Great reading, Max! Especially agree with you on your thoughts re: 2002 and the mood/culture of the country back then...I'm an early Gen Xer so the 80's and 90's are what consider my formative decades but still, to think about the first 8-10 years of the 2000's compared to now is very striking....
Just a quick thought about the World Baseball Classic: Even now in this era of international draft pools and Latin American combines, the large majority of MLB players are American by birth. The WBC exists largely as a vehicle to increase international exposure for the sport, and players are encouraged to play for their country of ancestry for this reason. It makes sense; if all the American players played for Team USA, places like the Netherlands wouldn't be able to field a team.
"if all the American players played for Team USA, places like the Netherlands wouldn't be able to field a team."
Most member of Team Netherlands are Dutch nationals. They're predominantly from Aruba or Curacao. I do get your broader point, but Team Netherlands isn't a good example.
I’m Canadian, and the idea of walking the streets carrying a gun (as opposed to keeping one at home) is quite foreign to me. I would tend to feel that the likelihood of something going wrong is at least as high as the likelihood of it actually helping to save your life. I’m not sure if anyone has run numbers on that.
I think I’ve told the story of how my father in law apprehended the guy who stole his truck. The first two cops who arrived refused to leave their car until backup arrived.
I don’t admire this approach but I understand it. If a cop regularly faces situations with a 9 out of 10 chance of getting out safely, the odds are that it will catch up to him pretty quickly. The cops want to get risk as close to zero as possible. Civilians have to understand that.
I'm a gun proponent, I believe people should be allowed to carry, but I also believe most people shouldn't. It really is a major commitment and you can't live your life the way you did before. A lot of people who end up carrying make the mistake of thinking that a gun liberates them. It doesn't. In practice, you're actually exchanging your freedom for safety. That goes against everything we've been taught to believe, but practice isn't the same as theory.
I don't understand the police approach in the scenario you described. In Canada, the state has more of a monopoly on violence. If that's the case, they should be even tougher in their approach. That's dereliction of duty, in my opinion.
Like in the US, in Canada and other Western countries police effort is dependent on the relationship of the suspect to the local government. "Don't go there, for... political reasons."
Great reading, Max! Especially agree with you on your thoughts re: 2002 and the mood/culture of the country back then...I'm an early Gen Xer so the 80's and 90's are what consider my formative decades but still, to think about the first 8-10 years of the 2000's compared to now is very striking....
Fair point, bad example.
Just a quick thought about the World Baseball Classic: Even now in this era of international draft pools and Latin American combines, the large majority of MLB players are American by birth. The WBC exists largely as a vehicle to increase international exposure for the sport, and players are encouraged to play for their country of ancestry for this reason. It makes sense; if all the American players played for Team USA, places like the Netherlands wouldn't be able to field a team.
"if all the American players played for Team USA, places like the Netherlands wouldn't be able to field a team."
Most member of Team Netherlands are Dutch nationals. They're predominantly from Aruba or Curacao. I do get your broader point, but Team Netherlands isn't a good example.
They should’ve asked the Russian athletes how they felt about representing their country… oh wait …
I’m Canadian, and the idea of walking the streets carrying a gun (as opposed to keeping one at home) is quite foreign to me. I would tend to feel that the likelihood of something going wrong is at least as high as the likelihood of it actually helping to save your life. I’m not sure if anyone has run numbers on that.
I think I’ve told the story of how my father in law apprehended the guy who stole his truck. The first two cops who arrived refused to leave their car until backup arrived.
I don’t admire this approach but I understand it. If a cop regularly faces situations with a 9 out of 10 chance of getting out safely, the odds are that it will catch up to him pretty quickly. The cops want to get risk as close to zero as possible. Civilians have to understand that.
I'm a gun proponent, I believe people should be allowed to carry, but I also believe most people shouldn't. It really is a major commitment and you can't live your life the way you did before. A lot of people who end up carrying make the mistake of thinking that a gun liberates them. It doesn't. In practice, you're actually exchanging your freedom for safety. That goes against everything we've been taught to believe, but practice isn't the same as theory.
I don't understand the police approach in the scenario you described. In Canada, the state has more of a monopoly on violence. If that's the case, they should be even tougher in their approach. That's dereliction of duty, in my opinion.
Like in the US, in Canada and other Western countries police effort is dependent on the relationship of the suspect to the local government. "Don't go there, for... political reasons."