OT: If you don't understand what the phrase "Burn the Boats" means

[Schenn]

This thread is a great example of why I hate being a leafs Fan sometimes. :favepalm:

 

[mix1home]

Honestly, I think from a historical and literary standpoint, it's an extremely poor phrase to use for a sports team, never mind that it's my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. The Portuguese have nothing to do with this team; going into games or heading towards the playoffs, it's an extremely poor analogy, mostly because there are no metaphorical boats to burn; and, it's clearly not well known among the general population of Canadians.

From a moral standpoint, it's reprehensible, IMHO. Cortes was a murdering psychopath by today's standards, by his day's standards, as ruthless a dictator as any. To have a phrase celebrating his murder of millions of indigenous peoples of our continent . . . is surely not the right thing to use! That's not being politically correct, that's just speaking as a human being.

The Leafs fan using this phrase should use something better.

1. I guess we as civilization were enlightened since then? Really? As far as I concern the same ruthless methods are in use today, just more powerful to kill even more and PR machine spins it as democracy installment, terrorist fight and so on.
2. I think there is healthy dose of aggression required within sport team to achieve anything. Sometimes it will go overboard as well and I'm ok with that.
3. I like the phrase because it's easily visualized unlike those slogans "Defeat is unacceptable", etc. Our visual memory is much stronger than verbal. Try to remember words that your colleague used one week ago during meeting. You will not be able to. But if he put picture with burning boat on display you will remember it even three years after the meeting. It's fact.

 

[Espher]

Honestly, I think from a historical and literary standpoint, it's an extremely poor phrase to use for a sports team, never mind that it's my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. The Portuguese have nothing to do with this team; going into games or heading towards the playoffs, it's an extremely poor analogy, mostly because there are no metaphorical boats to burn; and, it's clearly not well known among the general population of Canadians.

From a moral standpoint, it's reprehensible, IMHO. Cortes was a murdering psychopath by today's standards, by his day's standards, as ruthless a dictator as any. To have a phrase celebrating his murder of millions of indigenous peoples of our continent . . . is surely not the right thing to use! That's not being politically correct, that's just speaking as a human being.

The Leafs fan using this phrase should use something better.

You've got red on you.

From your bleeding heart.

 

[Eb]

This thread is a great example of why I hate being a leafs Fan sometimes. :favepalm:

What? Why

 

[Guy Boucher]

Honestly, I think from a historical and literary standpoint, it's an extremely poor phrase to use for a sports team, never mind that it's my beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. The Portuguese have nothing to do with this team; going into games or heading towards the playoffs, it's an extremely poor analogy, mostly because there are no metaphorical boats to burn; and, it's clearly not well known among the general population of Canadians.

From a moral standpoint, it's reprehensible, IMHO. Cortes was a murdering psychopath by today's standards, by his day's standards, as ruthless a dictator as any. To have a phrase celebrating his murder of millions of indigenous peoples of our continent . . . is surely not the right thing to use! That's not being politically correct, that's just speaking as a human being.

The Leafs fan using this phrase should use something better.

If it makes you feel better, the original historical reference to "burning the boats" occurred when Tariq B. Ziyad crossed the straits of Gibraltar.

But I don't think people like to know that non-western history exists.

 

[Twix]

This thread is a great example of why I hate being a leafs Fan sometimes. :favepalm:

:favepalm: ? Reminded me of Brett Favre for some reason.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

This thread is full of such fail. People making judgements based on what they think they know, when its incorrect. Typical, so hard to do your own research before jumping on a ridiculous tangent.


Cortes, while he destroyed his ships, wasnt the first to put the saying "burn the boats" to use, nor was he the last. in fact, he never burned his boats at all, he scuttled them, though thats just a minor difference in the context of the metaphor.
Tariq ibn Ziyad was the first leader to burn his boats, so if you think its immoral to use cortes because of him being a "brutal dictator" then use ZIyad instead.

 

[Pierre Gotye]

Burn the Boats is the new Hanta Yo.


Or if you're a Marlie it's Hanta Yeo.

 

[napoleon in rags]

This thread is full of such fail. People making judgements based on what they think they know, when its incorrect. Typical, so hard to do your own research before jumping on a ridiculous tangent.


Cortes, while he destroyed his ships, wasnt the first to put the saying "burn the boats" to use, nor was he the last. in fact, he never burned his boats at all, he scuttled them, though thats just a minor difference in the context of the metaphor.
Tariq ibn Ziyad was the first leader to burn his boats, so if you think its immoral to use cortes because of him being a "brutal dictator" then use ZIyad instead.

Let me guess? Ziyad was a humanitarian who supported religious freedom?

I'll take Cortes, thank you.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

Let me guess? Ziyad was a humanitarian who supported religious freedom?

I'll take Cortes, thank you.

I Lol'd.

Firstly, youre named after napoleon, so....
secondly, do some research before you read a name and decide the person is evil. He wasnt an oppressor, he was a commander and a highly regareded one. Allegedly one of the most important commanders in Iberian history.

 

[LeafsandSharksfan]

I'm a historian and I think it's fine. No fallback and no plan-B.

It's playoffs or death.

 

[ITM]

This thread is full of such fail. People making judgements based on what they think they know, when its incorrect. Typical, so hard to do your own research before jumping on a ridiculous tangent.


Cortes, while he destroyed his ships, wasnt the first to put the saying "burn the boats" to use, nor was he the last. in fact, he never burned his boats at all, he scuttled them, though thats just a minor difference in the context of the metaphor.
Tariq ibn Ziyad was the first leader to burn his boats, so if you think its immoral to use cortes because of him being a "brutal dictator" then use ZIyad instead.

History records Alexander the Great long before Ziyad...As to who may have done so before Alexander the great? Who knows?

 

[BodaciousBeefBazooka]

Is "burn the boats" the new trending phrase to say on HF Boards? Everybody and there mother here are saying it. 1 person says it, another perosn follows and so on and so on. A good example of the "follow the heard" mentality

 

[ITM]

I Lol'd.

Firstly, youre named after napoleon, so....
secondly, do some research before you read a name and decide the person is evil. He wasnt an oppressor, he was a commander and a highly regareded one. Allegedly one of the most important commanders in Iberian history.

Ziyad was a Muslim general invading Catholic Spain...Isn't that the definition of an oppressor?

"..one of the most important commanders in Ibernian history"? What does that even mean? Important according to...? Certainly not "important" according to the same Spain that later drove said forces out of Spain, surely.

 

[Warden of the North]

Lets not drag this into religion, race, or political discussion.

Burning boats = Theres no going back.

 

[LeafsandSharksfan]

Is "burn the boats" the new trending phrase to say on HF Boards? Everybody and there mother here are saying it. 1 person says it, another perosn follows and so on and so on. A good example of the "follow the heard" mentality

It's a good microcosm of the Leafs playoff run this year, and it's a fun thing to say. I can't believe how touchy some people are about this.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

History records Alexander the Great long before Ziyad...As to who may have done so before Alexander the great? Who knows?

very true. Realistically, theres a large number of options to choose from if you dont want to refer to the cortes scuttling.

Ziyad was a Muslim general invading Catholic Spain...Isn't that the definition of an oppressor?

"..one of the most important commanders in Ibernian history"? What does that even mean? Important according to...? Certainly not "important" according to the same Spain that later drove said forces out of Spain, surely.

Not exactly, he was just a general. Generals have somebody they have to answer to. He was just carrying out orders to invade spain (which, slightly unrelated, they named the gibraltar mountain after him for)


but anyways hahaha. after the sidebar, im in favor of Burn the boats as a saying. I think its awesome

 

[The Saurus]

I see someone finally found a use for their first or second year university history class.

 

[johnny_rudeboy]

Is it not from Sun Tzu´s Art of War it comes from first? Probably where the Spaniards got it from as well. The part about Death Ground. In other words, put your troops in a situation they can not retreat from and they will fight harder then the enemy who have an escape option. He always had a tactic where you would leave the enemy an escape route even if you could surround them, so that they had hope about escaping and surviving. There would of course be a plan to flank the enemy once they crossed the bridge, went through the pass or what ever but that is another chapter.

http://forum.sonshi.com/showthread.php?t=3108

I remember reading that Ziyad probably read and understood Sun Tzu to.

 

[Al14]

Is "burn the boats" the new trending phrase to say on HF Boards? Everybody and there mother here are saying it. 1 person says it, another perosn follows and so on and so on. A good example of the "follow the heard" mentality

Sheep... baaaa.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

I see someone finally found a use for their first or second year university history class.

If youre referring to me, I never went to university haha, just like history haha.

 

[thewave]

Ziyad was a Muslim general invading Catholic Spain...Isn't that the definition of an oppressor?

"..one of the most important commanders in Ibernian history"? What does that even mean? Important according to...? Certainly not "important" according to the same Spain that later drove said forces out of Spain, surely.

Drove them back to their fail boats where they all looked at him and face palmed before they died

Maybe it means we have a bad General and he and tank commander Holzer and Budgeter 7th class Costco will be back for the playoffs.

 

[thewave]

Lets not drag this into religion, race, or political discussion.

Burning boats = Theres no going back.

I guess it's better then burn the steak cuz I don't like that. I have had a boat fire too and it made me pretty sad as well though, maybe I just like boats and think they are better at being you know, boats then burning.

 

[Namikaze Minato]

I guess it's better then burn the steak cuz I don't like that. I have had a boat fire too and it made me pretty sad as well though, maybe I just like boats and think they are better at being you know, boats then burning.

we get it, you dont understand it at all.

 

[thewave]

we get it, you dont understand it at all.

Nah I get the fail gimmick is fail. I am gonna go Simmer the Sauce, that means I am eating pasta tonight or its an epic reference to Hells Kitchen.