To all the Bennetts of the world...

as i watched with incredulity the amount of toss javier mascherano was spouting at mr steve bennett, i saw the second yellow card coming even before you could say "surely not?"

but the point i'm trying to make isn't about alex ferguson, nor is it about mascherano nor is it about keith hackett. in fact, if you do want a read on that incident, i strongly suggest you do check out this article.

i am, however, making a point about the steve bennetts in our lives.
the hard-line, no-nonsense, disciplinarian...authority figure in our life.

we all have one of those.
whether it's a parent, a sibling, a teacher, a bmt sergeant, a relative etc etc... we know what they are and what they do.

they often take a hard approach, preferring to err because "it's for your own good" and refuse to listen to what you have to say.
so basically, you either listen and learn or you suffer and rot in hell.

in some ways...i do agree with the lessons they dish out but these lessons should be meted out on the occasional basis, should they not?

for all those who were caned when young...how often were you caned?
if you caned for every single thing you did, would it still have had the same effect after the fifth or sixth round of caning?

but of course, my mom was smart enough to regulate these punishments. so i only got caned for "real naughty stuff" ...like not listening to her...

after growing up and out of the fear, do we realize what those sessions were for.
or do we really?

some grow up with an element of hate...violence...aggression. just stored up inside.
others appreciate the presence of a disciplinarian.

frankly, i was brought up to be appreciative, so i really can't give an unbiased view of it.

and we see the chain of events.

I got disciplined and turned out good --> So this works --> So I'm more inclined to carry on this tradition with my own kids

spare the rod, spoil the child?

i beg to differ.

despite the fortune/misfortune of having a dozen and one disciplinarians throughout my entire 23 years, i've never ever agreed nor condoned punishing another human.

to me, it's just inhumane, no matter how pure the objectives.
but then again, we are all different aren't we?

back to square one
so really, where are we right now?
on one hand, we have authority figures who border on sadomasochism..all in the name of eventual good.

and on the other, we have softies who prefer to talk.

how would we ever strike a balance or find the right formula?

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btw, i think mascherano's fuckin awesome but he was wayy out of line.
but then again, bennett was always going to show the red to someone...and javier was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

congrats to man utd. i stopped watching at half-time.
(and came back at 2:30am to see swee's msn msg "glory glory man utd!!!")
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