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This comes from one of my favorite newspaper columnists, Judith Martin. It seemed to me like good advice in a modernist world, but I’ll leave you all to consider the specific application.
Dear Miss Manners:
I am a baseball fan, but my enjoyment is spoiled by the distasteful TV views of spitting by players, coaches and even umpires.
Please tell your readers (hopefully many players, too) that their habits are gross, not appreciated and a very bad example to kids. Ditto for the probable underlying causes, including chewing tobacco, seeds or what ever else they chew. They can relieve their anxiety or boredom with a stick of gum (not bubble) if necessary. The TV broadcasters could use a little common sense, too, by not capturing the spitting on close-ups. Will you help?
What — and get killed? And not only by those who believe that spitting is a time-honored, if not sacred, tradition among baseball players, but by those who are indignant that gum-chewing was not also condemned.
Nor does Miss Manners want to take on the task of refining television, which does not strike her as a promising proposition.
Lest you believe this to be cowardice, she hastens to explain that although she dislikes vulgarity as much as you or more, she disagrees with your approach. Television in general, and athletes in particular, can hardly be expected to serve as models of decorum.
But bad examples can serve as examples, too. Children will always be exposed to the variety of human behavior, and it is the job of the responsible adults they know, such as parents, teachers and clergy, to teach them to evaluate it. A parent who shares the child’s admiration for a player’s prowess, but then says, “Eeew, disgusting” when he spits will elicit a giggle.
But the parent’s influence will linger, all the same, when the athlete’s fades.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
Oh, the joys and wonders of American busybody housewife prudery. From the folks who brought you Prohibition!
This reminds me of the story of Dizzy Dean and the teachers who wanted him fired as a radio announcer because he gave bad example to children with his English, “replete with errors in grammar and syntax,” such as, “He slud into second.”
Chewing a wad of tobacco and spitting is part of the noble effort and effective method used by Major League Baseball to keep women out of the game. Let the firemen, police, and armed services cave in on this but the professionals of America’s number one pastime will have none of it. You can be sure there will be no lowering of the standards by replacing tobacco with sugarless gum.
Well, I hardly think THAT’S a good reason for it — I’m sure there are plenty of women who would be more than willing to start spitting if that’s what it took to prove they could play with the boys. People used to make that same argument about smoking, or cursing (that they were good because they distinguished masculine company from mixed or feminine company), and look where THAT got us!
This reminds me Clara, that I told you of a documentary about Major League Baseball players who were noted for their faith. Well, not too long ago I got a copy of Champions of Faith. I highly recommend it. The men portrayed are both good players and men of faith. It’s a little Novus of course but it’s good to see grace working wherever prayer is seriously applied. The men chosen for the production are all outstanding examples for the youth.
I help coach girl’s 6-8th grade girls softball, and our second pitcher spits like a guy after every 3rd pitch.