Spanking Adrian

Adrian Peterson has finally been suspended by the Minnesota Vikings with the co-operation of the National Football League.

This has been taken as a sign that both are now taking the high moral ground.

This is, of course, a lie.

High ground in this case is provided by all the cash they stand on and when sponsors threaten the elevation they dwell at, actions are taken.

The Peterson case, (and the Ray Rice case before it) are further proof that we no longer have any capacity to engage difficult situations with anything but voyueristic rage.

When the rage is vented, or transferred to the next delicious object of scorn, the problems still remain.

Peterson, who likes to post Bible verses on Twitter and invokes religious inspirational messages, is alleged to have seven children with at least four different women.

That means there are six more children in danger of “discipline” that would horrify us if applied to an animal.

The victims have gotten little attention in these scandals, as they aren’t celebrities.

The real scandal here is that the story is always about the celebrities, not the victims.

We demanded that the NFL take action.

We are idiots.

Professional football is a business and a game, not an institution that should define moral and ethical righteousness.

We have one of the those already, though it has its own problems now.

We want Peterson, Rice, and others who have shamed themselves to lose their jobs.

I want them to be able to afford child support and therapy for all their victims.

I want them to trot out to work to a chorus of boos that remind them and the culture that these things are not acceptable in a civilized society.

More than that…I want us to decide that when we’re done venting our rage, we do more than find someone or something else to rage against.

When we’re done breaking people down, what do we do to rebuild them?

How do we turn these situations into opportunities to not only rehabilitate them, but a culture that is laced with the same evils they committed?

Will we be content to scorn, without dealing with the underlying issues that perpetuate these crimes?

I already know the answer…I’m waiting to see who we’ll hate next week.

We’ll ignore the fact that domestic abuse is happening in our own neighborhoods, churches, and communities.

In the meantime, battered wives and broken children will be left to deal with their pain on their own.

They’re last weeks news.