Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
This is the part of the interview that I found most disturbing. McGrattan justifies his chosen career by insisting that he is chasing a dream (still??), and that he seems to be worried about losing his kid's respect if he does not do everything he can to fulfill it. He says at one point something to the effect of: "how can I expect my kid to follow after his own dreams if I turn around and quit?"
Is he serious? As a parent and a child I find that train of thought incredibly disturbing. I would never set my own life in danger just to ensure that my kids learn a valuable life lesson, because it is so, SO unnecessary. I think I would more likely have lost respect from my father had he not taken every precaution to protect our family at the expense of quashing my own ambition. It's a very strange rationale to employ in an effort to justify his decisions, but it really strikes me as quite hallow and ultimately selfish. The message I received from the interview was that in the end, McGrattan fights because he loves fighting, and he won't let anyone or anything interfere with that. That is a borderline obsession.
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The way I interpreted it is more like a lumberjack (which IIRC is the most dangerous job in Canada) justifying his line of work to his son. It's dangerous, and you can get badly hurt or killed doing it, but it's a job he loves and he will keep doing it.