Pete's Rose-Colored Glasses

Some folks just don't get it. They think all you have to do to receive forgiveness, absolution, a second chance is change your story. Change your story, people change their minds about you, that changes your public image, and voila! All is well. That is how the deluded minds of the chronically deceptive work.

So, Pete Rose, the man everybody loves to hate, the evil baseball devil himself, tells Dan Patrick that he bet "every night" on the Cincinnatti Reds. John Dowd, the investigator who toppled the former baseball great's house of cards responded to Rose's latest confession:

"He did not always bet to win. And when he didn't bet on the Reds, he sent a
signal to the bookmakers to bet to lose.
"I have no idea what he's doing.
Who knows, this guy? He spends almost 15 years calling me a liar, then writes a
sorry-ass book that admits what's in my report. Now the report is right. Well,
glad to hear it."

Hey, Pete, public perception is fluid and not always accurate. It is also impossible to control. It may be manipulated, but no one can absolutely guarantee that today's hero won't be tomorrow's goat. That is why the focus of the guilty should be introspective. Look inside yourself. See what is wrong in your attitude, actions, and words...and make a conscious effort to change. Maybe people see the change, public opinion turns in your favor, and you regain the respect you lost. Or...maybe not. But at least you have made yourself a better you...and you can live with that. Can't you?

That Dowd dude is too close to the fire anyway. Forgiveness isn't likely to ever be forthcoming from him. He has been too "wounded," too "offended." Who cares? No one will ever have universal appeal. No one.

The older I get and the more things I find I have to regret and change, the less inclined I am to believe in the whole concept of human forgiveness anyway. That old saying, "to err is human; to forgive is divine," is more than a little accurate. I don't think we mere claypots have it in us to truly forgive. Some little part of us will always hold onto the offence. We will keep the information stored for later. We expect to someday say, "Aha! I knew it! You are a dirty rotten bastard!"

It's the Pharisee syndrome. "Hey, look at how good I am compared to ol' so-and-so."
Maybe that is the only real service Pete Rose will ever be able to offer the world now: the chance for us to look at how overtly corrupt he is and feel better about ourselves.

Jaded? A little. But pretty dead-on. So, the point here is this: Rose should forget about trying to weasel his way back into the good graces of the baseball gods (aka, the fans and media), and focus on himself. If he looks himself in the mirror and likes what he sees, he will have to settle for that. The rest is out of his control anyway.

There was a 1981 TV movie that starred Mickey Rooney as a mentally challenged man named Bill. I will never forget the sincere earnestness in his voice when he said, "I just want to be a regular good man." Why is it that the Pete Roses of the world aspire to be famous, wealthy, loved, accepted, but miss the whole point of just being human?

Pete, baby, You don't have to always be right. But always be real...and willing to change what needs changing.

That's really all anyone can ask.