Iraq War Hero Makes Oxlade-Chamberlain think deeply
Bill Shankly once said, “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” Well try saying that to Simon Brown.
Corporal Simon Brown, 32, was speaking to the England Under-21′s before they flew to Iceland for their 2013 European Championships qualifier.
Brown was severely injured in 2006 when he was shot in the face saving six of his colleagues in the Iraq war. He received injuries so severe that his left eye was destroyed and he was only left with 10% vision in his right. He has had over 100 hours of surgery and is now giving motivational speeches to others.
His words have left a profound effect on our very own Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who said, “It made me appreciate massively what I’ve got. The way he kept coming back fighting did make me think of what I have.”
I couldn’t agree more Alex. Forgive me for taking the moral high ground people, but the next time you want to criticise or abuse Arsene Wenger, or a Spurs player for that matter, think very carefully before you open your mouth. If it wasn’t for the likes of Corporal Simon Brown, and thousands more like him we wouldn’t even be watching Arsenal Football Club right now. We go to football every week and come home with our pride dented! Problems what problems. Think on.
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You are absolutely right, Admin. We have our own problems, but they are nothing compare to people’s like this.
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well said admin. footballers have it so easy dont they and then look at this guy.
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If there were no simon brown or thousands like them, then there are millions more of us willing to b simon brown ‘minus his injuries’. Plz don’t doubt our courage, i’d gladly fight alongside a die hard spuds if I have to. But, thanks to simon n co, I don’t need to depend on a spuds.
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As horrible as this man’s experiences are it’s his own fault. He’s travelled thousands of miles to kill people in their own country. He’s surrendered his own moral compass and killed to order. He’s a hired killer who got the shock of his life. The West said it would bomb them back into the stone age and they fought back. The Taliban, the Afghanis & the Iraqis have never attacked the UK. We are the aggressors, the bad guys. Brown would spend his time more wisely by exposing Blair, the Neocons, Israel and all the others that manipulated peace into war. Blair took Orwell’s 1984 to be a blueprint and not a warning. Read it and look around. We’re in the forever war against an ever shifting “enemy.” Whilst others bang the patriots drum to get the sentimentality of the lumpen masses. My heart goes out to Brown in one way but I also think he’s got what he deserved. No to war, no to killing.
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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@maia
Simon brown did not joined d army to kill afghani, iraqi or U. Wat he got, its d price he paid 4 six of his buddies.
Wen a soldier goes to war, he don’t fight to win d war, he fights for himself n his mate, sorry, this isn’t footy.
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@maia
ur Nuts, as in ‘bastogne nuts’ 2nd WW Bastogne.
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@maia
you really should be ashamed of yourself.
i come from a neutral country so we have peace keepers in these countries, so what you are trying to say if 1 of the soldiers got injured or worse still were killed-they deserve it. you are a clown. as for the soldier brown and others like him, the world would be a much worse place without them
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@ baz .. you don’t really help his cause in any way do you? So he went to kill people for his own pleasure rather than politically motivated specifics? Thank goodness I found the wiki entry to get your Bastogne remark. You’re right it isn’t footy but the nationalist bully boys and propagandists are more prominent now and it has to be challenged. And here it is in football again. Help for Heroes, mentioning the armed services watching in Helmand mid commentary, free tickets to matches, squaddies on the pitch or introduced to the teams, it’s now illegal to criticise someone in uniform and the TV’s full of flag waving crap about “our lads” every night. NATO are the enforcers for globalisation. Imperialistic capitalism designed to make the rich richer and the poor more docile. Watch them with CCTV and ram their heads full of empty ideals. It’s not me you should be railing against with your veiled I’m bollocks remark. Think about it.
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@ snowy. Turn it around; without people willing to kill for money the world would be a better place. Come back when you’ve managed to cohere something a little more substantial.
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I don’t think this is the place for a political war debate….
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What happened to Brown is a shame, and sure he deserves a purple heart. It’s like anything in life. We moan about trivial things, then we take a look around and realize most people are far worse off, and still look like they are enjoying life and are happy. My motto is pride comes before the fall. Live a humble life and appreciate what you have got. Because you never know when something life changing comes your way. A friend of mine was in a bike accident the other day…he lost one of his legs. I saw him the other day and I asked him how he was. He said to me ‘Well at least I still have my other leg.” I thought wow what a positive attitude to have.
When it comes to our football club, it’s more a case of it rotting away before our very eyes. There is still time to do something about it. Only us fans will be able to make a change this time. If not for ourselves, do it for all the men before our time who have built Arsenal up to be a success it has become. I’m sure they sacrificed and sweated blood and tears to build this footballing empire, just like Brown made sacrifices in his duty. The old boys are probably turning in their graves about what is going on at AFC at the moment.
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Fu*k Gazidis, fu*k Kroenke….
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Motivational speech increased Oxlade-Chamberlain’s “Vision”! If u know what I mean.
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