A Man Like Ringo Got a Great, Empty Hole Right Through the Middle of Him.

[DISCLAIMER]

*Tombstone (1993) spoilers contained herein.

Photo credit, property of Hollywood Pictures, Cinergi Pictures, and Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, fair use

If there’s a Western film with more quotable lines than Tombstone (1993), I’ve yet to see it. Among ensemble cast members, Kurt Russell and the late Val Kilmer gave subjectively wonderful performances and delivered notable lines. Summarizing the plot, one source states:

A Hollywood historical account of Tombstone, Arizona’s famed “Shootout at the O.K. Corral” and the events that led up to it. Tension between “the Law” and “the Cowboys” stirs as the Cowboys, led by “Curly Bill” Brocius, accuse the Earps (Wyatt [played by Russell], Virgil, and Morgan) and their outlaw and gambler associate “Doc” Holliday [played by Kilmer] of interfering with their operations inside and outside of town.

As the film was released when I was in high school, it’s accurate to say that I’ve quoted its lines since my youth. One particular exchange is relevant to the current blogpost. In a scene during which Wyatt and Doc discuss outlaw “Cowboy” Johnny Ringo, the following dialogue unfolds:

Wyatt: What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?

Doc: A man like Ringo got a great, empty hole right through the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.

Wyatt: What does he need?

Doc: Revenge.

Wyatt: For what?

Doc: Bein’ born.

Several terms from this dialogue warrant description, as I’ll address them in chronological order. Wyatt asks about Ringo’s intention, which one source defines as any directedness in one’s thoughts or behaviors, whether or not this involves conscious decision making.

Additionally, Doc posited that Ringo exhibited emptiness, which one source describes as a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation, nihilism, and apathy. Specifically, Ringo was said to have a proverbially “great, empty hole right through the middle of him.”

As an aside, perhaps due to the Mandela Effect (a phenomenon in which many people collectively misremember a specific fact, event, or detail in a consistent manner), many people misquote Doc’s assessment as Ringo having maintained a ‘great, big hole’ through the outlaw.

This misremembered detail is redundant, and is largely unnecessary. Yet, a “great, empty hole” signifies emptiness. For instance, the former could be a lake which is filled with water. The latter would be better represented by any of the 194-plus impact structures on Earth which are empty.

Minor quibble aside, Wyatt then asks Doc what Ringo presumably needs. This is a crucial component of the current blogpost, as one source thusly describes this term:

A need is a deficiency at a point of time and in a given context. Needs are distinguished from wants. In the case of a need, a deficiency causes a clear adverse outcome: a dysfunction or death. In other words, a need is something required for a safe, stable and healthy life (e.g. air, water, food, land, shelter) while a want is a desire, wish or aspiration.

Of this, I stated in A Demanded Thing Is a Necessary One, “A demand is defined as something claimed as due or owed (e.g., payment for working a shift at your job). Something that is necessary is considered absolutely needed or required (i.e., air, water, food, etc.).”

Take for example the controversial claim I expressed in What’s Love Got to Do With It?, “[L]ove isn’t guaranteed to anyone, nor is it a legitimate necessity in order to remain alive. Although this is a controversial perspective, it’s also true.” Thus, I disagree with Abraham Maslow’s assertion.

For context, one source states, “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a conceptualisation of the needs (or goals) that motivate human behaviour,” and, “According to Maslow’s original formulation, there are five sets of basic needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem and self-actualization.”

I maintain that the late psychologist’s proposition about needs was wrong. Aside from other proposed elements of supposed necessity, a person can survive without being loved. However, given a specific amount of time that varies per individual, a person will die without food.

Therefore, the aforementioned source conflates “needs” with “goals,” as one source defines the latter as the end states toward which a human or nonhuman animal is striving: the purposes of an activity or endeavor. Whereas a demand is something claims as owed, a goal is a targeted end.

This distinction is important when contemplating the final matter worth describing from dialogue between Wyatt and Doc in Tombstone. Specifically, Doc proposed that Ringo sought revenge for being born, about which one source states:

Revenge is defined as committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Vengeful forms of justice, such as primitive justice or retributive justice, are often differentiated from more formal and refined forms of justice such as distributive justice or restorative justice.

Apparently, Ringo maintained a grievance (resentment arising from a sense of having been unjustly treated) for which he maintained unhelpful demands and unproductive goals, as Doc comprehensibly mistook this matter as what Ringo perceivably needed.

Nevertheless, given Ringo’s proverbially “great, empty hole right through the middle of him,” it simply isn’t the case that he absolutely needed or required revenge. He merely demanded something, as though it was owed him. Regarding this matter, I now turn toward a book.

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

The ancient Stoic philosopher Seneca once stated, “Nothing can satisfy greed, but even a small measure satisfies nature. So it is that the poverty of an exile brings no misfortune, for no place of exile is so barren as not to produce ample support for a person” (page 297). Per one source:

Greed (or avarice, Latin: avaritia) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power sometimes at the expense of others in the community.

The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and actions associated with it may be the promotion of personal or family survival. It may at the same time be an intent to deny or obstruct competitors from potential means (for basic survival and comfort) or future opportunities; therefore being insidious or tyrannical and having a negative connotation. Alternately, the purpose could be defense or counteractive response to such obstructions being threatened by others.

Seneca appears to have advocated rejection of unhelpful demands and unproductive goals which were disguised as needs, as to dispute irrational beliefs about revenge, love, greed, and other matters which serve as proverbially great, empty holes right through the middle of people.

Eloquently stated, Seneca advocated proper utilization of “a small measure” to maintain life. Even if one were to achieve revenge, attain love, pursue revenge, and so on, as expressed by Doc about Ringo, “He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.”

Thus, I invite you to consider focusing on what you can control—turning away from “a great, empty hole” rather than continually tossing things into a proverbial void that has no limit for satisfaction. This, you can do with intention, as it was too late for Ringo to realize in Tombstone.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

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