Luis Suarez and the victim's mentality (Updated with statement from Liverpool, Suarez)

With the execution of one simple, fleeting gesture, Luis Suarez could have put his racism fueled row with Patrice Evra to bed and even taken the steps toward restoring his image in all parts of England not named Liverpool. Alas, this moral high road was one that Luis Suarez apparently deemed too difficult to navigate.

What I would love to know, though I certainly never truly will, is just why Luis Suarez thought that his refusal to shake Evra's hand was somehow the proper thing to do. That he failed to take heed of the fact that every camera would be trained on this first crossing of paths between him and Evra, thus allowing quite literally tens of millions of viewers around the world to see his childishness is even more trouble and suggests that he is living in his own little world somewhere.

The reasonable individual must surely look at this initial flashpoint and wonder just why Suarez behaved as if he were, in truth, the wronged party; never mind that he was the one who, according to substantial evidence compiled by the FA following the regrettable incident in the first meeting between Liverpool and Manchester United, resorted to repeatedly directing racial slurs toward Patrice Evra. Had there not actually been the fire of this evidence to go with the initial smoke of the allegations, then he certainly wouldn't have received the the eight match ban that kept him out of action until recently.

In digesting this talking point that developed before yesterday's match and has just about overshadowed United's dominance of Liverpool, sans the last couple of minutes, there is but one thought that comes to mind: Suarez must truly believe, on some level, that he is the aggrieved party of the two. He seemingly doesn't feel that he is culpable for his time out of action, but rather he perhaps views Evra as the sole reason for his absence. After all, it's surely Evra's fault for being black and causing Suarez to say those nasty things to him.

More troubling is that Suarez's petulance yesterday is not only representative of his own self-absorption, but it also speaks to a larger issue in modern society: that of absolving one's self of any responsibility for the sake of adopting the victim's mentality, even when one is the red-handed perpetrator. Accepting responsibility for one's actions is not always the easiest thing to do, but it is a sign of maturity and a sign of one being willing to learning from one's mistakes and moving on. Suarez showed no sign of this at all yesterday, and in turn has probably cemented his status as a villain in England for the duration of his time playing in the country. 

Moreover, the refusal to shake Evra's hand is just another embarrassing moment for Liverpool in this ongoing saga, lest we forget the Suarez themed t-shirts worn by Liverpool before their match with Wigan and Kenny Dalglish's unwavering support for Suarez, despite the FA's findings. Perhaps they can also be held responsible for enabling Suarez's sense of martyrdom.

Update: Liverpool have issued this apology on Luis Suarez's behalf. At times like these, I can't help but to be skeptical and wonder if such statements are generated by PR staffs and handlers.