When I was a kid I LOVED watching baseball movies like The Sandlot, Field of Dreams, Major League, Angels in the Outfield, The Bad News Bears and so many more.

They just seemed so awe inspiring and uplifting. I relished the crack of the bat, seeing the ball go high over the left field wall until it disappeared into the sunlight, and what’s better than the underdog coming out with the win? Throw in some cracker jacks, a hotdog, and a cold Coke (now a Guinness) to round out the dream.

When I got older I wanted to find that perfect love that can only be described with a baseball reference: “You know, that can’t-eat, can’t-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff.”

I still enjoy a good baseball game. I was among the millions rooting for the Cubs and just as happy in 2016 they pulled out the World Series after a century long drought. In the last few years though, particularly in 2017, it’s become harder to care or even find that innocent joy in a game that once was THE definition of America when it has all been replaced with hatred and violence. You can’t even let an Asian guy be part of calling sports anymore because his name sounded too close to a Confederate soldier. HE IS ASIAN!!!

I agree that certain ideas need to be talked about, changes need to be made and people deserve equal treatment they are not necessarily receiving. I’m not advocating for people to stop requesting equality, to ignore civil rights violations or just suck it up and accept whatever scraps they’re being thrown. I’m not even here to suggest I have the answers on how to fix it all like I’m some kind of Peace Guru.

I think the Mcgregor / Mayweather fight last night was my breaking point for hatred tolerance. I was proud of Conor for attempting to enter a sport he didn’t have experience in and certainly not at the level of Mayweather who had 49 matches to his name compared to 0 for Mcgregor.

I was proud he was giving the Irish something to cheer about at a time when Brexit is causing so much stress. It didn’t matter if you were from the North or South, Catholic or Protestant, living inside the borders or somewhere else but holding Ireland in your heart. He was ours, he represented all of us and took us with him when he entered that ring.

He may not have won but he fought with his heart and soul making us all proud as he stayed on his feet for 10 rounds even after it became apparent his body wasn’t as strong as his spirit. He was our champion whether he walked out of that ring with a win or not.

I personally needed this reprieve from the fights over monuments, cultural appropriations (don’t get me started on what Americans do every March and is considered acceptable), police actions, Trump’s actions, Brexit’s effects on Ireland – are we getting a new border or not, housing crisis in Dublin, flooding in Donegal and the big stuff like ISIS and North Korea.

My social media feeds would keep a therapist in business for decades.

Last night the fight ends and before the fighters even have time to shower the hatred and racist comments begin to pop up showing yet again apparently EVERYTHING has to come down to white vs black in some way:

That’s just a small portion of what showed up on social media last night and today.

The funny thing though is that the Irish were all cheering Conor on, even after the loss, and were talking about how proud they were he went 10 rounds. They didn’t care he lost a boxing match when he’s not a boxer, they were just happy he managed to stay on his feet for that long.

Then today as the excitement from the match wore off the vitriol turned from the Irish and its culture back inwards toward their fellow Americans. The heartbreaking disaster in Texas amped up and although many states like New York and Louisiana sent help it seemed too often instead of pulling together this became a chance to start fighting again. More political battles between Trump supporters and everyone else erupted. Berkeley’s streets apparently disintegrated once more with thousands of protesters clashing against each other, sometimes with violent consequences.

I feel horrible but my first thought was “Thank God they stopped trying to pull the Irish into their battles.” But that sense of peace was short lived as once again my social media feeds began to fill with fights and threats as a virtual civil war continued across the internet. I made a comment that now was not the time to talk about the Wall as the focus should be on the flood victims and I began to get overloaded with Trump supporters attacking me because my statement apparently was demeaning to their god.

I know I’m already going to hell for being Catholic, Irish, a woman, white or bisexual depending on who I talk to so trust me you don’t have to widen the reasons by including having empathy towards those whose lives are being devastated.

What is it going to take before you stop trying to kill each other and tear your country apart? Did nothing get learned from the last time this happened here or in other parts of the world?

Having your country torn in 2 is not as much fun as you think – just talk with any of the Irish who have been trying to repair that damn damage when the Government of Ireland Act of 1920 came into effect on 3 May 1921.

You want to fight for another 100 years like us to patch things up then be my guest just keep the Irish out of it.