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Enemy Mine
NFL Quarterback Drew Brees got in trouble for making the following statement:
I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corp. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about. And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the ‘60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.
My ignorance about professional sports–including the NFL–knows no bounds (kinda sorta like my ignorance of college sports). The only time the NFL intrudes on my life is when I see a news article detailing how some cosseted, pampered millionaire shoots himself in the leg in a nightclub, or pounds the snot out of his wife in an elevator, or gets sent to prison for murder. So my knowledge of the NFL has lotsa holes.
But from what I read, this Drew Brees fellow sounds like a good guy, going out of his way to do good works and make the world a better place. He also, after the firestorm his comment unleashed, promptly apologized, so I cannot help but conclude that he is something of a wuss.
But if you have no sympathy or empathy for his initial comment, you are my enemy.
Claira Janover, a recent Harvard graduate published a video screed in which she threatened to stab anyone with temerity, the “caucasity” to say “all lives matter.”
“I’ma stab you, and while you’re struggling and bleeding out, I’ma show you my paper cut and say, ‘My cut matters, too,’” she added.
Way to go, Harvard. Ya did a bang-up job. Miss Janover states that her screed was a joke. Ooookay. She also lost her newly procured, not yet attended job internship with Deloitte, and published another video in which she tearfully testified that she had lost her “dream job” because of President Trump. Zero self-examination as to whether just maybe the offer was pulled due to her own dumb … self.
Anyone who has or could have any sympathy or empathy for Miss Janover’s original statement is my enemy. I’ve stated many times how I hate bullies. Bullies that would savage the Covington kids without even checking the facts, and sneeringly declaring Nick Sandmann’s face as punchable. Bullies that would make a young lady cry because she must pay lip service the shibboleths of the Left.
Our Left has become pagan totalitarians. I would feel comfortable wagering lots of frogskins that young Miss Janover is an avowed atheist, with nothing but contempt for those who strive to live their lives with Christian charity and comportment. Funny, they don’t seem to have even a dim understanding that it is the forbearance of those who hold dear Judeo-Christian values that is probably the biggest single reason they are all still walking around and stealing oxygen.
I have a brother-in-arms, now retired like me. I trained him when he attended the Q-course. His call sign is BA, or in military parlance, Bravo Alpha, short for Barnyard Animal. Ever see Gregor the Mountain in Game of Thrones? Yeah, that size dude, with that kind of strength. I worked with him over the years to add some technique and subtlety to his brute force and “Hulk smash!” fighting style. It is one of my few remaining vanities that, after all these years, he still calls me “Sensei.”
BA is a singular counterfactual to the belief that “there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole.”Despite the breadth and depth of our friendship, he looks at the world and can find no way he can believe in God. I look at the world, and can find no way to not believe. But BA has two attributes that set him apart from most other atheists that I’ve known. He isn’t pushy or annoying about it, and he’s done the reading. We have and have had hours-long discussions on philosophy (particularly Stoicism, go figure), military history, and Bushido/Zen. I think he’s an “atheist” mainly to tick people off. He thinks I hew to my Christianity for the same reason (c’mon, how many Catholics wear a Mjölnir necklace? It’s not about faith, though, as much as mindset).
Just a couple of days ago, we had about a three-hour discussion about all of the above. Too, now part of our discussions is the status of our multiple debilities, impingements, and injuries. We also talked current events and, ever close to two old soldiers’ hearts, where our country is going.
It came to me in an inchoate way during our discussion, and talking it out with BA helped me solidify my and articulate my thoughts.
I’m not a really good Christian. I mean, I’d like to think that I’ll eventually gain the spiritual grace and maturity to always turn the other cheek, but I sure ain’t there yet. My Dad called it the curse of Cuchulain, the inability to turn down a fight, ever. Pile upon that the fact that the knuckleheads out burning, looting, and bullying are making my self-imposed boundaries fray, just a wee bit. Throw in a dash of world-class training (Thank you, US taxpayer!). Add a pinch of more time in combat than I thought I’d ever have when I signed up for the Army, and the recipe is bad juju. And there are lots of guys like me. Well, “lots” is kind of relative, so let’s go with enough.
Where I live has been relatively riot-free. Not to say that there hasn’t been a smattering of (literally/actually/not-press-apologist) peaceful protests. But tomfoolery going one way in the 305 is frequently met with bullets going the other, so there’s far less opportunity for threat of getting enmeshed in violence here. Thus far.
But the left needs to rein it in and act like they’ve got a whisker of tolerance for civil debate and ideological diversity.
I know a whole bunch of Christians that will vigorously oppose getting fed to the lions.
Published in General
Luke 22:36
“36 [Jesus] said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.“
Václav Havel. Definitely worth reading.
My personal favorite:
(Zeitgeist)
Nah, that’s not it.
Certainly not as funny as the way Boss did it.
Dear Boss Mongo,
As usual, this is a great post.
As a New Orleanian, I’d like to add my two cents on Drew Brees. Few people have done as much for the greater New Orleans area (New Orleans and the surrounding parishes) as Drew Brees. He and the Saints gave the city something to believe in and celebrate immediately after Katrina (one cannot overstate the impact he had). More than that, he has several charities that have pumped millions of dollars into the city to help a variety of causes. He is a for-sure first round hall-of-famer and is (or was) one of the most respected men in the city. On the other side, his loudest detractor on the team is a locker-room troublemaker who has done virtually nothing for the city.
Yet, despite all the good he has done, only some fans stood up for him. The press, and those teammates who would talk on record, vilified him. The coaching staff and ownership did not stand up for him. It seems to me that, for him, it came down to deciding that he needed to abase himself if he wanted to play. Although he is nearing the end of his career, he wants one more shot.
Having said the above, I am very disappointed that he apologized. He has the money to walk away if things went south, and he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set an example – especially to serve as an example for those who want to play sports, but don’t want to kowtow to the rabid left (see @drbastiat‘s post). Young people like the Good Dr.’s daughter are the ones who will suffer the most – starting off their sports careers by having to lie to play. He should have stood up to the mob, even if the mob includes his teammates.
Anyway, please keep up the good work. Reading your posts and comments is always enjoyable and illuminating.
Semper Fi,
Tim
The reason he and his wife groveled repeatedly is because their future earnings, off the field and in the sports broadcast business, were in peril of cancellation. He is scheduled to join NBC for Sunday Night Football as an analyst. They threw away honor for the sake of their real god.
I couldn’t resist snagging this from Steve Hayward’s Week in Pictures over on Powerline. I thought it added nicely to Boss’s point:
That’s even worse, to me. It seems really ungrateful and stuff, when someone like that – or like Barry Sotero (Barack Obama) – rejects the white people who raised them and stuff – maybe even gave birth to them – and choose to “identify with” the ones who left them.
I saved this from another post I saw recently on Ricochet:
That’s really appropriate, but very blurry.
I’ve seen quite a few Christian friends bending a metaphorical knee via #imlistening posts lately, but I’ve also seen many others pushing back. And yet the majority seem simply unengaged, like they don’t realize the stakes.
My mind goes back to stories of Christian martyrs, who when the Communists infiltrated their house churches they quietly submitted to their fate and were executed one by one. I’ve always wondered, “Why didn’t somebody throw a chair at that dude and take his gun?”
But then, I subscribe to the C.S Lewis school of evangelism, as he says, “Christianity is a fighting religion.”
I suppose it’s worth noting that Brees and his mother, Mina, became estranged in part over politics at the time he entered the NFL with the Chargers. She was a liberal Democrat attorney in Austin, who ran for the Texas Court of Appeals in 2006, and was almost sued by her son over trying to use his image as an endorsement in one of her campaign ads. She would commit suicide three years later while on a trip to Colorado, shortly before Brees won his Super Bowl with the Saints.
So Brees has been in political fights in the past that were pretty personal. Not sure how much that might have factored into the #BLM kerfuffle, and if he did this for future financial viability, since ESPN was trying to get Brees to retire this off-season and become part of the Monday Night Football broadcast team, and Disney is looking at adding more star power and possibly moving MNF back to ABC, if it gives them a shot at getting a Super Bowl game every four years.
As for the lack of fan support, that could also come down to the “What have you done for me lately?” attitude of New Orleans fans. Brees was hurt for part of last season, and Teddy Bridgewater came in and did a good, but unspectacular job, as his backup, to the point some fans were grumbling about coach Sean Peyton putting Brees back in as starter, and wanted the Saints to keep Bridgewater, who signed with division rival Carolina (and yes, Bridgewater being black and Brees being white may also factor into why some fans wanted Drew to go and Teddy to stay).
This. Some of my Christian friends are living out the trust in God we are called to while being aware of how dire the situation is, but the truly unengaged don’t realize the stakes. What we’re seeing in the streets is the spirit of rebellion. It’s not simply anti-Christian, it’s anti-God. Its aim isn’t just to put Christians in their place, it’s to displace God altogether — to take what is His (the power) and destroy Him. It’s of the devil, and you can know it by the mercilessness, lies, and hate.
I would put the NTs in this category as well. It starts out as, “the President can’t do that! He shouldn’t say such things. It’s unseemly.” and ends up at “it can’t possibly happen here. Democrats are not just an acceptable alternative to Trump, they’re preferred.”
It’s immortal combat. Know your enemy.
Wait a minute – all this serious talk and not one reference to der neue film von Wolfgang Petersen (of Das Boot fame)?
Or as I frequently called it, while working in a video rental store: Enema Mine
They killed James at 15 in that movie.
It was based on a good story by Barry Longyear. Never saw the movie.
The Star Trek episode was better.
I wonder if these are people who think that meek and weak are the same thing because they rhyme.
It is not a good film. For example, Lou Gossett gives birth.
Another reason why the Star Trek episode was better. :-)
That was in the story. The Drac were hemaphrodites.
Hey, let’s focus, here people.
Boss Mongo decides to take a new tack in online activity: cat herding.
Good luck with that.
Yeah. That makes it better.
Well Boss, since you don’t know much about the wonderful men in the NFL – I’ll direct your attention to a new man to take on as an enemy – Philadelphia Eagles
starloser DeSean Jackson – he’s an anti-Semitic, pro-Hitler, Louis Farrakhan fan – sort of the same type of public face the NFL seeks alongside Colin Kaepernick. The NFL is going into the toilet – you’re not missing anything following these clowns.Scott, thing is, I’m sure there’re lots of professional athletes doing good works. They just don’t get headlines like the miscreants do.