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If you’ve been a reader of this site for awhile you know there are not many words that bother me, I mean com’on there just words, what the fuck? right. But for some reason when someone calls another person a ”cancer” it sends my blood pressure to the god damn roof. So when I saw the story today that Johnathon Papelbon said that Manny Ramirez was a “cancer that had to be cut out” I just found it so offensive. Believe me I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but to me you have got to have a lot of hate for someone to call them a cancer.
I know what Manny did to the Red Sox last year was awful and yes he did quit on them and that is reprehensible. But if you’re going to attack a guy why use the term cancer when a a simple asshole will do.
Almost inexplicable considering that Pappelbon’s teammate is a cancer patient, right?
I’m not really clear why you hate when someone calls another person a â€cancerâ€? You never explain why.
Personally, I don’t find it offensive. If he had said, “having Manny as a teammate is like having cancer,” well, that’s offensive.
Eagle very true I wonder how John Lester felt about that
Mike, There is nothing worse than seeing a loved one sucumb to that dread disease so to compare it to a guy in a baseball clubhouse galls me. The same way athletes are called ‘warriors” which is also an insult.
If you have not been effected by cancer in your family or to a friend then consider yourself blessed
I just think he’s using a relatively common expression and I don’t think he means to say that a bad teammate is literally the equivalent of a horrific disease. But why am I defending this punk? Anyway, I do understand what you’re saying and I’m not trying to be insensitive or disrespectful.
Not to belabor the point (although it’s probably too late for that), but The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy does say that, “the term cancer is often used to describe a nonmedical condition that is undesirable, destructive, and invasive: ‘Watergate was a cancer on the presidency.’” Or, “Manny Ramirez as a cancer on the Red Sox” (my example). So, again, I just think he was using a relatively common expression. But, you’re probably right; a simple “asshole” probably would’ve done the trick.