GatewayRedbirds.com

African Brits? African Canucks? African Aussies? African South Africans?

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It is very significant. The future of America's youth depends on a steady supply of baseballs.

Perfect post for an asshat thread.

I think it's weird that this ball has to become some lesson for a variety of people. They caught it, they wanted to keep it. More power to them. If the kid gets it, he learns to appreciate kindness. If he doesn't, he learns he won't get everything he wants. Either way, who cares?

Here's the thing about kids. They give the ball to the kid, he forgets about it 2 hours later and is in the backseat complaining for ice cream. They take it home and he either:

A. Plays baseball and the ball gets mixed in with a bunch of others
B. Doesn't like to play outside and it goes in a garage sale or gets thrown out or chewed up by a dog.

Let's not over-romanticize this on the kids account. I'd rather the grown up keep it and take their stupid pictures if that's what makes them happy. Everyone has so many damn judgements on people.

Also - if this same kid does this in a restaurant, everyone is murmuring about why these irresponsible parents don't discipline their whiny kid.

Oh man. The restaurant last night gave me desert on the house since my dinner took too long to prep in the kitchen (I didn't complain--honestly I didn't even notice). I should have gave that free desert to a kid. DAMNIT!

EDIT: But in general you make my general point much better than I have. There's a sappy romanticism with the innocence of children and baseball at play here, when there's a good chance that it was a 3 year old throwing a temper tantrum. Given, the ball was tossed into the stands, in which case the ballplayer is usually focused on either tossing it to a kid or giving his room number to an attractive female. But when it comes to foul balls, not sure why there's a social requirement to hand the ball off to a kid, just because they're a kid.

It's just a [expletive] dessert...give it to the kid!

Give it to the kid after you've taken a picture with it....and if you're fat and don't want to get fatter.

If you don't, you hate America.

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The people offered the kid the ball, the parents refused. Nothing wrong with that.

Now that I think about it, that's probably the reason why the kid was crying. His parents told him no.

The kid needs to grow up and realize that pleasure will kill you. By watching a grown man eat that dessert, accompanied by slurping noises and murmurs of ecstasy, the child will grow up associating pleasure with mortality, will avoid carnal relations, and will sublimate desire by inventing really great gadgets that will improve my life.

I feel sorry for any adult who thinks that way.