Boycotting Red Sox until the release "Remdawg" (celebrities, children)

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by PlainWhite

Read the lengthy article in the Sunday Globe about the Remy case, and tell me that RemDawg didn't make a bad situation worse by enabling his scumbag son.

There are a lot of dots you need to connect to get from Jerry Remy not giving up on his son to the Red Sox needing to be boycotted because of the murder. Let's pump the brakes a bit.

As far as "enabling" goes, I'd agree as an objective observer that he should have distanced himself from his son quite a bit more. However, Jerry Remy is not an objective observer. Jared, as flawed as he is, is still Jerry's own flesh and blood. Judgement is clouded by love and hope all the time. How many parents of drug addicts still give their kids money when the kids ask because they hope the kid can still turn his/herself around? How many otherwise smart and level-headed friends or family members do you know personally that are or have been in a relationship with a complete waste of oxygen and you can't imagine what they see in them? And how many cases have we seen where someone is on trial for a horrific crime (murder or something almost equally as bad) and it seems everyone in the world except the parents could tell that the guilty person was capable of such evil? Jerry Remy definitely missed some warning signs and let his attachment to his son and hope for redemption get the best of him; but I doubt most parents wouldn't make the same mistakes. It certainly doesn't make the Red Sox responsible for this young woman's death.

As for the Red Sox, I imagine that if they had any concerns, their legal team likely urged them to take minimal action. As the article pointed out, Jared Remy spent a lot of time in front of a judge, but got off every time. We know he's a scumbag. The Sox know he's a scumbag. Deep down, his parents know he's a scumbag. However, it's not easy to fire someone unless you can point to a guilty verdict somewhere along the line. It's harder to fire someone whose father is one of the most visible members of the organization and has the deep pockets and visibility to make you pay (in more ways than one) for a wrongful termination.

It's easy (now that he's a murderer) to look back and get on your high horse say, "money be damned, the right thing to do would have been to fire him." Hindsight is 20/20. However, as much of a scumbag as Jared is, I doubt anyone thought he was a murderer.

If they did fire him, what evidence is there that he wouldn't kill anyway? If that's the case, then it would be the first time I've heard of a violent person losing their job and becoming less violent as a result.

That doesn't mean that Jerry Remy is off the hook. Even setting this stuff aside, I'm not the biggest fan of the guy. He comes off as crusty and from all first hand accounts I've heard (I am from the same area as he is, so there are many), he's not a particularly nice or friendly person. He's really not cut out to be a public figure. I think between his growing health concerns and the fact that they guy just appears to be burned out; he should retire.

I don't think he was a wonderful parent, but I don't think he should be punished for "enabling." There are plenty of parents who enable their children to do bad things to varying degrees. Some even murder. I don't think they should all be let go by their employers because their kids turned out bad. I don't like that Jared was a Sox employee for so long, but I also don't think we can say that the Sox are responsible (directly, indirectly, partially, or microscopically) for the death of Jennifer Martel.

If you need to blame someone aside from Jared Remy himself (and people loooove to point fingers), the legal system is probably a good place to start. You know, since he was let off about 20 times before he committed murder.

[cwaggy]

If they canned him he would not have met his future dead GF.

[tribechamy]

I dunno if I'd consider it actually boycotting per se, but I have to say I don't want to hear Jerry Remy's voice again because I don't think I could ever hear it without thinking of a young mother brutally stabbed to death.

In response to those talking about "individual responsibility" - it may be true that parents aren't always responsible for a child's behavior, but they are culpable if they allow the child to get away with the behavior. I don't know for sure what influence the Remys may or may not have had in all of the times that Jared seemed to get away scott-free, but the Remys did persuade Martel to drop the restraining order which could have saved her life.

[CaseyB]

There's an article in todays's Herald about the Jerry Remy situation:

Callahan: Red Sox job is Jerry Remy

[Beachcomber4]

Thanks for sharing Casey.

[western mass and love it]

All 3 of his kids have had issues with the law. Both of his sons have shown violence towards women and his daughter has had domestic issues.

What the hell happened behind closed doors when those kids were growing up. Kids don't just grow up and do this stuff, they learn it from some where.

[StanleyCupChamps2011]

All I know, is that Remys doesn't have many good relationships with anyone in this area (he grew up in the town on the side of me). Their reputation around here is not good to say the least.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by cwaggy

If they canned him he would not have met his future dead GF.

That's a pretty weak argument. For starters, how can you know that for sure? His father still worked for the organization and he'd always be on the periphery. He may even still associate with friends who continued to work for the team. There is absolutely no way you can say with any semblance of certainty that he wouldn't have met his "future dead gf" if the team let him go.

Second of all, the girlfriend part of that is important. He may have met her through his employment (though I doubt the Sox "set them up") with the team, but the Red Sox didn't force the two to start dating. I've met a few ex girlfriends through friends, work, family, etc. I don't blame those people for any relationship that went poorly. There's a long string of communication, dating, and eventually a relationship that the Red Sox had nothing to do with.

[relocate37]

I haven't been following the story closely, but maybe some of the judges involved could be removed from their posts, or even disbarred?

Yeah, sure...

[thenewtexan]

As horrific and tragic as the death of this woman was, we need to get real. The Red Sox will never be boycotted. Period.