somebody move this to D&D. KG the American referred to his stockpile of missile launchers, grenades and M-16s, Vlade the foreign man says "no comment" and vlade gets lambasted. i don't get this thread
I don't know whether you are intentionally twisting his words, or you really failed to understand him. When Vlade said that KG knows nothing about war comparing to him, of course he meant first hand experience, especially the horror to be in danger all the time, less about the joy to conquer some place and taste the victories. Yes, Americans are involved in wars all the time, and you "know" wars from your TV and your newspaper. It's different than Divac's experience. Comparing to him, KG, you and I know NOTHING about war. I don't see anything ignorant about his comment.
Dude, PSJ... you're my Titans homey and all... But I gotta say you're argument is so beyond wrong, it's shocking... by the way, blatant plug with MY TAKE
I have to disagree. Americans make fortunes in wars, not lose lifes. A few dozens of thousands of american lifes were lost in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. That is nothing compared to other countries. The continental US had never been attacked until 911! Vlade was right, what do americans do about war?
Actually those wars add up to about 500,000 deaths. Neither Divac or Garnett's comments bother me. I'm not even sure who they are supposed to be offending.
Funny, I don't remember reading such media (over)reaction when Big Aristotle made references to "going to war" after the Lakers' acquisition of Gary Payton and Mailman Malone as free agents this past offseason. In my opinion, KG's quip was probably his best Shaq impersonation anyway. First the Washington Wizards and now this...people are pretty freaking sensitive these days.
I think that Garnett's comments may have offended Divac a little. Divac's comment or lack thereof seemed to have offended PSJ.
Double standard! Shaq said in the beginning of the season that he had atomic weapons because of acquisition of GP and mailman, and he could drop bombs wherever and whenever he wanted. Why didn't his comment offend somebody and KG's does? And IMO Vlade's comment is nothing. They are all telling jokes, bad taste maybe, but obviously they are referring to the game, not reality. How does somebody take these seriously and feel offended?
Dude, when is the last time a bomb went off in your street? When was the last time Serbian soldiers marched into your neighborhood and killed all of the men? Yes, AMERICA has fought wars. But the AVERAGE American has not lived his entire life IN A WAR ZONE. 9/11 aside, when is the last time American children were in danger of being killed in a war? You need to let this one go. You are equating apples and oranges.
You know, whoever posted about being Naive, hit the nail on the head, because I've always sided on the side of people who were called Naive. And that's what a lot of this boils down. It's about if someone not directly connected to something can understand it and feel it. And I think they can. Whereas others don't think they can. In terms of a basketball reference , it's like saying a fan doesn't know basketball like a player does. They can't feel the pain of a loss like a player can. Now you can turn that as you will, but I side with the so called Naive. We know more than you think we do. If not more.
We can agree to disagree on this, but I don't believe empathy = understanding. More than more than we think we do?
By the way, I live in Washington DC. I know what it's like to have a guided missile coming right at you. I've watched as the F-16's fly above me defending my home. I watched my friend's visit their family in the hospital. I've seen the destruction. So, you ask what I've seen, and I tell you, I've seen it. But I think the whole nation felt it. But that was not the first time we knew of war. It was a familiar feeling for many people.
So Washington DC is a war zone, like the Balkans? I've lived in the UK for 28 years, and until recently, we've kindly had the IRA detonating bombs in our major cities. I've never felt that this even vaguely equates to the bloody civil war that all too recently took in Divac's homeland. He has seen war first-hand. I have not. I am not arrogant enough to think that, just because I know someone who has seen this, I understand and comprehend it equally. The USA is fortunate that modern warfare has never taken place within or near its borders. I am fortunate to have never lived in this situation either.
My bad, missed out a "0" there. Still, half a million is trivial. In WWII, China lost 30-40 million lifes, former Soviet lost 20 millions lifes, Japan almost run out men between 18-50. I am not offended by Divac or KG. The starter of this thread is responsible for this mostly valueless debate.
