The weird emotionalism of modern times is one of those things that goes on without anyone commenting upon it. If you read cultural writers, it seldom comes up. Maybe it has always be thus, but it seems like the propensity to burst into tears in public is stronger now than ever. After 9/11, I remember watching Bush get choked up on camera and thinking, “He’s no Churchill.” Can you imagine Eisenhower blubbering on stage after the Normandy invasion?

Anyway, this was in my sports feed.

When Boston was rocked by bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, the Bruins and their fans received unconditional support from the NHL and the other 29 teams. Now, the Bruins will return that favor.

On Wednesday, a gunman entered the Parliament area in Canada’s capitol city of Ottawa and killed one solider and injured another person. The Senators were scheduled to host the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday night, but the game was postponed.

The tragedy in Ottawa hit close to home for members of the Bruins. Coach Claude Julien is a native of Ottawa, while Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly both played for the Senators.

“It was very shocking, especially for that area. It’s a capitol city but it’s fairly quiet and not a busy area, so to see something like that happening is very shocking, very surprising,” Chara said. “Obviously, you’re feeling for everybody in the city and in the country. I know when it happened here we received so much support from everywhere around the league, across the country and around the world, so for sure it’s something we’re thinking about and people in Ottawa and Canada are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Julien said Wednesday’s situation in Ottawa was unsettling.

Last night, a dozen people were murdered in Chicago. Toronto is not a crime riddled city, but they have plenty of homicides. Why is this one so emotionally unsettling?

Added Julien, “Every city rallies around its own city and I’ve talked to a few people, including my family that’s still back there. My parents and brothers and sisters, it’s affected them even if they weren’t around that area. It affects the whole city like the bombing affected us here. They’ll have to get used to it in a way where that’s reality, unfortunately, and it’s happening. Again, Ottawa is a pretty — or Canada is a pretty laid back country that tries to continue to be laid back. But it’s also a country that supported the U.S. in some of its decisions and more than likely those are the consequences that it faces because of that.”

This is what I’m getting at. Why do public figures have to pretend to be emotionally distraught over events happening far away from them? If the gunman shot someone he knew, then sure, he should be upset. If it happened at his place of work, I can see it. Further, how is a hockey game healing anything? What in the hell does healing even mean in this context?

It seems like the high status males in modern times feel the need to blubber in public. I’m not sure why that is or what it means. Like the stoic male lead, the level headed male leader is a thing of the past. Instead, the hallmark of high status is the ability to emote on cue.