Slowman wrote:
Twinkie wrote:
If you don't stand for the anthem that is your choice. It is also my choice to think you are a piece of sh*t for not doing so. My grandfather - although he did fight for your right to choose whether you want to be a disrespectful p*ssy - did not sit in a German concentration camp for 9 months getting fed a potato and a glass of water a day so you could ACTUALLY be a huge p*ssy and decide you do not have a little bit of respect for something that means so much to so many people.
I do not care if I get banned for this. You need to hear it. (apologies moderators - but c'mon)
#sorry
terrtri wrote:
FlashBazbo wrote:
Good answer. In fact, some bike races prohibit the wearing of black socks. Perfectly legal to do so.
And, although a lot of people don't seem to know this . . . the NFL teams COULD legally fire any player who refuses to stand for the National Anthem. Legally? Absolutely. Smart business? Probably not. Hence, the standoff.
The 1st Amendment protects a person from government interference with MOST (not all) speech. It does not protect anyone from the negative consequences of their speech. If you get fired, get DQ'd, get thrown off somebody's property, get punched in the face (depending on what you said and to whom you said it), you're on your own.
Thank you, that was very informative for me. So it comes down to what is deemed offensive to the majority at a triathlon.
what i'm
not responsible for is knowing the answer to the question, tho i do think if a *private* RD wants concessions and permission from a *public* venue then that private RD should say in advance that it intends to punish its customers if those customers do not comport with that private RD's particular wishes that are tangential to the event itself. otherwise that RD is going to likely face some scrutiny when it wants those permits the following year.
what i
am responsible for is the comportment of folks on this forum. this is arguably better argued in the lavender room, but i'll leave it here. so, you're right, i'm the one issuing the DQ here.
me, i stand for the anthem. i love our country, i love what it stands for, i honor the sacrifices made. nevertheless, at 61 years old, i reflect on what i thought i knew *for certain* at age-21, at age-31, at age-41, and i note how i know a lot less for certain now than i did then. my world grew. my empathy grew. my understanding grew. and i found i needed to be a lot more flexible in my thinking or else i would end up dying having lived a rather fruitless life.
i can't imagine life as a female, black, or asian, or gay, or muslim, or someone much richer or poorer than i am, and the only thing i really require for someone to be an american is patriotism. how people display their patriotism is not mine to decide. but my world had to get bigger for me to wrap my arms around that.
so, if you really want to get banned, i'll oblige. but what i'd rather see happen is that you understand that your world is going to get bigger, or it's going to get smaller. it's up to you which way that goes. entropy and laziness causes my world to get smaller. it's kind of like wheelsucking. that's the easy route. for your world to get bigger you're going to have to stick your own nose into the wind and take a risk.
Just general question for this thread to ponder about. Why is standing deemed more respectful than sitting. There are places in teh world where bowing and putting your head down is a sign of respect. Could some groups not decide that sitting, kneeling, hand standings, head standing, jogging on the spot are there ways of showing respect (for whatever reason)?
I was at the Canadian Masters Nationals last weekend. Anthem plays, I start singing in a low tone. Just above muttering but you could hear it. I was in the extreme minority. But that's my way of saying thanks at that moment to the nation that gave me a good life, and to the volunteers about to give me a great event. But I could be hand standing and doing the same. I'm a vet (not a war vet, just a vet) and at Remebrance Day on Nov 11th, some old wank was giving me grief for talking....I shut him up by saying that I have dead classmates who died so I could yap freely on Nov 11th. And yes, our National Anthem in Canada is sexist, and it's even a lie, because it talks about the country being glorious and free, yet we have Queen who lives on the Mall in London who is technically the head of our state....but I'm not getting too caught up on the actual wording be it sexist or lying about our technical freedom, because in general I believe we are largely a beacon internationally when it comes to equality, and we're functionally a pretty free country....so I sing through the lies in our anthem, given when the song was written relative to today.
All this to say, I think there are different ways to show respect and thanks and be a supporter of one's country. An outward gesture can be hard to judge. Anyone who has served in their nation's armed forces in my mind signed a blank cheque (willing to die) for their country and may have reasons for how they want to show respect and thanks. For the rest who did not serve and never wrote the blank cheque, they still get a pass because the guys who wrote the blank cheque wrote it so you can freely decide how to live provided it is not hurting anyway and within the country's laws.