18,050

[Thorny]

Well you wouldn't fall into the category of those who ONLY complain about them. :)  I go when I can too.  Being in Rochester makes it tough.  If the Sabres didn't have any signs of life a la a few years ago and they were playing the Coyotes I might not consider attending.  However, if they were playing a top notch team I would still go to see some good hockey by at least 1 team. :)

No one here ONLY complains about them. Anyone posting on a Sabres specific board is watching the games/following the team.

[TheAud]

Last night's attendance. Hey, it's a start. Because if there's one thing these rich pricks understand, it's pain in their wallet. Buffalo fans deserve NHL hockey again, and maybe one day the franchise will be required to give it to them.

 

http://buffalonews.com/2017/10/24/pegulas-absorbing-costs-hold-funeral-keybank-center/?utm_medium=more_stories

 

More pain in their wallets for those rich pricks!

[Eleven]

http://buffalonews.com/2017/10/24/pegulas-absorbing-costs-hold-funeral-keybank-center/?utm_medium=more_stories

 

More pain in their wallets for those rich pricks!

 

I had been waiting for someone else to post this.  This is a nice gesture from the Pegulas.  Doubtless, some will see it as part of some agenda.

[darksabre]

I had been waiting for someone else to post this.  This is a nice gesture from the Pegulas.  Doubtless, some will see it as part of some agenda.

Are they going to throw funerals at the KBC for every police officer, fire fighter, Reservist, mall security guard, etc, from now on?

 

Or just this guy?

 

[Eleven]

Are they going to throw funerals at the KBC for every police officer, fire fighter, Reservist, mall security guard, etc, from now on?

 

Or just this guy?

 

 

Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.  On top of that, this was a special case.  Law enforcement and military from all over the place came to Buffalo to assist in the search.  Not having certainty as to whether someone is living or dead must be a special kind of hell to walk through.

 

I've read that up to 10,000 people--mostly police and military--want to attend.  I don't know of another space that could hold it.  Maybe the convention center?  Can that hold 10k?

Edited October 25, 2017 by Eleven

[darksabre]

Thankfully, it doesn't happen often.  On top of that, this was a special case.  Law enforcement and military from all over the place came to Buffalo to assist in the search.  Not having certainty as to whether someone is living or dead must be a special kind of hell to walk through.

 

I've read that up to 10,000 people--mostly police and military--want to attend.  I don't know of another space that could hold it.  Maybe the convention center?  Can that hold 10k?

Why on earth do that many people feel they need to attend this guy's funeral? 

[LGR4GM]

Why on earth do that many people feel they need to attend this guy's funeral? 

Why on earth are you bitching about people attending a man's funeral? 

[darksabre]

Why on earth are you bitching about people attending a man's funeral? 

Yeah, I get it, the death of a police officer is a sad thing. It was an accident. He was probably a good guy.

 

But y'all are kidding yourselves if you think this whole thing isn't being amplified because of all the police brutality protests. This isn't a funeral anymore, it's a stunt. 

[LGR4GM]

Yeah, I get it, the death of a police officer is a sad thing. It was an accident. He was probably a good guy.

 

But y'all are kidding yourselves if you think this whole thing isn't being amplified because of all the police brutality protests. This isn't a funeral anymore, it's a stunt. 

What?

[darksabre]

What?

Play dumb if you want. This isn't about Officer Lehner. They're just using him. 

[LGR4GM]

Play dumb if you want. This isn't about Officer Lehner. They're just using him. 

I actually feel like I missed something on this one. 

[Eleven]

I actually feel like I missed something on this one. 

 

Same here.

 

This isn't an ordinary officer's death.  Again, agencies from all over the place assisted in the search.  It was national news.

 

Imagine being on tenterhooks for a week wondering if there's the slightest chance the guy is alive.  Imagine being one of the divers, wondering if you, too, will succumb to the Niagara.  You'd want to go.

 

This is out of the ordinary.

 

Delaware Ave is lit up with just about any type of vehicle with flashing lights you could imagine.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Eleven

[darksabre]

I actually feel like I missed something on this one. 

How many ceremonies have we had like this prior? None. This is going to be the largest funeral for a Buffalo cop ever. And it's not just because they liked the guy. 

Same here.

 

This isn't an ordinary officer's death.  Again, agencies from all over the place assisted in the search.  It was national news.

 

Imagine being on tenterhooks for a week wondering if there's the slightest chance the guy is alive.  Imagine being one of the divers, wondering if you, too, will succumb to the Niagara.  You'd want to go.

 

This is out of the ordinary.

 

Delaware Ave is lit up with just about any type of vehicle with flashing lights you could imagine.

Why was it national news?

[LGR4GM]

How many ceremonies have we had like this prior? None. This is going to be the largest funeral for a Buffalo cop ever. And it's not just because they liked the guy. 

Why was it national news?

Because he vanished in a river and at least at first we did not know if he was alive or dead. Then it became about recovering the body. It took a mental toll on the people involved and I think that is why they want to be at the funeral. They feel connected. 

 

I think you are grasping at straws. We shall see, because if it is about police brutality stuff that will be brought up during the speeches and not just once but repeatedly. 

Edited October 25, 2017 by LGR4GM

[Eleven]

How many ceremonies have we had like this prior? None. This is going to be the largest funeral for a Buffalo cop ever. And it's not just because they liked the guy. 

Why was it national news?

 

Because a guy was missing for a week and local, state, federal, and international agencies all got in on the search.

 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  

 

There's no one "using" him here.

[darksabre]

Because he vanished in a river and at least at first we did not know if he was alive or dead. Then it became about recovering the body. It took a mental toll on the people involved and I think that is why they want to be at the funeral. They feel connected. 

 

I think you are grasping at straws. We shall see, because if it is about police brutality stuff that will be brought up during the speeches and not just once but repeatedly. 

So are all police deaths going to be national news now?

 

Whatever, I actually don't care. Enjoy riding the hype train.

 

Construction workers die at twice the rate of police officers but we don't roll out big processions for them. We don't rent out the KBC to mourn a logger or a trucker. Thousands aren't turning out for an iron worker when a crane falls on him, or the factory worker who puts in 40 years breaking his body for someone else's profit. 

[Eleven]

Because he vanished in a river and at least at first we did not know if he was alive or dead. Then it became about recovering the body. It took a mental toll on the people involved and I think that is why they want to be at the funeral. They feel connected. 

 

I think you are grasping at straws. We shall see, because if it is about police brutality stuff that will be brought up during the speeches and not just once but repeatedly. 

 

This isn't going to be about police brutality stuff.

[darksabre]

Because a guy was missing for a week and local, state, federal, and international agencies all got in on the search.

 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  

 

There's no one "using" him here.

Sure. 

[Eleven]

So are all police deaths going to be national news now?

 

Whatever, I actually don't care. Enjoy riding the hype train.

 

Construction workers die at twice the rate of police officers but we don't roll out big processions for them. We don't rent out the KBC to mourn a logger or a trucker. Thousands aren't turning out for an iron worker when a crane falls on him, or the factory worker who puts in 40 years breaking his body for someone else's profit. 

 

Put it on those folks' union brothers and sisters, then, not the people who are actually at a funeral.

 

EDIT:  And you can bet that if a construction worker went missing at the site for a week, it'd be big, big news.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Eleven

[darksabre]

Put it on those folks' union brothers and sisters, then, not the people who are actually at a funeral.

 

EDIT:  And you can bet that if a construction worker went missing at the site for a week, it'd be big, big news.

lolwut? 

 

Google "missing construction worker" and tell me if you've ever heard of any of those stories. A single one. I'll wait. 

[Eleven]

lolwut? 

 

Google "missing construction worker" and tell me if you've ever heard of any of those stories. A single one. I'll wait. 

 

MISSING FOR A WEEK AT THE JOB SITE LIKE I WROTE.

 

If you're really looking for someone trying to turn this funeral into "something else," maybe some honest introspection is a good idea.

[darksabre]

MISSING FOR A WEEK AT THE JOB SITE LIKE I WROTE.

 

If you're really looking for someone trying to turn this funeral into "something else," maybe some honest introspection is a good idea.

I'm fine. You guys have fun buying into the continued post 9-11 worship nonsense. He's no more deserving of this than the thousands of other people who die on the job in this country every year doing way more dangerous and unsung work. But f*ck them I guess since they opted for a less easily politicized career.

 

Cops are special, but they aren't THIS special. Just like all the other people who helped out at Ground Zero who are still not getting their due and are forever overshadowed. Only cops and firefighters matter, screw everyone else, eh? They're the only heroes.

[TheAud]

[That Aud Smell]

It’s not a Buffalo thing. Attendance is changing throughout the sports world. Arenas are getting smaller with more group meting places.

I would not be surprised to see KBC capacity for hockey lowered to around 17500 with a lot of the 300 converted to bars and standing room only sections.

 

Very true.

 

The Jacobs folks at Delaware North commissioned a whack-a-doodle research project to envision what the business of professional sports will be like in 50 or 100 years. One common recurring theme: Spectating as we have come to know it may fall by the boards.

 

Are they going to throw funerals at the KBC for every police officer, fire fighter, Reservist, mall security guard, etc, from now on?

 

Or just this guy?

 

A similar thought had occurred to me. 

 

Largely, I think Eleven's responses are about right -- the manner in which he disappeared, the involvement of so many different agencies.

 

OTOH, your skepticism and cynicism regarding what's going on here resonate with me. Several times, I've caught myself feeling badly for having vague feelings of ... ambivalence (or worse) over the production levels associated with this funeral.

 

Yeah, I get it, the death of a police officer is a sad thing. It was an accident. He was probably a good guy.

 

But y'all are kidding yourselves if you think this whole thing isn't being amplified because of all the police brutality protests. This isn't a funeral anymore, it's a stunt. 

 

The term "stunt" is overly harsh, since these things are rarely binary -- it's this or it's that.

 

But there's something that's crept in here that has left me ill at ease. In other settings, I have come to struggle greatly with what I call the monopoly on virtue that is implicitly staked out by the universe of first responders and military veterans (there's a healthy overlap in those two cohorts). What's been going on in the past several days for this, yes, heroic young man has triggered that in me.

 

Construction workers die at twice the rate of police officers but we don't roll out big processions for them. We don't rent out the KBC to mourn a logger or a trucker. Thousands aren't turning out for an iron worker when a crane falls on him, or the factory worker who puts in 40 years breaking his body for someone else's profit. 

 

The people you identified above don't work in a position that is, at its best, a matter of public service where people selflessly place their lives at risk in order to ensure the safety of others. Logging and iron work are dangerous jobs, sure. But those jobs aren't in the nature of public service.

 

There is something naturally attractive and inspiring about what cops, fire fighters, and soldiers do. The problem comes when the pendulum swings too far.

Edited October 25, 2017 by That Aud Smell

[Wyldnwoody44]

As a veteran and someone who works in public service, yeah I'm not 100% behind this whole thing..... It's more like an ambivalent Meh to me...... It sucks in general as I've met so many military/police and etc who are just straight up piles of feces and the integrity that comes with most public service jobs has diminished a lot.

 

Now, that is not to be generally applied to everyone (damn I'm getting cynical) but in my experience it just feels that way.

 

So yes, this was a rare case of something tragic, and I think that is the reason for the big gathering, but I also think a small gathering would have sufficed just as well.