Overdogs #1 An Introduction – What is an Overdog?

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." - Aldous Huxley

Underdogs – we love ‘em: David and Goliath, Jane Doe versus city hall, anybody against the Yankees. It’s only natural. At times, we all feel like an underdog against somebody.

So we root for the underdog, and experience victory vicariously when he wins. We imagine vanquishing foes from our own past. Renewed hope and optimism spring forth. We just feel better. But somehow, somewhere, we got lost and confused. Some folks started to equate rooting for the underdog as a license to abuse and discriminate against the overdog. The overdog needed a voice. That was the genesis of the “Overdogs” column.

I’m uncertain when bigotry, sexism, racism and prejudice became okay so long as the target is an overdog, but that seems to be the rule in century 21. Our media send messages every day proving this. How many comic strips show the loser approaching the woman in the bar, and her rejection is physical, not verbal? Reverse the genders, and listen to the women’s groups and domestic violence counselors rightly howl. Watch a sit-com involving blacks and whites and sports, and the slow, white guy joke is standard fare. The message that perceived physical shortcomings are fair game for ridicule is clear. Just be certain your target’s skin has no melanin. And we’ve all heard the word “honky” in TV scripts from the same studios that tiptoe sanctimoniously around “the ‘N’ word.”

“Overdog” is a word not found in many dictionaries, but it captures the essence of this column. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines an overdog as “one that is dominant or victorious.” But this column is more than just a voice for the overdog. It’s a voice against all the types of fuzzy thinking that poison public dialogue, retard progressive legislation and policy creation, and thwart social progress.

Other examples of fuzz-think are political correctness carried to excess; acquitting violent felons because juries are too lazy, stupid and scared of spawning riots; and public policy that lags years and even decades behind reality. That’s the worst thing. Fuzz-think creates a societal inertia that prevents policy generation from matching the pace of technological and social change.

We spend a quarter of our adult lives working, but political correctness, discrimination and harassment issues, and fears of lawsuits have led to a climate where we can’t even compliment a co-worker on her appearance. We can’t inquire into the origin of a job applicant’s unusual surname for fear of bias litigation if she’s not hired. How sad we’re allowing our lives to become so sterilized.

We need to show how tough we are on drugs, so many legitimate medical benefits of marijuana, among other substances, are not realized. We fight for women’s rights for self-determination, and then tell her she can’t be an exotic dancer. “You’ll be exploited,” we say. But who’s exploiting whom? An attractive young lady bringing home big bucks at the expense of middle-aged men with inadequate social lives might be viewed by some as doing some exploiting of her own. More power to her, if that’s her informed choice.

Coming weeks will see the following columns:

• “When Grandma Becomes Dirty Harry” - A satirical glimpse at the effects of the 2nd Amendment on steroids. What if Congressional legislation made us all pack heat?
• “She Left the Toilet Seat Down Again” - The battle of the sexes from a decidedly male angle. What price the battle of toilet seats?
• “Deadbeat Moms” - My call to embrace fatherhood and men’s custodial rights. Do single fathers get their fair share? Why do custodial moms receive 37% more child support than single dads?
• “Can Black Men Jump?” - A look at physiological differences among the races. Why are recent Olympic high-jump champions white, yellow or brown, but never black?
• “Doesn’t God Like Bacon Cheeseburgers?” - Since bacon cheeseburgers are not nature’s perfect food, there can be no loving God. An atheist’s look at God and religion.
• “Butt-Naked Golf – Why Not?” – The PGA’s logic in the Casey Martin case taken to its logical extreme.
• “Hey, Genius, This Crap Is Hot!” – Frivolous lawsuits and personal responsibility.

So give “Overdogs” a read. You might love it or hate it, agree or disagree, and you may get angry. But I promise to make you think and to make you laugh. Many serious issues have a lighter side. I’ll expose those sides. I hope my warped view of life brings some clarity to these issues for my readers.

“Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.” - W. Somerset Maugham