For my part, I couldn’t help but notice that the President of the Interpreter Foundation has posted a familiar story for the umpteenth time. Seriously: I think he’s posted this close to a dozen times. For those who don’t feel like clicking on the link, the story goes like this: DCP is in high school and runs for student body president and wins. The catch, though, is that he just breezes through to this victory:
The thing is, he didn’t run uncontested. Check it out:I won. Rather handily, if I’m not mistaken. And, candidly, that gave me a pretty good feeling.
Was he really “uncomfortable,” though? He continues:The votes were counted in the evening, after dark, and I remember walking along one of the outdoor campus hallways after hearing the news, heading toward my car with considerable self-satisfaction. Then I turned a corner. There, to my uncomfortable surprise, I saw SB sitting on a bench with his head in his hands, sobbing.
DCP has posted this same narrative multiple times—so many times, in fact, that I daresay it would be correct to characterize it as a legitimate, defining Mopologetic myth. What does the myth mean, then? It’s simple: this is a reassurance of the Mopologists power. DCP barely cared about this election, and yet he handily defeated his opponent—and not only that, the poor sap was crumpled up in a heap—utterly humiliated!—and sobbing over his loss! DCP goes on to say that he “felt bad” (yeah right), and that he “grew up” after this incident. I don’t doubt that the latter part is true: he matured into someone who felt empowered by humiliating and crushing other people. Seeing his opponent sobbing that night was as much of a peer trip for him as Midgley socking his classmate was for him.But I’ve never forgotten the image. It’s stayed with me for more than half a century now.
SB had badly, desperately, wanted to be student body president. Moreover, he had assumed, like everybody else on campus, that he would be. It wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.
By contrast, I hadn’t cared all that much. It was ego-gratifying to be elected, and I’m sure that being able to put “student body president” down on the forms didn’t hurt my college applications. But I wouldn’t have been devastated, I certainly wouldn’t have cried, had I lost.
Make no mistake: the Mopologists enjoy seeing others in pain, and they especially like it if it makes them seem “superior” in some way. If DCP had legitimately cared about his opponent’s plight, he could have conceded—but no; instead he’s mined it repeatedly for his blog.
So, as we continue to celebrate Pride Month, it may be helpful to remember *why* the Mopologists do what they do. Following the example set by the Interpreter Foundation’s President, they’ll happily do what they can to hurt other people, because you know what? It just helps them to know how awesome they really are. How delightful the Celestial Kingdom is going to be!