Everything is excused. No matter how horrifying the action that someone partakes in, that person will be assured of one thing: A large group of people will be in his corner.

Just last week, a high school wrestling coach in Indiana ripped off and ate the head of a live sparrow to pump up his team for an upcoming tournament. To defend himself, the man called it “good, clean, innocent fun.” That is not surprising, the man is nuts after all. What is surprising is the immediate reaction of so many other people who agree with him and are defending him. This seems strange. What possible justification could there be for such an action? Apparently, the fact that his wrestling team is successful is good enough.

This example is not in the minority, or even just the majority. It is, in fact, the rule. Do something stupid, and you will be defended. Andrea Yates, who drowned her five kids last year, one by one in a bathtub, has tremendous support in some groups. Post-partum depression, she?s insane, etc, etc. The bandwagon to let her off the hook is packed.

It is bad enough if Jerry Falwell says ridiculous things about who caused the Sept. 11 attacks There is no reason that thousands of idiots have to agree with him, and repeat his ignorance.

The kid gunmen from Columbine High School, had they survived, would have heard many other teenagers sympathize with them, and even want to do the same thing. They did not view these kids as crazy, but rather as a type of hero. Many told Mike Tyson just how correct he was in biting both of Evander Holyfield?s ears in a heavyweight title bout. After all, Holyfield did head butt him, right? Tyson had to do something.

Jayson Williams didn?t know the gun was loaded, and that is the perfectly good excuse for accidentally killing (allegedly) a man in his house? Well, according to many, yes it is. Before he even spoke, people from everywhere were concocting all sorts of scenarios where no blame could possibly fall on Williams.Why are priests who molest children allowed to continue their practice? There must be a suitable answer because apparently it happens all the time.

It seems that if somebody believes something about someone, they will defend anything they do. The sparrow chomper runs a winning program, so whatever he needs to do must be correct. Tyson can beat the crap out of people in the ring, so if he needs to rape and bite people once in a while, so be it. Yates was at a point where she couldn?t have done anything else, and after all, she didn?t want her children to suffer the same way she did. Sure the priest has made a few mistakes, but at least he doesn?t beat his wife. He is a good guy in every other walk of life, with just that one hitch.

Sound like odd, or irrelevant explanations? They shouldn?t, because they are used all the time.

Why can?t somebody just be cruel and an idiot? They are not fighting for a greater cause, or put in a terrible situation by chance. Nobody made them do it, and yes, it is their fault. A high school wrestling coach who catches a bird and proceeds to bite its head off before chomping it down is a moron. There is no reason to defend something like that.

Ticked off? Give Russ Edmondson some payback at [email protected].