tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post4548200372954888284..comments2024-02-17T04:06:00.805-05:00Comments on Just Not Said: Mike TysonJohn Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-60795800259077761232016-06-26T14:46:33.971-04:002016-06-26T14:46:33.971-04:00Ambivalent Misanthrope --
Thank you very much. We ...Ambivalent Misanthrope --<br />Thank you very much. We do seem to think alike. Always meant to do more "saint alerts" (not that Tyson would have qualified for that) to go along with all the sociopath alerts. But so far I've only written one, about Jane Goodall. There seem to be a lot more sinners than saints, and the former are more fun to write about anyway. Though I do have one more prospect in mind for sainthood. <br /><br />Did you ever read those two posts I suggested, about college websites and the practical college?<br /><br />And don't you owe me an email? (Doesn't have to be about the subject we discussed.)John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-16168550644038529392016-06-26T14:16:53.051-04:002016-06-26T14:16:53.051-04:00And here I go again being wowed by another great p...And here I go again being wowed by another great post. Thank you for this insightful, fair and sensitive post about Tyson. <br /><br />I never followed his career and did not know much about the man beyond the ear-biting incident with Holyfield. However, my peripheral vision of him always left me with the impression that you so well fleshed out here.<br /><br />And just like you, I completely agree with you about taking the side of a sincere, childlike 'noble savage' over a slick, polished worldly 'mover and shaker' --- any day, any second.<br /><br />Also your post touched me on a very personal level, as I hold close to my heart someone who is similarly inclined --- and misunderstood on the surface appearance of things. Thank you. You've made my --- year.<br /><br />And seriously, I'm truly not brown-nosing! I am simply expressing my gratitude at meeting up with a mind that so resonates. :-)The Ambivalent Misanthropehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05474535975093833773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-67242683825277308262015-04-10T15:23:24.525-04:002015-04-10T15:23:24.525-04:00Thank you Susan.Thank you Susan.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-85680683578876664422015-04-10T15:19:23.502-04:002015-04-10T15:19:23.502-04:00I enjoyed reading this post.
- Susan D.I enjoyed reading this post.<br /><br />- Susan D.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-4482832126446954542015-01-19T08:49:54.401-05:002015-01-19T08:49:54.401-05:00Anon --
Thank you. Anon --<br />Thank you. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-28210148053473113532015-01-19T02:31:30.084-05:002015-01-19T02:31:30.084-05:00Nice article! I questioned if he was a sociopath b...Nice article! I questioned if he was a sociopath but he is too honest. Great insight and perspective.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-75306314376383105522015-01-04T20:11:28.114-05:002015-01-04T20:11:28.114-05:00Steven --
Aha, thank you. Steven --<br />Aha, thank you. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-69671672637804197652015-01-04T20:09:50.395-05:002015-01-04T20:09:50.395-05:00He makes the point himself that you'd think le...He makes the point himself that you'd think letting him sleep with her til he was 15 would mean he got love from her but she actually didnt give him much love or attention and was an alcoholic so drunk most of the time.<br /><br />The point of the retarded thing is how it affected his mother's expectations. He felt that the doctor robbed him of his relationship with her, that she lost hope for him right then. I don't know about that but certainly as he got older, his mum felt he was lost to the streets.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-89569118636519715642015-01-04T19:53:47.593-05:002015-01-04T19:53:47.593-05:00Steven --
Good point, sociopaths are usually relat...Steven --<br />Good point, sociopaths are usually relatively fearless. I remember when he was going to jail he was terrified of being raped. I can't quite see him as someone who would be in big danger of that, not only because he wasn't feminine, but because the other inmates would have protected him because of who he was and what he represented. <br /><br />Some doctor says he was retarded? That doesn't mean much, people are misdiagnosed all the time, especially as infants. But the bit about how he slept in his mother's bed till he was 15 is certainly a surprise. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-77101389569230354292015-01-04T19:47:05.297-05:002015-01-04T19:47:05.297-05:00Okay, I'll do it sometime but it probably wont...Okay, I'll do it sometime but it probably wont get many hits from it actually. People mostly *like* either personal or trivial things. That seems to be the name of the game on fbook.<br /><br />Interesting tidbits from the book: Tyson slept in his mother's bed, with her, til he was 15. Despite that, he didn't have much of a connection with her as she was an alcoholic and usually drunk. Also some doctor had said he was something like 'retarded' when he was an infant and he felt his mum never had any hope for him from then on.<br /><br />When he moved to a worse ghetto at about 7 or 8, he noticed that the people were more aggressive and crude. He seems to have been a sensitive child. And he certainly experienced fear throughout his life, which goes against sociopathy.<br /> Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-78660815466831871042015-01-04T19:24:57.290-05:002015-01-04T19:24:57.290-05:00Steven --
Ha! I was about to make the same point, ...Steven --<br />Ha! I was about to make the same point, but I was going to encourage you to continue. <br /><br />Just kidding. I try not to let the compliments influence me anymore than the insults. I would appreciate it if you put this on Facebook, though. It was actually just linked on some MMA message board recently too. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-24511512104416710182015-01-04T19:18:38.443-05:002015-01-04T19:18:38.443-05:00I just re-read the post John and its an excellent ...I just re-read the post John and its an excellent analysis with quite a sensitive appreciation of him. I think you're absolutely spot on. <br /><br />I might share this to facebook some time. He is often dismissed as an animal and this really sheds light on him. <br /><br />I've been complimenting you a lot lately. I'll have to stop it lest it seems like I'm blowing smoke up your ass.<br /><br />Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-43301544374480599422015-01-04T18:44:53.274-05:002015-01-04T18:44:53.274-05:00Steven --
That all does sound like Tyaon, though I...Steven --<br />That all does sound like Tyaon, though I agree with you that the ghost writer probably made him sound both more intelligent and more self aware than he was. <br /><br />Yes, he did play that role the way the public wanted to see him play it. He was unquestionably a thug, though I as I said in this post, I wouldn't say he was a sociopath. John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-1405819122451450772015-01-04T18:41:17.941-05:002015-01-04T18:41:17.941-05:00I've been reading Tyson's autobiography. I...I've been reading Tyson's autobiography. Its good and obviously you could make a much more in depth assessment from it. He certainly is very candid about everything, including his own faults. He seems to be very self aware, though I don't know how much the ghost writer had to do with it.<br /><br />Anyway, there's a lot of very interesting stuff in there, esp about his childhood and the environment he grew up in. <br /><br />He actually talks about 'playing the roll of the arrogant sociopath' in his early career.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-6631481984171768852014-07-01T10:45:00.672-04:002014-07-01T10:45:00.672-04:00Thank you Steven.
Yes, Desiree Washington just d...Thank you Steven. <br /><br />Yes, Desiree Washington just disappeared after that, wonder what happened to her. She must be persona non grata in the black community. (And I would guess Robin Givens is not popular in that community either.) John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-33451666995841919682014-07-01T10:31:00.046-04:002014-07-01T10:31:00.046-04:00Very good article. I completely agree.
I also thi...Very good article. I completely agree.<br /><br />I also think Tyson was innocent and I also consider his honest nature and frankness about his feelings as being a big factor in support of that. I just don't see him lying about this. <br /><br />I read in a book that a fellow beauty contestant reported Desiree Washington saying some things that indicated she thought he was dumb and she was ready to lead him on for his money. It was declared inadmissible so the jury never heard about it. <br /><br />Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15276736643046430370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-47906901717023426862009-10-22T18:49:59.519-04:002009-10-22T18:49:59.519-04:00Anonymous -- Thank you.Anonymous -- Thank you.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-67231524493093768922009-10-22T18:39:04.147-04:002009-10-22T18:39:04.147-04:00Nice post. Thanks for a new perspective.Nice post. Thanks for a new perspective.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-80184235867532394422009-10-21T22:21:37.084-04:002009-10-21T22:21:37.084-04:00Thank you Guy. Yes, it's amazing how many athl...Thank you Guy. Yes, it's amazing how many athletes succumb to that syndrome. I can think of only a small handful of boxers who ended up hanging on to their money. Tyson obviously wasn't one. <br /><br />I was always fascinated by him for the same reason everyone else was, partly because he was such a great boxer, and partly because he seemed like such a primitive. But I was always put off by the media's sneering treatment of him. I'll take a noble savage any day over the hypocrites who pose as good guys but then act just as bad in private. Evander Holyfield always advertises himself as a very religious man, a solid church-going type, but he's had something like nine children by something like five or six women. In fact, not just in boxing, but in virtually every field, especially politics, most public figures are hypocrites. Tyson actually seems like one of the least hypocritical celebrities out there. I suspect I am over-romanticizing him, but I also suspect that in the future he will be judged more kindly. Kudos to James Toback for making such a good movie (and for not inserting himself into it). And thanks again.John Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08729625146043379286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5794535954827182754.post-62611520469176743762009-10-21T21:46:38.270-04:002009-10-21T21:46:38.270-04:00What an interesting post, John. I expect most of u...What an interesting post, John. I expect most of us have a rather superficial preconception of who and what Tyson is, but your review of the film lays out a much more human and sympathetic picture, while (I think) not quite over-romaticizing (probably no such word I know) the analysis. It's a constant challenge to glimpse truth and reality through the lens of the media and always interesting to have an opportunity to do so.<br />G<br /><br />BTW. I have often used the term "Mike Tyson syndrome" as a shorthand to describe society's propensity to create mega-successful heroes that it showers with riches, only to then see them self destruct and fall prey to the leeches and charlatans. It seems to happen regularly to sports stars with modest education. Lottery winners are another category.<br />GAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com