tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post4154309714198005375..comments2024-03-15T23:25:52.517-07:00Comments on the joy of sox: Thoughts Prompted By The Red Sox Foundation's Association With "Run To Home Base"allanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-81683713051843137172012-05-20T17:44:08.901-07:002012-05-20T17:44:08.901-07:00This person routinely gets the biggest cheer of th...<i>This person routinely gets the biggest cheer of the night (way more than any player) and a complete standing ovation.<br /><br />Also during every Red Sox game, during the pre-game ceremony, they announce a "blood donor of the game," who gets to stand out on the field. This person gets a golf clap. </i><br /><br />So giving (literally) of yourself to save lives < killing.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-50472958546573772612012-05-20T13:49:26.677-07:002012-05-20T13:49:26.677-07:00The self-righteous sentimentality of "support...The self-righteous sentimentality of "supporting the troops" is the exact flip side of the casual cruelty with which we treat wounded veterans, PTSD cases, Agent Orange survivors, and so on.<br /><br />I think we imagine (very conveniently) that if we 'support' them, our duty and responsibility are pretty much discharged.johngoldfinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09322562737172405323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-50444249092309033032012-05-20T09:12:57.656-07:002012-05-20T09:12:57.656-07:00I meant "observation," not "observa...I meant "observation," not "observance."Jerehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13448619048422750447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-6476604912160811652012-05-20T08:27:37.526-07:002012-05-20T08:27:37.526-07:00An observance:
During every Red Sox game, for thi...An observance:<br /><br />During every Red Sox game, for this year and going back to at least last year, they have a military person get special recognition. They are made to stand on top of the home dugout, while their name and info (usually Iraq/Afghanistan tours) is read over the PA and they're shown on the big board. This person routinely gets the biggest cheer of the night (way more than any player) and a complete standing ovation.<br /><br />Also during every Red Sox game, during the pre-game ceremony, they announce a "blood donor of the game," who gets to stand out on the field. This person gets a golf clap.Jerehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13448619048422750447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-17425200244082135542012-05-20T07:05:35.946-07:002012-05-20T07:05:35.946-07:00The discussion that followed the original JoS post...The discussion that followed <a href="http://joyofsox.blogspot.ca/2010/06/thoughts-prompted-by-red-sox.html" rel="nofollow">the original JoS post</a> is very good.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-19155413601526812152012-05-20T07:04:11.333-07:002012-05-20T07:04:11.333-07:00Lucky for most Americans, it's easy to support...Lucky for most Americans, it's easy to support the troops. All you do is buy a magnet.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-90899287985441079632012-05-20T07:00:23.054-07:002012-05-20T07:00:23.054-07:00Re "supporting the troops"
I hate the t...Re "supporting the troops"<br /><br />I hate the twitsed logic of supporting the troops but being against the war. It literally makes no sense.<br /><br />If I do not agree with the wars (and the cultural destruction, torture, and terrorism, etc.), why would I offer my support for the people who are carrying out that destruction?allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-66205256754518513942012-05-20T06:32:59.712-07:002012-05-20T06:32:59.712-07:00It's strange (and oddly empowering) to hear so...<i>It's strange (and oddly empowering) to hear someone just flat out say this. I don't think I've ever heard anyone--even anti-war "liberals"--state things like this. Maybe it's because they actually believe the Orwellian slant, or it's because social pressure is making them say something they don't privately believe--but people seem to always hold that view that I mentioned.</i><br /><br />There is definitely enormous social pressure to "support the troops", whatever that means, even if you oppose the war.<br /><br />But clearly no war in my lifetime (I'm soon to be 51) was ever fought to protect the US "way of life". And certainly no recent war has anything to do with self-defense or self-protection. So what makes them heroes?<br /><br />However, I generally see the soldiers as victims, and in that sense, they need full support - health care, therapy, family support. These basics are often denied them. <br /><br />And of course I support every soldier's right to <a href="http://couragetoresist.org" rel="nofollow">STOP FIGHTING</a> and leave the military, and to speak out against war if they choose. The US govt routinely denies them these basic human rights.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-85577998585208459512012-05-20T05:50:22.154-07:002012-05-20T05:50:22.154-07:00The soldiers are not heroes - and I have no idea o...<i>The soldiers are not heroes - and I have no idea on earth why they would be thought of as heroes - but they are victims.</i><br /><br />It's strange (and oddly empowering) to hear someone just flat out say this. I don't think I've ever heard anyone--even anti-war "liberals"--state things like this. Maybe it's because they actually believe the Orwellian slant, or it's because social pressure is making them say something they don't privately believe--but people seem to always hold that view that I mentioned. (I mean people that aren't flat-out pro-war.) You know, believing both these things at the same time: (a) the soldiers are heroes and they are protecting our way of life, (b) the actions of the soldiers and the wars they enable are evil and have nothing to do with protecting our way of life.<br /><br />Maybe if the troops weren't being used as symbolic human shields during every other baseball game (can't critize the power structure without also saying you hate these heroes) the U.S. wouldn't be heading off the cliff like it is.Maxwell Horsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11954012317296896642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-36842745299987351342012-05-20T05:25:01.868-07:002012-05-20T05:25:01.868-07:00So many people hold the view that the soldiers are...<i>So many people hold the view that the soldiers are heroes, yet at the same time what the soldiers are asked to participate in is criminal. I'm sorry, but I cannot pretzel my mind into such double-think.</i><br /><br />The soldiers are not heroes - and I have no idea on earth why they would be thought of as heroes - but they are victims. <br /><br />Nice use of pretzel as a verb!laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-35097024201223421612012-05-20T04:54:41.655-07:002012-05-20T04:54:41.655-07:00If I were a Red Sox player I think I'd have a ...If I were a Red Sox player I think I'd have a very hard time deciding whether or not I'd want to participate in all these Red Sox sponsored things that--let's face it--glorify war, glorify the agendas of the Dick Cheney's of the world, and just about every evil thing our "leaders" do. There are many ways to help people, even ways that would help soldiers indirectly--but the way the Sox do it are just about the most lunk-headed, "Love it or leave it" ways you can.<br /><br />So many people hold the view that the soldiers are heroes, yet at the same time what the soldiers are asked to participate in is criminal. I'm sorry, but I cannot pretzel my mind into such double-think. I can certainly pity soldiers who are killing themselves to aid evil agendas, but that's a far cry from actually enabling and championing that Orwellian paradigm.<br /><br />If I were a Sox player, I don't see how I could "respectfully decline" participation in certain team-sanctioned events without eventually being called out as a Freedom-hating pariah by the press.Maxwell Horsehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11954012317296896642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-56923087557464742822012-05-20T04:54:13.086-07:002012-05-20T04:54:13.086-07:00They know what can happen to them and how others h...<i>They know what can happen to them and how others have been treated</i><br /><br />9C, with respect, this is incorrect. I doubt you have read about, listened to or interviewed as many veterans as I have. From what I've learned, few - if any - know what they are in for when they sign up.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-70690690233171096852012-05-20T03:35:13.353-07:002012-05-20T03:35:13.353-07:00And that has been the case all the way back to the...And that has been the case all the way back to the Revolutionary War.<br /><br /><br />And young men and women , besides the draft, still voulunteer and sign up..<br /><br />That is neither an opinon or a statement to further this discussion. It is merely a fact.<br /><br />They know what can happen to them and how others have been treated and they still sign up, I dont think I have that in me, but I am thankful to those that do.9caseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14214364466933716867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-7020563171682543102012-05-19T20:46:48.585-07:002012-05-19T20:46:48.585-07:00And that has been the case all the way back to the...And that has been the case all the way back to the Revolutionary War. In every single instance for the last 235+ years, the military and the sitting government has systematically screwed over, mistreated, or simply forgotten its veterans.allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04673233312198832937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-2798751633895531092012-05-19T20:37:22.000-07:002012-05-19T20:37:22.000-07:00Regardless of one's political opinions about t...Regardless of one's political opinions about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: it should be clear that the way the U.S. government has treated soldiers suffering from TBI and PTSD has been shameful and unjust.Tom DePlontyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04131969835612594121noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5730822.post-6901556912689945782012-05-19T20:01:36.316-07:002012-05-19T20:01:36.316-07:00Thank you for reposting this. In my opinion, it...Thank you for reposting this. In my opinion, it's among the best pieces you've ever written.laura khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524593142290489958noreply@blogger.com