TJ Oshie who is a member of the US Men's Hockey team was called a hero. This is how he responded:

[Are_grits_groceries]

@pourmecoffee


A gold medal for character and perspective too.

[Gothmog]

1. Great response

[Stargazer09]

2. Those shoot out goals

They were beautiful.

And that quote is very nice.

[BeyondGeography]

3. He almost went 5 for 6

Not a fan of the shootout, but that was unforgettable.

[big_dog]

14. golden hero

[BeyondGeography]

23. Nice story about TJ and the hockey mecca of Warroad, MN here

http://www.slate.com/blogs/five_ring_circus/2014/02/15/t_j_oshie_warroad_the_american_hockey_hero_from_hockeytown_usa_is_a_very.html

[cali]

4. I do not see the military as heroes. there are individual heroes within the military

just as there are in society at large and there are criminals in camo as well.

[Are_grits_groceries]

5. Please give it a rest here for Oshie.

Did you expect him to give a nuanced statement with examples and references?

Your objection is duly noted.

[cali]

6. I'm not knocking him. I'm knocking the general kneej jerk thing that the miltary

is comprised of heroes.

I think it's a dangerous way of "thinking".

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. I understand that.

However, jumping in a thread about a sport's figure who is trying to put heroics in perspective makes you look petty. He was trying to deflect all the praise that he is getting with the word heroes.

[cali]

13. look, you posted an OP and you seem to think that YOU should be able to dictate

how people respond.

You can't. You should know better and it makes you look not only petty but controlling.

Furthermore, what he said is the stock response of sports figures when they're called heroes.

I think Andy Newell is far more admirable than this guy.

Olympian Andy Newell rallies other Olympians on Climate Change:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024504727

[Are_grits_groceries]

16. It's complete exasperation.

I just don't think every single thing has to be dissected. He used the military and not someone on an approved list.
Was it a knee jerk answer or does he know people in the military?
I gave him the benefit of the doubt because he had just played probably the greatest game of his life. He tries to deflect the over-the-top praise and the use of the word hero. That isn't good enough.

I agree with you about people looking at everything the military does with approval and giving them a blank check.
However, I have no idea if Oshie is a jingoistic Teabagger. For all I know he is another person with Pat Tillman's views. Tillman supported his buddies even after he became disenchanted.

And now this has been turned from a simple gesture by an Olympian into a test of his character and a discourse about the military. I'm also sure somebody will now google Oshie to death to prove what his thoughts are.

Have at it. I know I can't control it. I just am surprised at times what and when people will be offended.

The floor is yours. I'm out.

[cali]

17. it has nothing to do with his character and contrary to your claim NO ONE HAS

said anything in this thread claiming that it does.

I get exasperated by people just making stuff up and thinking they can get away with it.

it disgusts me.

[Electric Monk]

19. The Breitbart folks think he's the bees knees, too, fwiw

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2014/02/15/American-Hero-TJ-Oshie-Also-Winner-Off-Ice

(Why does that website still keep going, anyway? The douchebag died almost 2 years ago.)

[bahrbearian]

20. Right On

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

32. I don't see "The military" as heros either.

If they were really heroes then they would have told BushCo to fu@k off when they were ordered them to invade Iraq.

Firefighters and first responders would have been a better example of heroes. Oshie chose the military. Cali is right to question it.


I remember when reading the Handmaid's tale that soldiers were called angels. It's all in perspective on who you are deifying.

[11 Bravo]

43. Most of us weren't. Some were. It's a shame that DU can't acknowledge ...

the second half of that equation.

[agent46]

24. Yes

The military is comprised of trained killers who follow orders to kill according to national and corporate policy directives. Some few of them rise above all that and do heroic things in the midst of dire circumstances. Few of those men and women are ever recognized.

Americans are good at sound bytes and quoting meme pictures they see on the internet. Nuance isn't in our cultural wheelhouse.

[hfojvt]

8. yeah, rah, rah for the war machine

the real heroes are in nurses uniforms, firefighter suits, classrooms, etc.

[Ed Suspicious]

26. This is where it's at.

[City Lights]

35. Totally agree! nt

[11 Bravo]

10. You are, of course, correct. Insofar as your compulsion to jump into this particular thread ...

to make that particular point ... well, that is a matter best left for you and your therapist.

[cali]

22. seems to me, that you're the one in need of a quick trip to

your therapist, dear friend.

I simply commented on an op. You, on the other hand, actually felt compelled to jump in and attack me.

Physician heal thyself and all that jazz.

[11 Bravo]

29. A 27 year old hockey player, after doing something most of us could only dream of ...

on an international stage, tried to modestly deflect what he considered to be undue adulation. A thread was posted commending him for said modesty. You hopped aboard, with a patented hi-jack move, simply to shit on the sentiment espoused in the OP.
If I ever reach the point in my life when I feel the need to crap on a patently feel good thread because, well, FUCK ... just because I can ... that's when I'll consider seeking therapeutic assistance ... dear friend.

[cali]

34. this is really simple, my dear friend: I'm not criticzing the hockey player

(though what his being 27 has to do with it, eludes me)

This isn't about crapping on a thread. It's about questioning the mentality of military worship that is so widespread in this country- and so dangerous.

[11 Bravo]

40. Well, my dear friend, the hockey player is the one who invoked the military ...

Last edited Sat Feb 15, 2014, 08:44 PM - Edit history (1)

in a patently obvious attempt to deflect attention from himself, thereby engendering this entire thread. So, tell us ... exactly who were you trying to crap on?

Grits?

If that's the case, why not just say so, rather than hide behind the tired-ass "crap on the military" response; which while always guaranteed to garner a bunch of sycophantic approvals, will still remain intellectually lazy?

As for the player being 27 years old, I lack both the time and the inclination to help you sort out everything that eludes you.

[alarimer]

25. I agree and the word hero is WAY overused generally.

A hero is someone who does something extraordinary to help someone else, something above and beyond their usual job description. Or something outside their job, like running into a burning building to save a kid or something.

You are not a hero just by putting on a uniform, whatever uniform that might be.

[aristocles]

31. +1000

[Electric Monk]

7. I don't think of these people as heroes, at all.

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. Can you stop too?

He doesn't mean them and you know it.

[hfojvt]

12. there are heroes in sports

if you play quarterback for the right team

[Schema Thing]

15. "the American Heroes are wearing camo". Uhmm, no. That just isn't remotely true.

[Logical]

18. The heroes are working for minimum wage! nt

[bahrbearian]

21. Real Heros are Protesting War, Not enabling War

[11 Bravo]

30. I've fought in one AND protested one. In which of your simplistic little niches do I fit?

[bahrbearian]

37. Enabler

[TransitJohn]

27. Not into the authority worshipping, military fetish myself.

We're not supposed to have a standing army.

[Brickbat]

28. I think they're taught to say stuff like that in training camp.

Love that Minnesota boy, though -- for his fine skills.

[truebluegreen]

44. "ya gotta learn your cliches, yer gonna have to study them,

yer gonna have to know them" h/t Bull Durham

[bkanderson76]

33. One word comes to mind.....Character n/t

[eggplant]

36. OFFS. It was a selfless statement by someone put into the spotlight.

Get the fuck over yourselves, and just enjoy that he was thinking of someone other than himself when everyone else was thinking of him.

Like the military, hate the military, none of that shit matters in this context. It's way off-point, and you all know it. So stop pushing your agenda with the "but they started it" crap. Enjoy a nice fucking moment. For just a moment. Please.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

38. The American Heroes stand in front of class rooms

And are teaching our chIldren

[medeak]

39. medal award ceremonies????????????????

Has anyone seen even one? Unable to find on nbc.com as well. What's the deal?

[progressoid]

41. & feeding the homeless, & teaching our kids, & fighting the 1%, & finding disease cures, & on and on

Kind of tired of the knee jerk response that military service automatically entitles you to hero-dom

[1000words]

42. During the classical games, all nations put aside their differences

A mere reference to war (or even politics) was considered bad form.