold special to us. We invest ourselves into the team and people will look for any reason to explain why they can't win. They will blame anyone to make themselves feel better. Cubs fans have always been superstitious and stupid. You can't be so caught in superstition and backwards thinking.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 9 years ago

What a crap post.

What was so crappy about it?

The reason they ganged up on him is b/c he was a 160 pound nerd. If he was a 6'4" and ripped no one would have said a *beep* word. No one has ever picked a fight with someone they knew would kick the *beep* out of them.

He was singled out b/c he looked weak.

It has to do with sports but also a mob mentality.

The OP said it was a mob mentality.......you agree with him yet say it was a crap post. Do you even know what you are arguing about? Who hurt you?

[–] BB-15 11 years ago

by james-1609;

"The scapegoat analog the preacher was talking about comes closest to what was really going on here.

It is interesting because you see a very ugly side of human nature-the ganging up of an relatively innocent "victim" against a mob of a million people who decided that this guy was going to be the scapegoat."

I recently saw "Catching Hell" on Netflix and this is also my view of the Bartman incident.

Some sports fans pick on a minor event in a game and wrongly claim that it was the crucial reason that a game was lost.
- The Bartman incident is the worst example I've ever seen of that.

In game 6 of the NLCS the Cubs were ahead in the game.
A foul ball not being caught had little to do with them losing. The ball was out of play as ruled by the umpires so the people in the stands did not illegally interfere with the play.
If the ball had been caught, it would have only been 2 outs and if the game had continued as it played out, the Cubs still would have lost.
* There are much more significant events that were done by the Cubs players (compared with the foul ball) that caused the team to lose.
The Alex Gonzalez error being the biggest problem.

Some fans have trouble seeing which player has the biggest impact on a game.
Instead some fans pick on a less significant event to look for the "goat" as in scape goat.

BB ;-)

it's just in my opinion - imo -

[–] doggie_rodriguez 9 years ago

If the ball had been caught, it would have only been 2 outs and if the game had continued as it played out, the Cubs still would have lost.

I don't know if he would have caught the ball or not, but if he had caught it that would have been 2 outs, nobody on base. I doubt the Marlins score 8 runs with 2 out and nobody on.

I doubt they score 2.

Again, I don't know if he would have caught the ball or not. Alou was not known for his glove. However, I do know the Marlins odds of scoring multiple runs would have been pretty slim with 2 outs and nobody on.

[–] doggie_rodriguez 9 years ago

But since many of the frustrated male fans felt they could take him in fight, and they had the "politically correct" backing of the masses, it allowed them to unleash a side of human nature that society rarely allows to be unleashed.

I completely agree with this and have been saying something similar to this for years.

I doubt that grinning dope that threw the beer on him and wanted to fight him would have even had a thought to mess with someone his own size. That guy is a pud.