Does no one understand how obnoxious screaming “USA! USA! USA!” at the site of the WTC is? It’s bad enough that Americans act like complete boobs at the Olympics and other international sporting events with this noise, but to reduce this tragedy and the inevitable long and bloody war to follow to the same level with that damn chant? Tens of thousands have died. Tens of thousands more are going to die. This is not a goddamn game. This is potentially a world war. Just knock it the fuck off!
What crawled up your butt? The guys chanting this were exhausted, self-sacrificing men. They have been on the scene for many MANY hours, they are RISKING THEIR LIVES to in a very dangerous and risky task, recovering the victims of the WTC. I figure they can chant whatever the hell they want, whenever they want.
I doubt they’d give a rat’s ass if they knew that you are discomfitted by it.
Could you be referring to the chants of “USA!” that were heard during Bush’s address to the firefighters there? It’s the only time I can recall hearing that during coverage of the WTC site.
I guess these exhausted guys were too busy risking their lives to consult Otto as to whether such a chant was appropriate. Perhaps Otto can provide a way that he can be contacted, so they can get his input before making any more spontanious outbursts of emotion.
I second that. Whatever they need to get through the daunting task before them.
My dad and I had this very discussion. We watched it live, and my dad got a disgusted look on his face. “This isn’t a goddamn football game,” he said. But he backed off when I pointed out that they are firefighters, risking their lives, exhausted, and in need of as morale. These are the guys that we are praying for, that have lost hundreds of their brethren, that walk into the rubble not knowing if they will come out again. They can yell whatever they want, I’m not gonna criticize them.
I think we should shove “USA!” as loudly and obnoxiously back into the face of anyone it might offend as we can.
Those guys are fucking heroes. That they are feeling fervent pride and a strong sense of nationality is understandable.
That you apparently aren’t seems a bit more peculiar to me.
Otto.
FUCK YOU
You find the name of my country offensive?
FUCK YOU again.
What Yosimite said.
FUCK YOU once more.
Some people here have been quick to jump on those that say “this crisis wil reveal who our friends are”.
When I joined the Military I swore an oath to defend the country from all enemies, FORIGN and DOMESTIC.
It seems we have a few people who fall into the latter.
Imagine this scenario:
You’ve been working for 14-20 hours trying to help clear the site of a large building or buildings that have fallen. During that time you are pulling out steel, glass, and not to mention the occasional body part of say a leg, a finger, an arm or even a head.
You are weary with exhaustion but you push on, you work to recover any possible person that is still alive. You might nap for 20 minutes or need minor medical attention but you leave the temp medical area to get back to work even if you shouldn’t. Your body is in shock since you are so damn fucking tired that if you had a soft surface you would would fall asleep with sirens going off if you had to.
In all this pain of witnessing the worst fucking tragedy ever on American soil the man who runs this country comes up to you and thanks you for the work that you are doing you are going to just sit back and be an ass and say some fucked up remark like “Ah it’s no big fucking deal President Bush, I do this everyday for a living…I am used to seeing this kind of horror.”
You asswipe, keeping those strong recovery workers from tiring and becoming down because of the events a little chant is worthy of everything I saw today. I cried when I saw that, I was happy that it energized them.
You are one fucked up person that can’t see past that. I want to see your ass down there in the bucket-brigade and see how long you can last. I know I couldn’t do it but I am proud of their efforts and a cheer a chant gives them a needed boost. Your rant is pretty God-damned fucked up you ass wipe… especially considering they are risking their lives to clean up and get bodies out of the rubble. Something an obvious coward like you could never do.
So a hardy fuck you from me and I am sure many in our country feel the same. Please go get your ass down there and try to deal with the destruction in the manner that those men and women have…and if anyone ever asks you to do something small like donate blood I hope you pass out from seeing the needle you fuck.
Words fail me for your lame ass rant…you aren’t worthy of some of the words that many of my fellow SDMBers have, and they have some good ones. You fail humanity, completely fail any sense of being human.
Yeah, I’m not at all surprised that this kicked off a kneejerk shitstorm.
So sorry if it bothers me to hear people treating a DECLARATION OF WAR like it’s game day.
And for the record, I don’t find the name of my country offensive (and it’s my country as much as any of yours, and because I disagree with you doesn’t make me an “enemy” of this nation, fuck you with a nail studded pogo stick for suggesting it). What I find offensive is people chanting it while standing on a mass grave.
Hey, Otto, guess you were also pissed off by that shot in Gladiator where Russell Crowe and all the other soldiers start shouting “Roma Victas!” (“Rome Victorous!” in case you didn’t know.) You know, Otto, if I were killed by some lunatic terrorist, I’d want people standing on my grave shouting, “USA! USA! USA!” I’d want them to avenge my death, and if it took them shouting on top of my grave to boost their morale enough to do it, then let them shout!
First of all, Bush wasn’t making a declaration of war. He was praising the firefighters for their bravery and their work. No formal declaration of war has been made yet. Anywhere.
These firefighters have been literally risking their lives for the last few days. Many firefighters have already lost their lives. As far as I’m concerned, they have earned the right to say whatever they goddamn well please in response to President Bush’s address.
So, why don’t you go down there and explain your feelings to these firefighters. Let them know how annoyed you are with their patriotic display. Tell them that what they are doing irks you. Tell them how it fucks up your karma, and if they could just risk their lives in peace and quiet, it would help make you happy. If they would just keep their yap shut while the President is praising them for risking their lives, it would smooth out the flow of your day.
Go ahead, tell them. I fucking dare you.
Now, you need to reach deep into your ass, assuming your arm can reach that far, and pull out whatever crawled up there and died. Then you need to consume raw whatever critter you pulled out of there.
I am bereft of the vulgarian talents of jarbabyj, and the scathing wit of Cervaise and countless others. So all I can offer you in closing is a simple, but hearfelt, “Fuck you.”
Then why did you post it? Just to get a rise out of all of us? What did you hope to accomplish?
Do YOU have any idea what these men have gone through? Read Techchick’s post. These men are beyond exhausted. They have seen the most horrific things, beyond what any of us can imagine. I daresay some of them are what you might call “punch drunk”. Whatever they say, however they react, is A-OK with me, and for the rest of us. We respect and admire these men. We appreciate what they are doing. And what are you doing? Nit-picking over a wholly understandable (considering the circumstances) emotional outburst from these brave men? How bizarre. How mean-spirited.
The fact that it disturbs your delicate sensibilities is meaningless. You are sitting at home, in front of your computer screen, second-guessing their feelings, emotions, and motivations. Passing judgment over them. These fierce, heroic men who are giving and sacrificing so much! Who the hell made you Miss Manners over the Volunteers of the WTC tragedy?
So who the hell do you think you are Otto? what do you do for a career? Have you ever held one dead body in your arms? Have you ever watched over 200 of your coworkers die in a few precious moments, and then immediately go to work trying to remove their bodies from the destruction?
I have held a dead 2 month old in my arms, I have watched people die, but never on the scale that my fellow firefighters and paramedics are currently doing right now. I pray that I never will have to, but I will answer any call my community makes of me.
So Otto go spend one hour, just one hour, working at ground zero. Only then can you come back here and make any observation except for complete and total gratitute…
fuck off.
I’ve stayed out of most of these discussions, because I don’t think we acoomplish much by arguing with each other. Mostly all we end up with are bruised egos and simmering anger at other posters.
But not now. Listen, dickdrip, those guys are out there busting their asses non-stop trying to make sure that mass grave you consider so sacrosanct holds a few less corpses. They’ve witnessed their friends and coworkers get buried under the same rubble that you’re deeming so fucking holy; they’ve pulled bits and pieces of human beings out of a twisted wreck that you apparently think is the goddamn New York Public Library. How many people have YOU pulled from that wreckage? How many hours have you slogged through rain and shine and blood and scrap metal to rescue people? How many flights of stairs had you climbed when those goddamn towers fell to earth? When I see you standing atop that heap with a rescue under your belt, I’ll consider your point of view. Until then, if the men and women down there at Ground Zero want chuck rocks or pieces of rebar at a 30 foot picture of bin Laden, we should damn well let them. And we should be thankful we’re not on the other side of that rubble praying they get to us.
Offensive? You find it offensive?
You fool. That three letter chant said so much. It was a rallying cry, a patriotic upswelling of pride and defiance. It said, “We’re Americans and we’re still here. We’ve been bloodied, but we’re not afraid. This is our country and we’re ready to defend it.”
I’m a Canadian, and even I grasped that.
Fine, you’re all right and I’m completely wrong. How foolish of me to be disturbed at the thought of people, no matter how tired, reacting to the deaths of tens of thousands of people the same way they react to a gold medal in synchronised swimming. I should have known better than to suggest that cheering might not be the most appropriate response. What a dummy I am for not expressing my love of freedom exactly the same way as everyone else.
Carry on. Chant USA for all you’re worth. Just try to remember that your freedom to chant is also my freedom not to chant and even to criticize the chanting.
I’ll be over there, looking over all the “Damn the (fill ing the blank) for celebrating” threads and pondering the irony of it.
What I find offensive is that a stinking pig fuck like yourself chooses to call himself my countryman.
Yea I have been a bit reactionary.
Yea this event pisses me off beyond belief.
But you and you pussified ilk piss me off even more.
HOW DARE YOU! Claim that this is your country when in the same breath critisize people who are doing something your sorry ass is obviously to chicken fuck to do?
You don’t lik,e the superbowl atmosphere? Ya know why JACKOFF? cause you aint there.
It is anythin but.
Hey Otto -
Fuck you. I don’t want to hear another word from your little fucking mouth. Leave. Just fucking leave.
Go away. We don’t want to hear from you anymore. You are not worth the tiny space you waste on this page.
What a dummy you are for begrudging these men their expressions for love of freedom. What a dummy you are for assigning motivations behind their actions, like you even have the remotest clue what they are feeling, or going through.
This isn’t about you, my dear. It’s about these men. And as far as most of us are concerned, you have a lot of frickin’ nerve to be showing them such disrespect.
Who gives a rat’s ass how “disturbed” you are. Take an aspirin. Get over it.