They went outside. People died. Selfish bastards.

"On this day in 1775, the “shot heard round the world” occurs at Lexington Green!

It had been mere hours since Paul Revere ended his famous ride from Boston to Lexington. Seven hundred British soldiers were en route to Concord. Their goal? They wanted to seize the weapons and supplies that Americans had stored at Concord, Massachusetts.

In the early morning hours of April 19, the British troops ran into about 70 American minutemen on Lexington Green. These men were led by Captain John Parker, a veteran of the French and Indian War. As the British approached, the Americans stood firm. But then someone heard a British officer shout: “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels!” Others heard similar variations of the same comment: “Throw down your arms, ye villains, ye rebels” or “Ye villains, ye rebels, disperse, damn you, disperse!”

In the meantime, Parker later testified that he “immediately ordered our Militia to disperse, and not to fire.” Most of the men began to disperse, as ordered, but some never heard the order. And NONE of the Americans put down their arms.

No one really knows who fired the first shot that followed . . . the “shot heard round the world”!

Some British officers were certain that it was a provincial hidden behind a hedge. Others thought the shot came from a nearby tavern. Some of the militia at Lexington were certain that British officers fired at them.

Regardless, the first shot WAS fired. The British began firing at Americans, leaving eighteen Americans killed or wounded. Some Americans returned fire, but only one British soldier was mildly wounded.

The British troops continued toward Concord. They searched for weapons without finding anything of note. Potentially, the British could have simply returned to Boston at that point but for one thing: A fire broke out. The source of that fire is unknown, but the American militia thought that the British were burning down buildings. They ran for North Bridge and a brief skirmish ensued, leaving 3 British and 2 Americans dead. The British began their retreat toward Boston.

Americans fired upon British soldiers the entire way back to Boston, where they cornered them in the city. In all, nearly 300 British soldiers were killed or wounded during the retreat. By contrast, Americans lost less than 100.

The Library of Congress summarizes: “By the end of the day, the colonists were singing ‘Yankee Doodle’ and the American Revolution had begun.”

Risking your life and the lives of others for the cause of freedom is a bit different from doing the same because you're tired of staying home during a pandemic

Ben Reilly wrote:Risking your life and the lives of others for the cause of freedom is a bit different from doing the same because you're tired of staying home during a pandemic

He doesn't give a shiet. Conservatism is all about what's it it for me. Their concept of freedom is, I've got mine, fook you and the horse you rode in on!

Original Quill wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Risking your life and the lives of others for the cause of freedom is a bit different from doing the same because you're tired of staying home during a pandemic

He doesn't give a shiet.  Conservatism is all about what's it it for me.  Their concept of freedom is, I've got mine, fook you and the horse you rode in on!

Or making obscene comparisons to history, like the dickhead in the Trump administration who recently compared the lockdown protesters to Rosa Parks.

Ben Reilly wrote:Risking your life and the lives of others for the cause of freedom is a bit different from doing the same because you're tired of staying home during a pandemic

People didn't just risk their lives. They died for something they believed in.

Well not everyone. Quite a few stayed home during this rebellion against their government.

And, April 19th is a pretty big day in history in the US. I had 3 stories I could have posted about the 19th. The start of the Revolution, the end of the Waco siege or the OKC bombing.

I chose the one that involved disobeying the government and shooting Brits.

Seemed like an on point topic considering current events and the attitudes of some on here.

Sorry, not sorry.

April 20th is Hitler's birthday.

Maddog wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Risking your life and the lives of others for the cause of freedom is a bit different from doing the same because you're tired of staying home during a pandemic

People didn't just risk their lives. They died for something they believed in.  

Well not everyone. Quite a few stayed home during this rebellion against their government.

Hopefully, not too many people will die because they don't believe this global disease is deadly.

I don't know about you, but if the story of the American Revolution was about a bunch of wishful thinkers taking up arms against people who were just trying to keep them from dying a horrific death, fighting for every breath in a hospital, in a room where the lights don't go off at night, surrounded by fearful strangers wearing masks, with their loved ones not allowed to visit -- I'd find it just a bit less compelling.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:

People didn't just risk their lives. They died for something they believed in.  

Well not everyone. Quite a few stayed home during this rebellion against their government.

Hopefully, not too many people will die because they don't believe this global disease is deadly.

I don't know about you, but if the story of the American Revolution was about a bunch of wishful thinkers taking up arms against people who were just trying to keep them from dying a horrific death, fighting for every breath in a hospital, in a room where the lights don't go off at night, surrounded by fearful strangers wearing masks, with their loved ones not allowed to visit -- I'd find it just a bit less compelling.

Very few people don't think it's deadly.

They know it is, and are going to work anyway.

That's where I am right now.

Maddog wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:

People didn't just risk their lives. They died for something they believed in.  

Well not everyone. Quite a few stayed home during this rebellion against their government.

Hopefully, not too many people will die because they don't believe this global disease is deadly.

I don't know about you, but if the story of the American Revolution was about a bunch of wishful thinkers taking up arms against people who were just trying to keep them from dying a horrific death, fighting for every breath in a hospital, in a room where the lights don't go off at night, surrounded by fearful strangers wearing masks, with their loved ones not allowed to visit -- I'd find it just a bit less compelling.

Very few people don't think it's deadly.

They know it is, and are going to work anyway.

That's where I am right now.

Well, I sincerely hope you never come to regret that decision.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Very few people don't think it's deadly.

They know it is, and are going to work anyway.

That's where I am right now.

Well, I sincerely hope you never come to regret that decision.

I'm essential.

Of course I can choose to not work.

I've never made that choice though.

I've weighed the risks. I'm more worried about getting hit by a car on my bike.

Maddog wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:

Very few people don't think it's deadly.

They know it is, and are going to work anyway.

That's where I am right now.

Well, I sincerely hope you never come to regret that decision.

I'm essential.

Of course I can choose to not work.

I've never made that choice though.

I've weighed the risks. I'm more worried about getting hit by a car on my bike.    

Fair enough. I just don't think that anybody besides cops, soldiers and maybe firefighters should have to worry about dying because they went to work. And obviously, during this pandemic, health care workers.

Ben Reilly wrote:

Maddog wrote:

I'm essential.

Of course I can choose to not work.

I've never made that choice though.

I've weighed the risks. I'm more worried about getting hit by a car on my bike.    

Fair enough. I just don't think that anybody besides cops, soldiers and maybe firefighters should have to worry about dying because they went to work. And obviously, during this pandemic, health care workers.

Cops and firefighters don't really have that dangerous of jobs. A Hispanic immigrant roofing a house is in more danger of dying than a cop.