Manne's World: The Ambassadors

A funny thing that happens in the group dynamic in our group of friends, is that because of the strong characters, strong opinions and heated debates, it is very difficult to take a loose position on anything. Any statement you make comes with a certain burden of responsibility and an ownership of both the argument and the view you take. Maybe, it is ego among men, just another way for the alpha's in a group full of tauruses to butt heads until one falls down exhausted and the other one is the proud owner of bragging rights and a weeklong concussion.

This brings about an interesting phenomenon. The ambassadorship. When say 'yes' to something, you own it forever, or so Ayn Rand famously wrote in her masterpiece The Fountainhead. Something similar happens with the Surifatu boys. When you open your mouth to say 'yes' to something, in our world, it is not like pressing the 'like' button on Facebook. It is the equivalent of flying your flag over that confirmation or support for a person, a movie, a book (not many books, a shocking amount of my very intelligent, very academic friends have a strong aversion to or phobia of, books), but mostly a sports team, an artist, an actor or an athlete. You become the spokesperson for it, him or her. You become its ambassador. This requires an astonishing commitment on your part, because you have to be able to defend your item of choice with comparative statistics, triumphs, records of accomplishment, income statements, popularity polls, reviews, recaps, filmographies and in some instances resort to demagoguery, populism, dirty tricks. Indeed, the only thing that can arouse heavier emotions than a discussion are our epic sessions of board games. Family members and most friends already refuse to play Risk with me and my very good friend Fatukel.