It's not only that they do shit like this that bothers me, it's how fucking hysterical the crowd gets. It reminds me of the pics of girls passing out when they first saw the Beatles.

Next time you are at a game and they play the national anthem, look around, there is a good chance you will see people tearing up and getting very emotional. How in the world to you get that emotionally attached to your government?

Oh, and the anger if you do ANYTHING other than stand, take off your hat and publicly state your allegiance to your 'great' nation. I had a man try to fight me in Phoenix when I didn't take of my hat the second the song started. It wasn't a protest, I was just getting to my seat,had a beer in one hand and a bag in the other, I was just getting situated and before I even had a chance to take off my hat some guy grabbed the hat off my head and sort of slapped it against my chest. He said "show some respect". Luckily my lovely wife was there to keep me cool, but who the fuck does that?

the bankers feel threatened as of late...little propabreadcircusganda for the ehsheepys

It was ridiculous, complete with multiple 'armed' soldiers on the ice and then the kicker, whatever that ATV thing is with the grenade launcher/machine gun on the back. I found a video if you're bored...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFtxqczcR9k

This is just ridiculous. Constant conditioning to accept having guns pointed at your face at all times.

So relevant: (give it a listen, even if you're not into 'punk'!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BurvewWSErM

"Dear Ron MacLean. Dear Coach’s Corner. I’m writing in order for someone to explain to my niece the distinction between these mandatory pre-game group rites of submission and the rallies at Nuremburg. Specifically the function the ritual serves in conjunction with what everybody knows is in the end a kid’s game. I’m just appealing to your sense of fair play when I say she’s puzzled by the incessant pressure for her to not defy the collective will, and yellow ribboned lapels, as the soldiers inexplicably rappel down from the arena rafters (which, if not so insane, would be grounds for screaming laughter). Dear Ron MacLean, I wouldn’t bother with these questions if I didn’t sense some spiritual connection. We may not be the same but it’s not like we’re from different planets: we both love this game so much we can hardly fucking stand it. Alberta-born and prairie-raised. Seems like there ain’t a sheet of ice north of Fargo I ain’t played. From Penhold to the Gatineau, every fond memory of childhood that I know is somehow connected to the culture of this game. I can’t just let it go. But I guess it comes down to what kind of world you want to live in, and if diversity is disagreement, and disagreement is treason, well don’t be surprised if we find ourselves reaping a strange and bitter fruit that sad old man beside you keeps feeding to young minds as virtue. It takes a village to raise a child but just a flag to raze the children until they’re nothing more than ballast for fulfilling a madman’s dream of a paradise where complexity is reduced to black and white. How do I protect her from this cult of death?"