Member-only story
Why Demonizing a Hero Backfires
Unless you’re human about it
Here’s the thing, the aftermath of the horrifying breaking news has left most of us in shambles. For me, it’s similar to mental disarray, as I fail to imagine the level of trauma that has been exacted on formerly intact families, that have been cruelly separated by life’s betrayals.
The worshipped hero of one of this country’s cherished sports, who was elevated to unattainable heights through immeasurable talent, and the unyielding promise to give back to younger generations and super fans, was brutally taken away, alongside his baby girl, and seven others.
Even before the breaking news settled in, and as circulating rumors threatened the worse, something even worse was transpiring in the form of shared clips from long ago, highlighting damning controversies that were meant to willfully shame the stunned crowd of mourners for the audacity of expressing growing pain and shock.
The sentiment was the assignment of cutting though utter chaos with the bulldozer of judgement against the newly dead in an effort to redirect the sorrow back to those who are triggered by the makeshift shrine in progress.
Those actions in the middle of an unfolding horror story, that may or may not include his four girls, or maybe just one of them, ended in temporary…