karmic whipsaw

Odd profile of Glenn Hoddle in the Guardian, which says:

That much was clear in February 1999 when he surrendered his position as England manager in the most controversial circumstances.

…without saying exactly what those circumstances were.

And just a month later, Hoddle's career as England manager ended in a media furore when a newspaper reported that his views on reincarnation extended to holding disabled people responsible for their condition through sins in a previous life.

Innocent days. Now the point about karma is that it’s a process not a doctrine. For instance, publicly encouraging the ill treatment of the disabled through saying that it’s their own fault gets you fitted out for a cockroach suit at the bardo, irrespective of whether your reasons were karmic or not.

It’s obvious if you think about it, which paradoxically makes it quite a subtle way of examining how people’s motivations work into their statements. In karmic terms, there’s no way that Glenn Hoddle’s statements could have represented anything but prejudice against the disabled. Restitution for that apparently lies in having to manage Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Comments

[Robert Jubb]

That doesn't explain what otherwise perfectly innocent Wolves fans are being forced to give restitution for by having Glen Hoddle as their team's manager, though.

[jamie]

It's for their team beating Stoke City in an earlier life.

[Jarndyce]

Didn't know you were a Stoke fan. So, I'm holding you personally responsible for chasing me and a couple of mates all the way from the Victoria Ground to Stoke station in 1985 after Hull scored a late equaliser.