Experience Project 11

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
18 June 2010
I had a few thoughts after reading the commentary from the Liddell-Franklin fight. Actually, since Franklin won, I suppose his name ought to have come first, but I'm a Liddell fan, so perhaps you'll allow me that. One of the comments made was that it was a good thing that Liddell lost to Franklin because Franklin is such a classy fighter, he would respect Liddell through it all and be a gentleman and an honorable fighter right to the end. And, Franklin absolutely has been. You'd think that such common decency and respect wouldn't be applauded so clearly. And yet, I can't help but feel even more respect and admiration for Franklin for being gracious and humble. While I liked Franklin before the fight, I respect him so much now, and would consider myself a fan. What a classy and upright gentleman. So many younger fighters would not have been. So many would have delighted in having ended Liddell's career. They would not have been happy having conquered a long-time champion. The would have gone in to cement the defeat with hubris and greed.

I think back to when Ortiz fought Shammrock for the third time. I couldn't believe that Shammrock wouldn't just step away. I could understand it,.. yeah, I've continued to hammer away at a dead deal myself from time to time. There's something basic and animal about fighting. And, I get it. It's basic human survival and cuts to the core of who we, as a species are. Fight to live, fight for food, fight for the best mates, fight to protect family, fight to maintain supremacy. We ARE fighters. With the shifting of the American gross national product away from actual goods, to services, we have forgotten that. I get it, why Shammrock WANTED to fight Ortiz again and again in the hopes he would emerge victorious. And yet, all three times he failed. Not to allow an aging defeated warrior his grace; each and every time, Ortiz pantomimed digging a grave for Shammrock's career. Classless and disrespectful. While it's great to be an Ortiz fan when he wins,.. one can't win every fight. It was only a matter of time before Ortiz lost a few of his own. And Shammrock could only watch from the sidelines.

When you recall the Ultimate Fighter season where Ortiz and Shammrock squared off with their teams, you'll remember then, what a tool Shammrock came off as. I was so shocked that such a great man would appear to be such a punk onscreen. I know a few people who fight in his camp, and the man literally sends out messages to every single fighter in his camp, of support and encouragement; greetings and well wishes during the holidays. This is a classy man who absolutely respects his fighters. So what happened? Cause Ortiz came off looking like the newly fallen snow. I can answer that: the fight that was supposed to be physical, went internal. It wasn't just about a fight card anymore. It was personal, it was mental and Shammrock was so focused on silencing his disrespectful opponent that he lost sight of the fact that he was on a television show. He just looked insane. He was insane. And Ortiz, like the consummate schoolyard bully, poked at the edges of sanity that Shammrock had fought to maintain. Not only did Ortiz have no respect for the man who brought the initial viewers to the sport, he didn't respect the sport itself. A fighter is a warrior, and held by a code, whether or not he wants to admit it. Yeah, it's a sport, something that's been around since there have been humans. The fight, is about testing the character, their intestinal fortitude, their strength, not only physical but also their heart. And to lose, is to have been found weaker.

This same thing happens every day in every business across our country. Though, the different strata aren't separated by age ranges. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "this isn't personal." That's a load of crap, so don't buy it when you've been offered it. It absolutely is personal. People jockeying for position, vying for promotions, better pay, better benefits. All the while, jobs are cutting salaries and wages, decreasing benefits, and increasing the required duties of each job. And the employers seem to not realize the inequity there: they want more work, for less pay/benefits. You can't get something for nothing. Of course they realize the ridiculousness of their demands. But our economy has NOT recovered,.. just ask the scores of folks still struggling and scrambling to survive. So the employers are taking advantage of the job scarcity. I wouldn't mind that so much, if they weren't so damned rude about it. When you're getting laid off, with a family to support, having some jackass tell you it isn't personal is the same exact thing as if Tito himself were digging your grave for you, in your face. So, this shithead is laying you off, he won, you lost, and he has the base classlessness to dance in front of you and make believe that it wasn't personal. "Hey, buddy, Fuck You." Can't say that. No, cause the company could still hire you back at some point, and dammit, a job's a job, right?

That never happens in fighting. That's what I love so much about the sport. There's no lie, there's no pretend. It isn't a pantomime for real life, though many think much of the antics are staged. Maybe they are. But there is just something real and honest about a fight. Even a fight with rules. You're never going to see Ken Shammrock working up at Big Bear. But in the corporate world, it really comes down to "a job is a job." Wouldn't it level the playing field a lot more if you could grab your manager and challenge them? If you kicked their ass, you got promoted. If you didn't, then you got your ass kicked back down to your station with a bit more respect for your manager. It's direct: cause and effect. Very clear. Meaningful and everything makes sense. I think we'd all respect ourselves more, if we felt as if we had a hand in our own future: able to shape and alter course as we saw fit. Instead, we all seem to be living in Shammrock hell, unable to silence that disrespectful little shit who won't keep his mouth shut. We're all suffering with our personal Ortizes, having to listen to their ilk and their idiocy and have them calling us out in a verbal fist fight.

That brings me to the point. I'm not an Ortiz fan. I want to be. He's a sharp fighter, usually. He's got a great training philosophy. He's a fighter. I want to like the guy. I want to. But, he shows a marked lack of respect for his fellow man, his fellow fighters. He appears to be a man who doesn't respect others, and that's just not a man that I can respect. You want respect? Dignity? It starts with you. People will be people. But that doesn't mean you get preemptive and treat others dishonorably just to get them before they get you. No. You start out giving people an opportunity to earn your respect, and let the fight play out. Even the man whose arm is not raised deserves respect for standing up to the fight. As do we all. We all stand up for the fight, whether or not we will win. And there is respect in that, being willing to fight, even when the pre-fight stats say you won't.