If That Makes Me an Asshole…I’ll Wear It as a Badge of Honor

Arrogant. Cocky. Know-it-all. Relentless. Don’t know when to quit.

These are some words and phrases I have heard used to characterize me. In a vacuum, that is not who I am.

“This is why Michael Hotard and I can be friends in today’s world. It’s all about politics. Yet somehow even on complete opposite sides of the party line. His writing still speaks to me, His writing has volume. His writing speaks truths opposing parties don’t want to listen to. 

No, I don’t agree with a lot. Yet his writing brings a perspective so many people don’t see or understand. When I read his blogs I read it as WE THE PEOPLE not me as a person. As frustrating as it can be at times, a lot of people can learn from him. I definitely have.

Glad we can be friends because of who we are instead of political beliefs. It doesn’t happen often.”

As I was sitting at home late Saturday night diving into my Dynasty with Missouri (for Drew Lock only) on NCAA 14…

I received a notification on my phone that I had been tagged in a post. A buddy of mine shared my recent blog regarding people needing to put humans first, America second and politics third.

Those words were written on said post. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride as a smile spread across my face. I am happy to have people in my life who disagree with my stances. I immediately messaged him thanking him for the awesome words.

If we are having a conversation, I don’t hide from the truth or the way I am feeling and that often times gets looked at as arrogant. People have told me how relentless I am with those who don’t agree and that I speak down to people.

I am a very direct person. You will always know where you stand or how I feel. How I am addressed determines how I address others. Maybe sometimes I should take the high road. That might be the better person move. Sometimes, I just don’t see the point in being the better person. I would rather put someone in their place who deserves it (emphasis on the last part).

An example of this, a random person commented on my blog post regarding my bet that Chase Young will be a bust. He questioned my research passive aggressively telling me I should watch film. I responded by posting pictures of said film and called him a mouth breather. This is of course was very mild as far as insulting goes by my standard.

My point is he came at me so I went back to him. Of course there was no response. Does that justify me saying what I said? No. But if he was civil, it wouldn’t happen (Newton’s second law). Apply that to me when it comes to how people approach me.

Of course, we are talking about the very dumbed down conversation that is sports. Imagine what happens when you get into politics, a much more complicated sphere.

Being told I am relentless in debating and arguing, I won’t deny it.

I am relentless, but not in a way to go for throats of people generally speaking. If I am having a civil conversation, I will absolutely call out where someone is factually wrong and I will back it up with facts and context. It will never resort to name calling or making them feel small. The key word being civil.

I don’t believe in “agree to disagree.” Often times it is used when someone has nothing left to add to the conversation. I won’t agree to someone being wrong.

A friend recently pointed out that I am good at kicking down the doors to the next room. What he meant by that is I already have the counter argument to the counter argument to the counter argument. It’s a layered process that I am good at. If I put my name on something, I am not saying it for the sake of saying it. It was researched.

A recent example is the Drew Brees / Aaron Rodgers all decade team debate, the common response to the latter’s wins and hardware is “better team.” However, it’s not entirely true. Of course the people I am speaking with didn’t kick down that door yet. It got crickets from everyone when I brought it to the table.

If someone can’t handle the facts of the situation, then that is a you problem.

Now it gets characterized as an incessant need to be right. Something else that was recently told to me.

For those who know me and have conversations with me regularly know my capability to admit when I am wrong. I give way to the person who’s right. But it better be clear and definitive. I am not going to agree to disagree for something for the sake of just doing it.

I got crushed for my take regarding healthcare workers a few weeks back. When met with the criticism, I responded accordingly without any hostility. I asked one of my best friends his opinion and he did not agree and explained why. It was a case where it ended in a stalemate because we have a different subjective viewpoint on it. That’s ok. I understood where he came from. I just simply didn’t agree.

Someone commented on the column sharing something that said nurses are heroes. In the column, I didn’t devalue their roles. I responded to the comment saying I never said they weren’t heroes. I believe what they are doing is heroic.

People tend to seek the things they don’t like about something and highlight it instead of listening to the overall message, commonly known as self-serving bias. That’s what happened there with the comment. Most of the questions I faced, I could pull a direct quote from my column proving otherwise.

As the saying goes…

If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen. I feel that same way when someone is willing to state an opinion. You have the right to say it, others have the right to question it, embrace it or factually rip it apart.

I don’t consider myself an expert on anything because there are always people who know more about any subject matter than I do. We also live in a world full of information that is easily accessible to us all. Someone out there likely does their homework more than I do. But I do my best to make sure I have the leg up, always. I want to be as informed on a variety of topics as much as I possibly can.

To all those who follow my blog regularly, comment on the content and even suggest topics from time to time, I appreciate you. I treat this like my own personal diary and it’s nice to meet new people or rekindle old friendships along the way. That quite honestly is the greatest part about having a blog and writing.

I am able to connect with so many people through sports, politics, wrestling, movies or my dad posts. Some agree with me, some don’t. That is awesome to me.

For those who disagree with me on any topic, I hope this gives you a better idea of who I am and the reasoning behind my personality. If it doesn’t or you don’t like me, that’s ok too. You’re certainly not the first. You won’t be the last.

For those who may not agree with me and voice how and why respectfully, I thank you for offering a different perspective and your thoughts.

Conflict can be uncomfortable, but I believe in facing the uncomfortable. That starts with building relationships with people who think differently than you.