National Opinions

BS afflicts an old Bear. And the rest of us?

Mike Ditka, former coach of the Chicago Bears, was diagnosed today with a grave but common affliction known as Blinders Syndrome.

This tragic diagnosis follows the cigar-chomping coach's appearance on a national radio show in which he discussed the phenomenon of football players kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial discrimination.

"All of a sudden, it's become a big deal now, about oppression," Ditka told the show's host, Jim Gray. "There has been no oppression in the last 100 years that I know of."

Blinders Syndrome, also known as BS, draws its name from the phrase "wearing blinders" and frequently manifests not merely as ignorance but as defiant ignorance.

Another symptom of BS: a compulsion to repeat whatever ridiculous thing you just said in a slightly different way, and so, unfortunately, Ditka went on.

"I'm getting old, Jim," he said, "and I'm to the point right now, I'm fed up with a lot of it. I mean, I don't see all this, the social injustice that some of these people see. I don't. I know my dad worked in a steel mill and he brought home a paycheck and we ate dinner every night together. We didn't have anything, but we didn't need anything because we had a family. That was a good time in America. I would like to see us get back to that." (Ditka later apologized for and clarified his remarks.)

BS is often characterized by self-referential nostalgia and BS experts detected several key signs in Ditka's remarks, notably the phrases "I'm getting old" and "That was a good time in America."

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[Trump says he directed Pence to walk out of game if any players protested]

Blinders Syndrome, however, is not limited to people with blind spots on race. It reaches across issues and demographic boundaries. How can you tell if you or a loved one is suffering? Take our BS Quiz.

BS Quiz

When faced with claims of injustice — regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, religious preference, immigration, other — do you reflexively think or say any of the following:

1. Things are way better than they used to be! That means they're great!

2. If it's not a problem for me, it's not a problem!

3. My mom/dad/grandparents had a tough life so I don't want to hear about anybody else's.

4. I had a hard childhood so (even if I'm very rich now) I don't want to hear anyone else's whining.

5. I've never heard of that (name an injustice) happening, so it must not happen.

6. When I was a kid, the world was safer, fairer and better in every way.

7. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and never got any favors. Why can't everybody else?

If you checked one or more of the above, you may have BS.

Blinders Syndrome is often revealed during discussions of gender relations.

The Wall Street Journal, for example, recently reported on a survey, conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co., of 70,000 employees in 222 companies:

"Women largely view gender equality as a work still in progress," the story said, "while many male colleagues see a mission accomplished."

In the survey, men are likelier than women to say their companies have lots of female leaders, even when by any stretch of the imagination they do not. Men are also more inclined to say that gender diversity isn't a priority for them.

Classic BS.

A recent Pew Research poll offered another view of gender-related Blinders Syndrome. Participants were asked if they thought "there are still significant obstacles that make it harder for women to get ahead than men."

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Almost two-thirds of all women surveyed said yes. Seventy percent of Republican men said no.

As the report said, "The gender gap on this question is among the widest seen across the political values measured in this survey."

Somebody's wearing blinders.

Blinders Syndrome sometimes afflicts members of disadvantaged groups as well. If you interpret absolutely everything that doesn't go your way as proof of bias, you may have the condition.

But the most pernicious forms of the disease are the kind exhibited by Ditka. When a famous person utters poisonous nonsense, it is likely to infect others. Willful ignorance can spread.

The good news? BS can be cured. All it takes is listening, finding the facts, working to understand the world beyond yourself.

Get well soon, Coach. Help prevent a BS epidemic.

Mary Schmich is a columnist  for the Chicago Tribune. Email, mschmich@tribune.com. You can follow her on twitter.com/maryschmich or contact her on facebook.com/maryschmich.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com.

Mary Schmich

Mary Schmich is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Contact her at mschmich@tribune.com.

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