Fake-Fat Sunny Posted November 14, 2004 Posted November 14, 2004 I'm starting this as a separate thread because it is on a different issue than my earlier post expressing my disappointment with Bobby April using military names for the ST units activities as this thread is not about the substance pro or con of reactions to that opinion, but instead abouy what I see as a separate issue raised as to why I chose to post it. First, let me say that I was plesantly surprised when I came back to TSW late tonight by the 2 pages of comments that it engendered. As with many posts on TSW I enjoyed reading the posts which both agreed and disagreed with my thoughts (I actually enjoy reading disagreeing posts more as this is where I learn things as folks raise points I hadn't thought about or look at the issue from a different perspective than I do). As is typical with my speed, lack of proofreading (which my wife often needles me about) and my inarticulation I did give some folks the wrong impression as to what drove me to post myramblings on the topic. These are a few comments which attempt to respond to some of those posts. 1. The advice to lighten up- Actually I think this is a point which should be taken into account by me and in fact most of us. I think the world would be a better place if we all weren't so gosh darn serious and quick to take offense at a lot of life. I think I did go a bit over the top by commenting on this esoteric point, but only state that my rational for being more serious about this one is because I think the horror and man's inhumanity to man embodied in 9/11 and what I see as the necessary military response to it in Afghanistan is as serious as life gets. I find fault in the glib use of military terminology abut football to be an inappropriate usage which i find myself falling into out of habit often and the disappointment I expressed about April's usage is a disappointment I often feel about my own inappropriate borrowing of military language and applying it to the triviality of football. 9/11 reminded me to be thankful for our military which is willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect me, mine and our rights and has forced me to be more thoughtful and not glib about using military language for this pretend military game. I also think it would be useful for Internet readers to lighten up a bit as my post was meant not as a slam on April but to express disappointment. Perhaps I would have better expressed how I felt if i used the word "miffed" because I am not angered at all by his usage I just find it unfortunate. 2. Not reading the article- Some posts stated it was obvious I hadn't read the article. Well it should have been because I said I didn't read the article. I think I was inarticulate in describing the article as "sickening" me because actually it didn't provoke that response. If anything I probably harumphed when I read the teaser oparagraph or maybe rolled my eyes, my apologies for being over the top in describing why i didn't read it. Perhaps another reason I didn't read it and said so in my post was to not have the "facts" of the article cloud the opinions I was expressing. What i mean by this is that I was actually flagging the sense I have that we use these analogies cavalierly without giving proper thought to the amazing sacrific our armed forces make for us civilians. I'm glad I didn't read the article because some folks were nice enought to share Booby April's thoughts on this issue that he means his aping of military terminology to be a tribute to the sacrifices of the troops. I am actually quite pleased that the issue of the appropriateness of these analogies is on April's mind (I wish they were on Winslow's mind when he made even more inappropriate comments using military analogies for football play). I am also pleased I did not read the article as reading April's intents and disclaimers probably would have headed off my posting on this topic and I am glad the topic is out there and drew a good number of responses. 3. My motivations. It was actually amusing to me and certainly not my intention to merely find something to B word about as I find the Internet a fairly meaningless place to B word about anything. I don't even believe everything I see (studies show that even eyewitness court testimony can be ssurprisingly unreliable as people make assumptions to fill in gaps about events they see and it is amazing how we all simply make up memories of having seen things we didn't see) and I believe even far less of what I read. I am particularly skeptical of everything I read on the internet. That being said, why did I post my mild disappointment with April. 1. As I said its part of the penance I have decided to pay for my own inappropriate analogies and use of military terminolgy for activities where the "sacrifice" involved does not even remotely compare to the potential sacrifice of our troops. I am quite happy to see lots of responses to my post not because so and so number agree or disagree with me, but because for a brief moment in time they thought about this issue. I'm less concerned with folks using the analogies than Iam with them being glib or cavalier about it. 2. Its mostly fun to see people's different cuts on football. I particularly have enjoyed some back and forth on the issue of how to play McGee at CB and the utility of using CB press coverages. However, there are these serious items where football touches upon serious issues and I love to see the discourse on it. So at any rate, these are my thoughts and thanks for all the responses (even the blather from ICE who I pay tribute to for having different ideas than me about football, but who I guess I do slam personally because of the certainty he expresses for these opinions) on this issue.
Campy Posted November 14, 2004 Posted November 14, 2004 9/11 reminded me to be thankful for our military which is willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice to protect me, mine and our rights and has forced me to be more thoughtful and not glib about using military language for this pretend military game. I also think it would be useful for Internet readers to lighten up a bit as my post was meant not as a slam on April but to express disappointment. Perhaps I would have better expressed how I felt if i used the word "miffed" because I am not angered at all by his usage I just find it unfortunate. That's really all you had to say. While I may disagree with you that April's use of military terms are somehow a disrespectful and inappropriate slight of the military, I do appreciate your take on it.
GG Posted November 14, 2004 Posted November 14, 2004 That's really all you had to say. 115973[/snapback] But then it wouldn't be a Barry Brady post.
nodnarb Posted November 14, 2004 Posted November 14, 2004 FFS, or Barry Brady, or ..... I think you'd get a better response from people if you could, at long last, learn the easy art of BREVITY. as for the subject matter, good god...who cares?
Kelly the Dog Posted November 14, 2004 Posted November 14, 2004 The Human Filibuster. I love the guy.
Fake-Fat Sunny Posted November 14, 2004 Author Posted November 14, 2004 FFS, or Barry Brady, or ..... I think you'd get a better response from people if you could, at long last, learn the easy art of BREVITY. as for the subject matter, good god...who cares? 116045[/snapback] Brevity? What's that?
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