From the San Francisco Giants' skipper:

[Novara]

Home of the Brave?

The day 19 children and 2 teachers were murdered, we held a moment of silence at sporting events around the country, then we played the national anthem, and we went on with our lives.

Players, staff and fans stood for the moment of silence, grieving the lives lost, and then we (myself included) continued to stand, proudly proclaiming ourselves the land of the free and the home of the brave. We didn’t stop to reflect on whether we are actually free and brave after this horrific event, we just stood at attention.

When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of allegiance when I believed my country was representing its people well or to protest and stay seated when it wasn’t. I don’t believe it is representing us well right now.

This particular time, an 18 year old walked into a store, bought multiple assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, walked into a school with an armed resource officer and its own police district and was able to murder children for nearly an hour. Parents begged and pleaded with police officers to do something, police officers who had weapons and who receive nearly 40% of the city’s funding, as their children were being murdered.

More in the link: https://kaplifestyle.com/2022/05/27/home-of-the-brave/

It's worth your time.

He is skipping the national anthem indefinitely. Can't blame him.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

1. Good on him.. Good on taking a stand..

Last edited Sat May 28, 2022, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)

Am I surprised, though? No. I still recall back to Kapler's playing days, when he described his time with the Boston Red Sox as "A Democrat, surrounded by 24 Republicans."

[Deuxcents]

2. We should kneel for the anthem

[Rebl2]

5. 👍👍👍

On one knee

[gibraltar72]

3. I have stayed seated and not done the pledge for 40 years

I'm waiting on that justice for all to be true. I won't be witness to a lie.

[LoisB]

4. Right there with you for about the same number of years.

[calimary]

6. I totally get that.

The whole idea of America is leaving me feeling rather hollow these days.

Actually starting to wonder if maybe I don't belong in this country anymore. Maybe Canada? Or Australia? Or New Zealand? Still just kind of a fantasy at the moment, but I never actually even entertained the thought before this week.

[Jedi Guy]

7. Not gonna lie... I'm glad I moved to Canada.

I moved up here 10 years ago, so I can't claim to have foreseen the rise of Trump or anything like that. I moved up here for love. But I've built a life here now, to the extent that Canada is and will remain my home.

I was thinking earlier while walking the dog, "It's really nice that there's basically a 0% chance that I'll be shot right now in a random act of violence." And it's really nice that I can just... go to the hospital if I'm sick or injured, without worrying about how to or whether I can pay for it (even though I've already paid for it through taxes, but you know what I mean).

Basically, it's nice living in a sane country. Watching the steady deterioration of the States over the last 6ish years has been painful. A lot of my friends here ask me how such things could be possible, referring to Trump, January 6th, etc., and I have no answers for them.

I'm just glad I'm here and not back home, as homesick as I get sometimes.

[Evolve Dammit]

11. good post. Did you have to live there for three years before becoming a citizen?

[Jedi Guy]

12. I believe an immigrant can apply for citizenship after four years, but I may be wrong.

I haven't applied for it yet, though. Just haven't gotten around to it. I really should do that, thanks for reminding me!

[Evolve Dammit]

13. Did they require anything to just move there as an American citizen?

[Jedi Guy]

14. My wife is Canadian, so that made it a lot easier for me to get in.

I wouldn't call it easy, though. The paperwork was exhaustive. The background check was very thorough, to the point that they wanted every address I'd ever lived at, even as a child. We also had to prove that our relationship was genuine and not a "green card" marriage, for lack of a better term.

I'm not sure what it's like today, though, or how it is for someone looking to move to Canada without being related to a Canadian in some way. I think they use a weighted points system.

So for instance, a person with a professional degree or specialized skill will net more points than someone without a college degree, the thinking being that the former "brings more to the table" than the latter. But I could be completely wrong, since that wasn't the process I went through.

[Evolve Dammit]

16. Good info. Thanks.

[BadgerMom]

8. I started entertaining it in Nov. 2016.

I’ve found it wouldn’t be easy. Those countries aren’t looking for American transplants, especially not old ones. My paternal grandmother immigrated from Ireland, but I don’t have all the info needed about her move to the US. My mother immigrated from Sweden, but they don’t want us. My husband’s roots are in Greece. He’s missing one document to be granted Greek citizenship. If we go, it could be there.

[Butterflylady]

9. I am right there with you.

I have 3 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild that I am scared to death at this time. They are aged 10 and under and I can't imagine losing one of them. We all think it can't happen to us but the truth is it can happen anywhere.

[Evolve Dammit]

10. Right with ya. USA sucks (although slightly better than 4-6 years ago). It is bought and paid for.

[PCIntern]

15. He's actually a very interesting man,

He was the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and was greeted here with disdain and fans and media jumped all over him. He’s an extremely fit, disciplined, righteous man who is extremely bright, insightful and talented. He also happens to be Jewish, which I think quite frankly upset a lot of the people here quietly. We have had many managers come in and out of here but never one who was not given a chance for at least half the season to show that he had some competence . He was second guessed after the first game of the season Because he had what seem to be a controversial pitching change,and from that point on could do no right .

He was a member of the champion Boston Red Sox when they finally broke their streak of no World Series championships and was actually on the field during the final inning when they clinched the championship. The “funny” story in Boston told was that 1/4 of the position players on the field with that occurred were Jewish Kevin Youkilis and him. He is as close to being an intellectual as there is in baseball and was very upset to see him leave here. I was well pleased to read his comments and understand exactly where he’s coming from.