Dj reader on playing Sunday

[Sled21]

(01-05-2023, 11:04 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: I think Murdock's comment was off base. You're not an insensitive prick. I would venture to say that you developed that way as a coping mechanism. You had no other choice than to continue doing your job. You didn't have the ability to mourn and process in a healthy manner because someone else's life could be on the line in the next 30 minutes. I've heard about tenured doctors saying that "a death becomes another number at some point". I'm not sure how true it is, but someone who sees death and tragedy often probably develops this way out of necessity. 

I also don't think it is fair to call them soft. Not everyone has that coping mechanism. If you and I were out and about and we came across a tragic scene, maybe a horrific car accident, it would probably really affect me but you may not bat an eye. I've never seen anything like that in person - you have. I just haven't learned how to process it, but I would argue that it doesn't make me a soft person. Calling them "soft" may be insensitive, but I don't think you're doing it out of malice. Your experiences have shifted your perspective and hardened you. You have different expectations, but there are cases where those expectations may be too harsh or unrealistic. 

You're probably right.... but it rubbed me the wrong way when they constantly talk about how close the team is and how they play for each other, and now there are some players saying they may not want to play Sunday. How is that being there for their teammates who are going to take the field? It's one thing if it's a relative or close friend, but outside of Boyd and Adomitis, and maybe a couple of others, I would bet no one else on the Bengals roster even knows Hamlin. If they can't process and work through watching him go down, especially knowing he is still alive, and be ready to go 7 days later, then maybe they do need to toughen up a little. "The train keeps rolling" is something we used to say at work, but it's true, the world does not stop while you process things. It's going on down the track with or without you. It's probably a moot point anyway, as after reflecting on what he said, I think one of the posters who said they were just "saying the right things" and would play on Sunday was correct. I suspect they will all be out there.