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Twitter is a cesspool that I swim in for hours a day, but every once in a while, you'll come across a funny meme or uplifting story that makes watching the fall of humanity in real-time worth it.
As I debated how I wanted to approach this blog, I got a tad philosophical about the human race. There are plenty of different ways to divide us: age, race, gender identity, sex, favorite ice cream flavor, ethnicity, location, size, socio-economic status, etc. You can spend well-earned money taking a personality test to figure out what four letters summarize your essence, but for the most part, nothing I just listed says anything about your as a quality human being. As someone who actively tries to live the hashtag good guy lifestyle, in my humble opinion, being a good person basically comes down to whether you're empathetic or not. Do you care? Do you feel for your fellow human? Can you understand anything other than your exact predicaments in life? I'm oversimplifying, but the point is all other positive or negative qualities branch off of the empathy tree. So last night/technically this morning, I was scrolling Twitter in the bathroom (as is tradition) and came across this thread about a 73 year old Manchester United Football Club supporter and 28-year season ticket holder losing his tickets after missing a renewal deadline.
The cherry on top.
There are two ways to slice this, and which camp you fall into tells me everything I need to know about you.
#1. It's the old geezer's fault for not responding.
#2. It's fucked up that Man U treated someone who's dedicated 28 years as a season ticket holder without a shred of decency or loyalty. Think about all the money this person paid over that period.
Do you realize how long that is? 28 years is almost 92% of my life. That doesn't matter to Man U. They just threw him into the bin like rubbish. Who's next???
Maybe a 73 year old isn't tech savvy? But don't you dare say that because it's ageist!!!!!
Yes, plenty of older folks are technologically literate, but it's not the norm for someone under, idk 45? This response is fucking PERFECT.
This exchange is exactly what I'm talking about. We don't know what went down in this 73 year-old's life.
The older I get, the more I realize how fucked up life is due to manmade constructs. When I first got into sports, I'd side with the team over the player in contract negotiations. How dare they be so greedy? Little did I know I was blaming the wrong side.
Of course, Manchester United has every right to cancel these season tickets if payment wasn't received in time, but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. As Robbie said, they had no problem exploiting this fan's heroism for their gain in 2016. Does that mean nothing? Stories like this are why I fucking hate greed and unregulated capitalism. Man U is worth over 4.5 billion dollars. The Glazer family that owns the club also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Without fans, your business is worthless, but because there are so many, these billionaire owners couldn't care less about the people responsible for their wealth. My heart breaks for Robbie and his father. Loyal supporters for decades and the club literally couldn't care less. This was a cold, heartless move by Man U. "Well, we sent you an email." The side of the aisle you fall on with this story tells me all I need to know about you as a person. Are you with the Chapmans or Man U? Do you have a shred of empathy or a conscious? Do you side with common folk or big business? Do you think it's good for society to allow companies to treat loyal customers this way? Would it have killed Man U to confirm with Robbie's father about the tickets? They have to have data about all their season ticket holders. You'd think someone with a soul along the way would be like, wait a second, this guy was in the same seats for 16 fucking years, and has been with us for 28. Let's make sure everything's alright. What if he fucking died? Would it kill a team to send a card giving their condolences and thanking them for all the support over the years instead of seeing him as a seat number? But it's probably all automated. Why would they pay someone a salary to ensure fans get treated like humans? I'd conservatively guess that Mr. Chapman's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to this club in exchange for tickets over the last 28 years (not even accounting for food, drinks, souvenirs, etc.), but he misses one deadline, and it's over? Fuuuuck that. This story makes me so angry. I almost completely understand why scumbag Man U did this, but people having their back here rubs me the wrong fucking way, dude. I've gotten a little off track, but the point of this blog is if people were more empathetic, the world would be a better place and this Twitter thread perfectly illustrates both sides of that coin with those replies. Sadly, greed and the love of power are all the ruling class cares about, and sometimes regular people take their side like fucking idiots. Fuck Manchester United and the Glazers. This is a terrible way to treat your supporters. I'm sure Liverpool and John Henry are dying for their chance to follow suit.
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