I’m a stereotypical guy. I like sports, I like beer, I laugh, or at least smirk, at even the perceived sound of flatulence and I like playing video games – particularly ones where much blood is shed.
However, when seeing a post on Facebook, my blood began to boil and I even, like a stereotypical guy, swore.
The prestigious Wimbledon tennis tournament took place in England between June 24 and this past Sunday and much was made of Andy Murray being the first U.K.er in close to 80 years on the men’s side (singles).
On the women’s side, 28-year-old French player Marion Bartoli took the title, doing what the likes of female powerhouses Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka usuall do.
She made it through the first, second and third rounds, as well as the Round of 16, the quarter, semi and ultimately the final – an amazing accomplishment for anyone, in a major tennis tournament or otherwise.
Still, the Twitterverse – which is a blessing and curse to humanity in my opinion – is rife with degenerates who sought to cheapen Bartoli’s achievement by appealing to the basest tenants of chauvinism – they took shots at her appearance.
The childish tweets ranged from some who thought she looked like a male, how unattractive they thought she was to how disgusting some thought she was. One tweeter even said she didn’t deserve to win based on her looks; some tweets aren’t even worth mentioning.
Appearance has no bearing on how people perform, in case you didn’t know and Bartoli did deserve to win because she not only played well but outlasted the field.
Chances are Bartoli doesn’t care what the tweeters are saying either; her goal is to be a good tennis player and win and that’s exactly what she did at the All England Club where Wimbledon is held.
Twitter is often an anonymous way for people to launch sneak attacks, shielded by a Twitter account but chances are the tweeters aren’t male models either.
Bartoli said her dream was to win Wimbledon and that she did. Kudos to you Marion and don’t let anyone take that away from you.
– Karl Yu is editor of the Grand Forks Gazette