(Bad Word Alert! Though it’s part of a quoted sentence…therefore even my mother would forgive its use in this case).
During my time on Facebook, I responded to a comment in a friend’s post where some of my friend’s friends–were singing the praises of the (then) football coach at their alma mater, the University of South Carolina.
I believe I was the only interloper in the conversation, when I offered an unfavorable opinion about the coach.
What followed were several replies like this: “Of course you do. People hate Steve Spurrier just because he wins!”
My response was this, “When he became the head coach at my school it had never won a conference championship in its history though his teams won six during his tenure, as well as a national championship. He also won the Heisman Trophy when he was a student there many years before. I don’t care how many games, awards, or championships he wins. I can’t stand Steve Spurrier because he’s an asshole.”
(OK, I quoted myself….sorry, Mom).
Over the years, I have had similar exchanges with friends, acquaintances, and relative strangers (and strange relatives) if I express a negative (or even a tepid) opinion about a politician, a CEO, an athlete, or a comedian they are fond of.
People often conclude–prematurely and incorrectly– that my disdain for any public figure must be rooted in my jealousy of: championship rings, company’s market capitalization, an election victory.
Not at all, my aversion to them is most likely because that public figure is a total asshole, or even a fractional asshole.