OT: ESPYs

[Yardigan]

Fixed it:

 

[champs99and04]

I'll say...



That may be, but maybe enduring cancer treatment was never under consideration as the example of courage. "The brutal consequence of something out of your control," as you put it, has a binary result. The example of courageousness in this hypothetical is what one does when/how one handles facing (near certain) death.

I don't think you'll find anyone willing to challenge that sentiment. The semantics can be disputed, but it's absolutely important that people who endure these battles receive some form of recognition. It's not a horrible thing to provoke guilt once in a while, and while we often think of cancer patients as people who exhibit enviable strength, the reverse is often true as well. Our charity and attentiveness tends to humble people in crisis - like the comfort we provide surviving family members in times of grief, or the funds we raise to rebuild a house, or even the support we extend to those who have lost a job - in a manner that makes their life worth living even as it falls apart around them.

My main point is that an overarching crassness is implicitly and inadvertently built into the way we talk about cancer, and in the end, it probably understates their struggle. To some end, we lend someone a crutch at the expense of their power. Cancer isn't an experience that elevates character or modifies some intrinsic ideology, it's something that simply makes you more important. The same can be said, I think, for any human plight. Nothing humbles us like knowing people care. Nothing makes us want to live like knowing we have something important to share. Death comes for all of us at some point and we typically react to it in the same way, whether we're in a hospital or on death row. Some experiences are unique, though, and going through cancer treatment, especially at a young age, is definitely one of them. Nobody should have to do that and so the people who have should feel bigger. I would just call the award something else.