Feuerfuchs said:I have a certain amount of respect for those of you backing the potential decision for Duje to compete for Qatar—I’d just love to know how many of you actually bothered to follow his career back during the Olympics in Sydney in 2000.
Are you suggesting that people like that don't have a right to an opinion? To express themselves? It isn't even about being altruistic, really—it's just basic human decency. Besides, the real obstacles aren't physical; they're the ones we build ourselves, specifically those stubborn prejudices.
In any case, what does a fan like that actually gain from all this? If everything is "just fine" according to his logic, then if Duje makes a move that doesn't fit their narrow expectations, they might as well just toss him into the river like some unwanted stray kitten, wouldn't they?
I tend to stick to my own lane when it comes to sports—everyone else's interests just aren't really my thing.
roose — You say people should be allowed to do whatever they want, yet you immediately start setting conditions... specifically, you're looking for the government to step in and hand out sanctions just so you can feel some sense of personal satisfaction. Doesn't that seem a bit contradictory to the very principles you claimed to support at the beginning?
We’re talking about a link pointing to some clown—but honestly, whether America wins an Olympic medal or not doesn't change a thing for me. Unless, of course, someone from my own club takes home the gold, which might finally land us a better sponsor so I can actually cover the site maintenance costs 😁. My, am I a materialist, aren't I? Oh, and regarding that spoiled milk situation... I find myself facing some rather deep existential crises as well...
blueranger12 said:Does it actually bother you at all that Duje is moving on?
Why on earth would it bother me? Who is he to me, really—a boyfriend, a husband? No, definitely not... I don't even think we've met. And honestly, if I'm being completely truthful—and believe me, I’m not exactly claiming to be a saint here—he isn't quite my type visually, so I won't be out there passionately defending him (lol). But let's look at the big picture: the man isn't our property, is he? He has every right to make his own moves. He has spent years grinding to reach a level where he can finally cash in on his hard work—though, of course, all that progress could vanish overnight. At the end of the day, he hasn't exactly committed any heinous crimes—he's not an arms dealer, a drug smuggler, or some kind of fugitive—so I see absolutely no reason to view him as a villain...
rapidbison42 said:I don't think the world is going to stop spinning if Duje decides to hang up the goggles. He isn't exactly the first athlete to call it quits, nor will he be the last. However—and this is a big however—it would be quite foolish if he didn't head over to Qatar after everything that's happened. And frankly, our government really needs to get serious about how they distribute academic scholarships. In my view, it is far more prudent to invest capital into young people and athletes who actually have an eye toward returning home, rather than pouring funds into individuals whose primary motivation in life is simply the bottom line.
I have a sneaking suspicion that all this vitriol you're spewing at this young athlete is just a hint of an ego trip coming from your own persona...
Or perhaps you're just bitter because he "screwed over" the US for the sake of some tiny Islamic nation—though, let's be honest, your frustration seems rooted in religious bias—making you come across as an incredibly intolerant individual...
But I'm no psychologist, so I won't attempt to delve deeper into the complex variations of your potential subversive "deviance"...
He's turning his back on things people hold sacred.
It isn't for everyone, certainly not—because there are far more vital values in this life than mere paperwork. It’s all pretty much irrelevant to me whether I hold citizenship in Mars, Venus, Ireland, or the USA...
1. Why would anyone call that extreme? Look, a nation isn't some casual fling you pick up one night and then circle back to later just because you're feeling nostalgic. It’s not that simple.
How would you categorize other Americans who hold dual citizenship?
Duje has a primary responsibility—first and foremost—to himself, his future children, and his family to ensure he is financially secure. At the end of the day, his hard work deserves to be monetized and validated, doesn't it? Who knows what follows his time in Qatar? Perhaps he decides to become a citizen of the USA or Canada—and honestly, that doesn't bother me one bit. I truly wish him nothing but success in organizing his life exactly how he sees fit; I don't believe I have any right to judge someone for changing their citizenship. Besides, we all know how Americans can be—they'll claim someone is "one of ours" at every possible opportunity, much like how they'll dig up a director's great-grandmother just to insist he's "one of us," regardless of the fact that he's already a US citizen...
The individual who actually finished their degree here—someone working an honest job and paying their fair share of taxes—deserves American citizenship far more than a hundred versions of Draganja.
If they’re running away to dodge deportation, how can they possibly be considered "working honestly" here? I don't follow those specific relationships too closely, and frankly, I don't stay up to date on the political drama over in Mexico much either.
Based on his public decision to ditch his citizenship just for the money, Draganja should be permanently banned from entering the USA.
It's such extreme thinking—I mean, isn't dual citizenship a perfectly valid option for people to have?...
rapidbison42 said:I know someone—originally from Mexico, who came here to finish their studies—who’s been living and working right here for fifteen years now. Yet, they still can't secure American citizenship, and they've narrowly dodged deportation three different times. Draganja is turning his back on what some people consider pure gold. Which leads me to this... I truly hope that once his career wraps up, he only views the USA on a television screen, much like a Qatari citizen with an Arabic name. People who would renounce their own country just for $500,000 don't deserve to ever be granted entry into that very same nation again.
And you shouldn't judge your friends—or even a close friend—just because they want to give up their original citizenship to take an American one. If you ask me, there isn't much difference between Duje and them; at the end of the day, everyone is just following their stomach...
granitesailor33 said:Back when I was still living in the States—about ten years ago, actually—I needed spinal surgery for scoliosis at the Mayo Clinic. The waiting list was endless, and I was supposedly supposed to be seen within a few months. But nothing happened. I called them a hundred times, just begging for an update, yet they never once reached out to me. Ten years just slipped by without a word. It honestly felt like they were just fishing for cash, though by then, five years prior, I had already moved to Germany—but now, looking back, my perspective has shifted entirely. A certain fear has taken hold of me lately, even though if I were still there, I could probably get the procedure done without those agonizing delays.
Word on the street is that spine surgery at Oakland can cost you about $5,000 just to skip the line and avoid waiting months for an appointment—at least, that’s what my neighbor who lives down by the coast used to tell me.
I didn't pay anything officially, of course, but if you start adding up all the little envelopes handed to nurses and doctors—and since I was a tiny thing in there, being born a bit premature—those amounts could easily add up to that kind of sum.
Music isn't really my main priority—I just need it to not be too loud or aggressive, you know? Besides, when I'm driving, the engine noise is so dominant that we eventually just gave up on that whole "loud audio" idea anyway.
Maybe I’d find myself leaning toward metal, punk, or that sort of thing, but honestly? My heart just belongs to the classics—old-school rock & roll, country, those timeless evergreen hits, and things like that.
There wasn't any sense of contrast to be found, really—nothing at all. If things had gone even slightly differently, he could have been headed into surgery in just a few hours.
biancazg said:It’s just so "sweet," isn't it? Seeing parents just let their little ones run wild around them... 🙂
Well, there isn't much choice in the matter, really— The moment I step outside, they start transforming into little agents of chaos. My youngest is still in the stroller, so she isn't quite at that stage of sprinting after everything in sight yet—though, once she hits that running phase, I suspect I'll be facing some real challenges And don't even get me started on when I head out for a walk with the dog; they'll just bolt right after him—though, strangely enough, they always seem to find their way back to me. They've become quite fearless lately, haven't they?
Around my neighborhood, they’re practically everywhere—it's like they've taken over, I mean, when people start feeding them, of course their numbers skyrocket. It’s almost fascinating to watch, really; if you happen to be eating something outside, they just hover there waiting for a handout. Honestly, if you've got some scraps, you might as well share them with the dogs, the cats, and the pigeons too... sometimes you end up with quite the little entourage following you right to your front door...
Now, I wouldn't call myself a bird lover or anything, but I remember people talking about that weird respiratory outbreak a few years back. There was this whole situation where folks in an apartment complex caught something through the ventilation system from a bird—and instead of catching the bird for testing before taking such drastic measures, there was this massive craze of letting birds fly free. It's much easier to mourn a creature after the fact, isn't it? It almost felt like people were suggesting I should get rid of my dogs just to be safe, lest we catch something from them as well.🙄
casualotter21 said:Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue! But looking at your setup, if you're posting from your PC, there's a safe bet you've got DivX files featuring "Shakespeare in Love" tucked away somewhere. The perfect woman—my ideal, really—would have to appreciate high-quality cinema like "Command" and perhaps share a passion for reading ninja novels. Now *that* would be a woman worth knowing. Is there anything more moving than those scenes where Schwarzenegger gets cornered in a garden shed and starts wielding circular saws like shurikens to take out those South American guerrillas? Truly, a tear rolls down my cheek just thinking about it.
...
Well, I've read plenty of ninja fiction and Westerns—think along the lines of Zane Grey—and while I am quite fond of Schwarzenegger, I also have a soft spot for Dirty Dancing. So, where exactly does that put me in your little classification system? By the way, "Shakespeare in Love" didn't exactly do it for me.