Writing in today's Mirror, Oliver Holt posits an unusual defense of Wayne Rooney's post-penalty Tourettes fit that manages to tie it all back to 9/11 reference.
“In English newspapers, we report on tsunamis and serial killers and terrifying acts of war and then we use asterisks to disguise swear words. Should it really still be possible to be offended by a man swearing when we sit in front of our television screens and watch thousands of people dying before our eyes in the Twin Towers? What Rooney did in front of the fans in the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand at Upton Park on Saturday afternoon was both foolish and vaguely unedifying… But he did not hurt anyone, he did not libel anyone, he did not cheat anyone, he did not even abuse anyone.”
I'm surprised he couldn't find some link to the Holocaust. I can't speak for humanity, especially the British portion of it, but I don't think people were offended by Rooney. I think they were repulsed by him. Even in our media-saturated world, it's possible to view the most awful violence and maintain a barometer of taste. It's the English way, surely.
