(07-08-2023 12:38 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have a proposal for anybody who thinks those statements are true: Tell us where in the world you would rather be (since the USA is so terrible, should be an easy choice) and we will pay your way there. Only one catch: You can never, ever come back.

there'd be only about 5 left on this board....

(08-06-2023 09:23 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:40 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:05 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  It seems that a fair amount of the viewing public was ambivalent about this year’s team, if not overly antagonistic towards them.

There were team members who chose to stand and sing, so I could not be against the team as a whole.

Quote:Personally, I am not clear on what they are protesting at this point.

I think the only one "protesting" is Rapinoe. It seems the others just cannot be bothered.

I don't think that it was that they couldn't be bothered. My guess is that they didn't want to upset the senior leaders in the locker room (Rapinoe).

Your guess is as good as mine...and mine is as good as yours. I base mine off the testimony of one player who said she had to get her game plan and attitude straight and so couldn't be bothered with distractions just before the game, and the lack of anything protested by any others besides Rapinoe. Even Rapinoe was vague- something about a country that didn't protect gays.

(07-08-2023 12:38 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have a proposal for anybody who thinks those statements are true: Tell us where in the world you would rather be (since the USA is so terrible, should be an easy choice) and we will pay your way there. Only one catch: You can never, ever come back.

There may be other countries I would like to move to, for various reasons, but not because I think the USA is an oppressive country. Your offer is apropos for those who think they are being oppressed HERE and NOW, by this country - Kaepernick, Cori Bush, Tlaib, The Squad, Rapinoe.

(08-06-2023 09:51 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(07-08-2023 12:38 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I have a proposal for anybody who thinks those statements are true: Tell us where in the world you would rather be (since the USA is so terrible, should be an easy choice) and we will pay your way there. Only one catch: You can never, ever come back.

there'd be only about 5 left on this board....

It seems that those people who have bought into all the far-right conspiracies how completely corrupt and evil the deep state is would be the more likely parties to give up on this country.

I think #'s is the only one that I can recall on this board to threaten to leave the US if an election didn't go his way... were you counting him in your 5?

(08-06-2023 11:51 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 09:23 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:40 PM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:05 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  It seems that a fair amount of the viewing public was ambivalent about this year’s team, if not overly antagonistic towards them.

There were team members who chose to stand and sing, so I could not be against the team as a whole.

Quote:Personally, I am not clear on what they are protesting at this point.

I think the only one "protesting" is Rapinoe. It seems the others just cannot be bothered.

I don't think that it was that they couldn't be bothered. My guess is that they didn't want to upset the senior leaders in the locker room (Rapinoe).

Your guess is as good as mine...and mine is as good as yours. I base mine off the testimony of one player who said she had to get her game plan and attitude straight and so couldn't be bothered with distractions just before the game, and the lack of anything protested by any others besides Rapinoe. Even Rapinoe was vague- something about a country that didn't protect gays.

Well, it's not like when asked about not singing the anthem these young players would give an answer like, "Well, I would have sung it but I was afraid that Rapinoe and some of the older players would freeze me out if I didn't fall in line". Even if that's what they were thinking. So I'm not sure how honest her answer was.

It doesn't really compute that these athletes are too busy going over the game plan to sing the anthem. There are decades of elite athletes who have been able to handle that before the USWNT team took the field for the 2023 World Cup.

(08-06-2023 06:05 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  To many they must look must look like a bunch of spoiled children who hate this country.

Exactly right.

It is hard to feel the least bit of sympathy or empathy for people who voluntarily represented their country while claiming to be embarrassed to do so.

(08-07-2023 04:37 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:05 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  To many they must look must look like a bunch of spoiled children who hate this country.

Exactly right.

It is hard to feel the least bit of sympathy or empathy for people who voluntarily represented their country while claiming to be embarrassed to do so.

Again... I support athlete's ability to use their platforms to protest, including kneeling during the national anthem. But at this point the reasons for this national anthem "protest" are totally unclear to me. I don't know of any other major sports teams that continue to protest the national anthem besides the USWNT.

From a competitive standpoint, if you have two evenly matched teams and the players on one team are bursting at their seams to see their country win glory through their sporting success and one team which is ambivalent towards their country you would think that might be reflected in the results.

(08-07-2023 04:41 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(08-07-2023 04:37 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(08-06-2023 06:05 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  To many they must look must look like a bunch of spoiled children who hate this country.

Exactly right.

It is hard to feel the least bit of sympathy or empathy for people who voluntarily represented their country while claiming to be embarrassed to do so.

Again... I support athlete's ability to use their platforms to protest, including kneeling during the national anthem. But at this point the reasons for this national anthem "protest" are totally unclear to me. I don't know of any other major sports teams that continue to protest the national anthem besides the USWNT.

From a competitive standpoint, if you have two evenly matched teams and the players on one team are bursting at their seams to see their country win glory through their sporting success and one team which is ambivalent towards their country you would think that might be reflected in the results.

Yes indeed: those who want to win for their country deserve victory more than those who want to win for themselves.

Kaepernick

"His protest and support of ‘Black Lives Matter’ did not save one Black life, it accomplished the opposite. It demonized the profession of policing, sparked ‘Defund the Police’ policies and sentiment, and subsequently made Black neighborhoods more violent and crime ridden."