This isn't a thoughtful commentary or a well constructed essay. This is a disorganized spew of disgust haphazardly composed under a fog of caffeine-deficiency, and not a very coherent one at that.
What the HELL is it going to take until NFL and MLB owners wake up and decide to start valuing decent fans over the worthless, waste-of-oxygen scumbags who seem to increasingly control the fan culture in stadiums, parking lots, and the immediate vicinity? I am as imbued with tradition as the next guy, and I do like a beer now and then, but until these money-grubbing owners decide that the safety of true fans and their families is more important than catering to drunken, shit-for-brains thugs, this will continue to escalate. Until they spend a little more on security and a little less on the contracts of multimillion dollar prima donna players, there will be more Bryan Stows lying in comas, more beat-downs in stadium bathrooms, and more brawls in parking lots documented by chanting idiots with cell phone cameras.
These issues have existed for decades, but they are exacerbated now by a societal celebration of immaturity and self-pleasure and by a legal system that seems at times to go out of its way to target and punish people who act in self defense. Whereas California's Penal Code specifies a more reasonable standard for defining self defense than some states (there is no legally mandated "duty to retreat" here), in practical applications, if you severely hurt or kill someone who presented a lethal threat to you or your family, you'll be confronted by a pretty high hurdle to jump in order to prove you were justified. And spare me the "presumed innocent, burden of proof on the prosecution" stuff. It sounds good, but vote-hungry, political wind-sniffer DA's have a way of doing what's expedient. Sure, such a situation can definitely threaten your life, but your response may come down to what you fear more: the effects on your family of your death or of your incarceration. Having a decent life insurance policy may tip the scales.
The latest violence at Candlestick Park isn't going to change my behavior; I have no time for attending games anyway. I'll continue to do what I've always done--take every possible step to avoid potential problems. I won't hesitate to defend my family and myself should that become necessary. In other words, I won't go looking for trouble. I'll behave in a civilized manner.
Civilized...remember that?
© Pseudocognitive
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