Comments on Epic Carnival: American Standards are a Bit Off-Kilter

And you blatantly miss the point of MMA. The beaut...

2007-08-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

And you blatantly miss the point of MMA. The beauty of Ju-Jitsu, Judo and wrestling (to name a few) far outweigh what you call brutality. It is truly the sweet science.

That you would bring up boxing is funny because fighters have--and will continue--to die in the ring, not to mention get loopy from being hit in the head 400 times in one bout.

The punches on Heath obviously weren't clean or he would have been out cold and the fight would have been stopped.

You blatantly missed the point of the article... T...

2007-08-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

You blatantly missed the point of the article... The point in watching the MMA is to watch human brutality or Legal Assualt. Stuff that gets you arrested on the streets, but it's ok if it's sanctioned. In Boxing or kick boxing at the very least you can't mount someone while they're on the ground and continually punch them in the head. This happens in a large portion of MMA fights. You can go and play a pick up football game in the streets, you can't go and set up Fight Club.

The point of watching Auto Racing, is not to watch someone die or get injured. Making a comparison of MMA to Auto Racing has no merits to the point of this article. And I hate auto racing with intense passion.

"The point is not whether they are willing partici...

2007-08-28T12:53:00.000-05:00

"The point is not whether they are willing participants or not, its about how it's perceived to be ok to watch two grown men beat the crap out of each other resulting in a bloody mess."

First, not every fight results in a "bloody mess". That you base your opinion on one fight is shortsighted.

And if you think MMA is such a terrible thing we should probably move on to Auto Racing--those drivers die all the time, and NFL because they are always getting hurt. Right? I'll be looking for those columns. Or not.

I disagree. Although it is virtually impossible t...

2007-08-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

I disagree. Although it is virtually impossible to take the external factors (free will, torture, etc.) out of the argument when determining a viewers psyche, I will try.

Dog fighting is two animals forced into an unnatural act, forced to save their own lives by killing another being. This viewer is lusting for blood and carnage. It's the point of the fight.

MMA is a sanctioned sport with strict rules and highly attentive and interactive refs that are there to minimize the risk of serious injury. Beyond that, the two fighters involved are (usually) highly trained, and have the option of ending the fight at any point with the tap of a hand.

The situations are very different. The terms of the two fights are very different as are the health risks and the eventual outcome.

All of these things factor in to why one is a sport and the other is barbaric.

I actually like MMA, but Simon does make a good po...

2007-08-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

I actually like MMA, but Simon does make a good point in that it's the fans of the two "sports" that are perceived differently. It's ok to watch two mean beat the life out of each other because they are getting paid and chose to do it, but that people who like to watch dogs fight are treated worse. Shouldn't we as fans hold human life to a higher standard than dogs? Regardless of whether the participants are getting paid or not?

The point is not whether they are willing particip...

2007-08-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

The point is not whether they are willing participants or not, its about how it's perceived to be ok to watch two grown men beat the crap out of each other resulting in a bloody mess.

But if a person likes to watch dog fights they are deemed a disturbed publicly.

Not whether the dogs have a choice or not.

The difference is that these are sanctioned fights...

2007-08-27T14:01:00.000-05:00

The difference is that these are sanctioned fights with rules, no one dies and both are willing participants. And they are also paid handsomely.

I concede the fight should have been stopped because of the severity of the cut. But spare us with the "demented and morally wrong" crap.

I'm not a MMA fan, so I had no idea this happened....

2007-08-27T13:54:00.000-05:00

I'm not a MMA fan, so I had no idea this happened. Jeebus, I've never seen so much blood spilled in the ring. I can't believe this fight wasn't stopped early on. Choked out? Hell, the dude passed out from blood loss.

The only thing I can say in defense of this is that these guys make a conscious choice to get in the ring, and know the risks going in. You can't say the same about fighting dogs.

But I agree, sometimes priorities do seem out of whack.

Vick will be ok with the public now since he has f...

2007-08-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

Vick will be ok with the public now since he has found God.