The other day I was going to a soccer match when a group of rival supporters got on the train. Their behaviour was loutish. They turned their attention to a young Italian woman who did not appreciate their advances. One started touching her and one made racist remarks. She had the sense to leave the carriage. I tried to convince them they needed the next stop which would have got them late to the ground and hopefully lost but they tumbled me and abused me as well. I alerted the police on leaving the train but they were not interested.
What I noticed about the men was how unaware of how awful their behaviour was. 'Ignorance is bliss' the old saying says.
Later I found this quote by Samuel Johnson.
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
I was watching the film A Beautiful Mind about the mathematician John Nash who eventually got the Nobel prize but suffered badly with mental illness. Being a human being, especially with gifts like Nash, means struggles: a lot of study and work, being misunderstood, rivalry with others, disappointments and the risk of failure. As the book of Ecclesiates says Dreams come with much business. ( 5.3 )
You might be pleased to know my team thrashed the visiting team.
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