Tuesday, Indianapolis, Indiana

Is the culture becoming meaner? There seems to be evidence suggesting that people are getting so competitive and focused on individual success that we are willing to take it out on anyone getting in our way. The most recent exhibit is the shocking turn of events is the competition for Miss Puerto Rico. This past week contestant Ingrid Rivera was the victim of a poor sport willing to flaunt the rules of law and civility to win the contest.

In the spirit of another famous sports victim Nancy Kerrigan, an as-yet unnamed rival arranged to have her Ms. Rivera’s formal competition gown spiked with pepper spray!

Holy San Juan Hill!!

As a result Ms. Rivera broke out in hives and had a swollen face for her final stage appearance. You might recall the shocking story in advance of the 1994 Olympics when infamous, redneck skating competitor Tanya Harding’s husband, Jeff Gillooly hired friend and thug Shawn Eckhardt to whack Nancy Kerrigan on the knee to get her put of the competition. The incident unhinged all of their lives.

In this latest bizarre reprise in Puerto Rico, an unidentified beauty pageant competitor is suspected of sabotaging the dress and makeup of the front runner. In spite of her hives and a face puffed up like a yeast cake, Ms. Rivera won the competition and will be representing Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe competition.

What Are We Becoming?

Are we getting less civilized? Is it that the media is covering human depravity more thoroughly that it distorts our impression of the collective character? Are we now a more violent society?

What makes an individual so desperate for success, fame and wealth that they will try to ruin the health of another to advance her own chances for winning? Is the lure of notoriety so irresistible that it makes people desperate? The evidence suggests we have cultivated a generation who feel that personal meaning is rooted in personal prowess - prevailing over all others no matter how it gets done.

I cannot win on my own; I will do what it takes to bring you down. Wow!

In instances such as the Puerto Rico Beauty Pageant, I do give credit to the media whose coverage of these outrageous incidents bring righteous shame on the perpetrators and expose their misdeeds. In the end shaming is one of our most effective weapons against anti-social behavior. So whoever the perpetrator of the beauty pageant sabatoge is, when they are finally exposed they will be shamed, villified and have their own twisted ambitions righteously ridiculed.