On the Couch : By Dr. Richard Lustberg

An Analysis of Current Topics and Issues in Sport
February 1996

A Look Into Why People Place The Blame

Close your eyes and try to imagine a sports crowd dressed in suits, ties and overcoats, or when people went to the theater in their Sunday best. And try to image a time when people were courteous while standing on line in a store, or when someone would automatically offer a pregnant woman or senior citizen a seat on a bus, or better yet offer the right of way while driving. It all seems so long ago.

Today, there are posted codes of behavior to remind us how to act when we enter malls or theaters. There are warnings and admonitions in the subways and at the beaches as well as many other places the public frequently visits. The behavior of the crowd at the Giants-Chargers game at Giants Stadium on Dec. 23 is just one example of how far we have declined in our public behaviors and moral values. And the reactions of the participants in this dangerous incident are reflective of just how low we have sunk.

In looking at the reactions the participants, and some members of the press, had to the incident at the stadium we see the potential seeds of our societal decline. Perhaps Jeffrey Lange the man caught on film at the game, is absorbing some of the personal guilt we are feeling for improper behavior. He is correct in his perception that he has become the focal point for the angry reactions that people are having to his actions at the game. Mr. Lange and the others in the crowd who participated, were not able to anticipate the consequences of their actions, or perhaps they did not care. His statement that there were others doing the same thing, and that he did not throw snowballs at the players, brings to mind younger children or adults who have difficulty taking responsibility for their behavior and actions.

Even Mr. Lange’s explanation of how he got the tickets as they were passed down from one individual to another reeks of distancing himself from his actions. Things become externalized as others are now seen as the cause of the ensuing discomforts and problems. All of a sudden Mr. Lange is the victim, he has been wronged. What is worse is that he and the others involved truly believe that they have been wronged, and lack sincere remorse for a situation that was by all accounts a seriously dangerous one. Their actions are internally minimized and they now go on the offensive. When in trouble threaten to sue, and in this way the perpetrator has become the victim.

Many observed and commented about how parents stood by and watched their children take part in throwing the snowballs and wondered how this could be the case. Did anyone stop to think that maybe the parents saw nothing wrong with their children’s behavior? Another reason why parents might have sat by while their children threw snowballs, might be that if they were to stop their children from acting in this manner they could no longer justifiably act in this way themselves. The feeling of being hypocritical or setting internal limits, might have been too much to deal with. Often those that do not condone inappropriate behaviors are afraid to confront offenders as they are fearful of the consequences.

The behavior of the crowd at Giants Stadium is no different than what we see in our own communities and society in general. Three teenagers were recently caught outright robbing a theater in midtown and were led away yelling that they didn’t do anything. Internet responses, as reported by the news, suggested that the Giants Stadium crowd felt justified in its behavior, because of the uncleared snow, the cold and the disappointed Giant performance. It seems all too often that we are all too eager to explain away people’s behavior by blaming external conditions rather than internal reactions, poor coping skills, and impulsive regressive reactions. There are reasons why people behave the way they do.

We are living in dangerous times when people act out and vent their frustrations and angers. Whether it be at the corner store, at the movies, or on the roadways we have all experienced personal attacks and incidents. It is easy to see that people are filled with anger and frustration due to economic conditions or dysfunctional families or fear of losing one’s job. It is also clear that people are having greater difficulty maintaining themselves and not acting out when given the opportunity to do so. Thus the parameters of civilized human behavior clearly need re-examination and subsequent internalization if we are to emerge successfully as a nation.