NY Baseball fan settles "God Bless America" suit.

[sarcasmo]

Snip< NEW YORK — A baseball fan has settled a lawsuit that claimed he was kicked out of Yankee Stadium by a police officer because he left his seat to use the bathroom during the playing of "God Bless America."

Bradford Campeau-Laurion had named the Yankees and New York City in his federal lawsuit, which argued that he was a victim of political and religious discrimination and that his rights were violated at the August 2008 game.


Snip< "Policy remains as it always has been: Fans are free to move about during the playing of 'God Bless America,'" said Alice McGillion, spokeswoman for the Yankees.

But fans may not always have felt completely unfettered. Ushers used handheld chains to block off some exits while it was played at the Yankees' old stadium, although chief operating officer Lonn Trost has said they were instructed to let through spectators with emergencies.



Good for this guy, standing up to the Theocracy one person at a time.




















Link: http://www.comcast.net/articles/sports-general/20090707/US.Yankees.Lawsuit/

[progressoid]

1. WTF? "God Bless America"??

It's not even the National Anthem. Good grief.

[ZombieHorde]

2. Good. nt

[frogmarch]

3. "spectators with emergencies"?

What right did the ushers have to block exits with chains in the first place?

I'm glad the man stood up to the patrio-religious wackery. It's outrageous and needs to be dealt with!

[immoderate]

4. Irony -- Irving Berlin, composer of "God Bless america" was an atheist.

--imm

[tbyg52]

5. Are they *still* singing that instead of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"?

It's one of the reasons I quit going to MLB games.

[sarcasmo]

6. I think they do both songs in New York, but I agree it makes you ill as a Baseball fan.

[onager]

7. "Who's guidin' her? god? well, he's doin' a shit-poor job of it..."

Whoa! I just found a beautiful rant! Presented unedited (except for returns) and just as posted, over at Rational Response.

For the few who might not know this, Woody Guthrie seriously hated "God Bless America." He thought it was smarmy, simple-minded and complacent, and got so pissed off that the wrote an "answer song" to it.

Time for the ranter to take over:

you see, "this land is your land" was written as an answer song to "god bless america"; in fact, the original title of woody's immortal ditty, written to the tune of the old hymn "when the world's on fire," was "god blessed america for me."

let's ruminate on that for a moment and kick the fuckin' starry-eyed, flag-wavin', harmonizin', patronizin' little urchins out of the room and sit in the hobo jungles or on a highball freight with woody.

"god blessed america for me," motherfucker! for me too! for me down here in the salinas orange groves and the amarillo oilfields, tryin' to survive with 300 other families on a trickling spring of water while we live in a shack built from cardboard and old hammered out tin cans, just hopin' one of these mean bastards here that constantly sic the high sheriff on us will change his mind and deign to give us work pickin' a goddamn ton of peaches for a goddamn dollar--with shotgun-wieldin' overseers makin' damn good and sure we don't eat a single fuckin' one even if it's rotten--god blessed america for me too, asshole!

it's not about your fuckin' "stand beside and guide her." guide her where? who's guidin' her? god? well, he's doin' a shit-poor job of it. so fuck that, "this land was made for you and me." no goddamn idea by who or by what, and by all means, you can have your piece but i'm through beggin' you for mine. time to join that union two by two, which side are you on?

http://www.rationalresponders.com/forum/16189

The Rational Response Squad

Believe in God? We can fix that.

:rofl: