Ray Rice: A Bigger Question

Oct 6, 2013; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) before a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Lost among the Ray Rice issue is a much bigger question: We say that a man should not hit a woman, but are we saying it is okay if men hit men?

Violence is violence. As a society, we need to get above the barbarian mentality of years gone by. We should not condone people hitting people. Football may be a violent and brutal sport but people need to be civil outside of that arena.

Face it, if Ray Rice had punched out a random dude in the elevator we may have thought it was awful, but we would have stopped reading two seconds later.

Randy Buchman had some great points about the abuse of substances, especially alcohol, and how we as a society allow it to shape our lives. I have enjoyed a cocktail or two. But I am smart enough to realize that it changes me. I know when to stop and control myself. But too often people cannot do it. Walk into almost any bar on a late Friday night and you will see bad behavior. It is almost accepted.

Men, and women, need to work out their differences, free of outside influences, using words and communication. Until we do so, we are barely above the caveman on the evolutionary scale.