Barry, here's the problem. First, you can't separate the flag and the anthem from American values. If you disrespect the flag and the anthem, then you disrespect American values. People have a right to do that, but that doesn't give such disrespect merit and doesn't make it a good idea from a political standpoint. In fact, it's very stupid from a political standpoint, because it's polarizing. A massive number of people who might be sympathetic aren't even going to listen to somebody just because they disrespect the flag and/or the anthem. Second, the cigarette dealer, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, etc. aren't smart cases to bring up for someone who truly wants to deal with the racial disparities and injustices that occur in the criminal justice system. In fact, they are diversions. Other than the Rice case, they all involve someone being uncooperative with police. Once you have that element, 80 percent of the public is going to tune you out. Furthermore, when police actually do act inappropriately, there is a remedy - discipline, criminal prosecution, and civil liability. The real injustices (poor access to counsel and resources, jury attitudes, punishments rendered, etc.) are almost never discussed, because they're tough to fix. However, because they're almost never discussed, nobody even tries.
Having them do it on their free time is not really expecting that much, is it? Do all of the protesting you want. However, when you shove your protests in my face while I'm getting ready for a game I will not be happy about it. The only reason why you're okay with it is because a left wing viewpoint is being expressed. If it was a right wing viewpoint being expressed you'd be screaming bloody murder about it. I don't want either. Also, the fact that you're bringing race into this is disgusting.
Actually that's a good point too. I'd be a lot more sympathetic if they were protesting on their days off. But that would be inconvenient, I guess. And they wouldn't get as much attention, which is really what it's about. Not changing minds, but ticking people off. Just for the record, I really don't care what they do. I'm not what you would call a "flag-waver" in general, but I get why some people are, and I think it's pretty stupid and disrespectful to those people to deliberately poke them in the eye when there are so many other ways that could be chosen.
I'm so sorry to be the one who broke the news to you on racial differences in the response to the BLM movement.
those factors are almost exclusively the problem. The stats, as has been stated so many times here ... do NOT support the notion cops are racist and actually targeting young black males ... before they commit a crime. The stats do not show young black males are being slaughtered by cops. There have been some who presented a threat and the threat was stopped with lethal force ... but even those numbers are smaller than the percentage of crime that demographic is committing ... So if there's any inequity in the treatment of cops ... its that young black males are being given too much allowance ... but hey ... don't make the black kids angry (Collin Flaherty)
When an associate pastor in my church sported flashy earrings while serving communion ... I had an unpleasant emotional reaction. I felt it, thought about it, but said nothing because I realized the people with whom he was trying to connect ... weren't me. I think I can handle people to the left of me and people to the right of me expressing ideas I don't believe with methods I would never choose. Violence and obscenity are places where my indignation is unfettered.
that's not what the article says ... and actually, if the survey was done as the report states, it's actually problematic that 38% believe the players do not have the RIGHT to protest. This keeps getting the water muddy. They have the RIGHT, but LACK the RIGHTEOUSNESS. They are representing something other than themselves when they wear that uniform and step onto that field.
I don't think it's the inconvenience as much as it's the lack of an audience. Though the NFL's ratings have been dropping, it's still a pretty big enterprise with a lot of viewers. If Colin Käpernick decides to show up and protest on a Tuesday afternoon at the San Francisco County Courthouse, very few will notice, and even fewer will care. Doing it incident to a nationally broadcast football game gives him a massive audience and therefore a national platform and, of course, a mechanism by which he can promote and direct attention to himself.
Dude: The article says "The poll of 8,000 service members and veterans who are also members of the non-partisan Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America showed there's a variety of different thoughts about the protests in the military. The organization also conducted the poll." To me, an overwhelming majority of service members feel that they have the right and are OK with them exercising that right. The same ones that don't agree with the majority also disagree vehemently. There's only a 2% wiggle room in an 8,000 person population. And, I'd say that it is pretty fair to say that those in the general public who disagree do so with extreme prejudice. I just think it's funny that the people they're supposedly offending respect their rights and understand.
DUDE From the article: " new poll shows 62 percent of servicemembers and veterans think NFL players have the right to protest during a game," this suggests 38% think the players do not have the RIGHT. If this is correct, this is a pitiful state of affairs. So, I'm saying the poll was either misreported ... or poorly written. I challenge the notion over 1/3 of the respondents to this survey think they do not have the right ... by law.
I do concur that it appears to be poor writing. There is a difference in the "right" and supporting them doing it. That said, the Examiner is a conservative thing out of DC to counter balance the Post.
well, they need better editing/control over the story. If they meant to say "support the protest" ... fine ... that only means they fail to see how kneeling for the Anthem disrespects the values upon which the Nation was founded. Perhaps it's akin to the guy who flies his Flag inverted ... except ... he's representing himself and not something else.
Maybe if he did it, but I guarantee that if Odel Beckham told people he was going to be in Central Park protesting police violence on Tuesday, it would be a scene.
Like I said, "for whatever reason." I don't care WHY they didn't pony up a nothing bond or why she didn't have resources to post $500. Bottom line is that law enforcement did not kill Bland. Bland killed Bland. Period.
No, they are a bunch of cowards. If they had intellectual honesty, they would stay in the tunnel during the anthem (not participate in the fraud). But no, they have to (ab)use a platform not of their making to make their point. f**k'em.
but they don't actually see a 'poop ton' of deaths. They saw several deaths trumpeted louder, broader and with more fervor and repetition than they have ever seen. It's not an actual poop-ton increase in deaths it is a PERCIEVED poop-ton of deaths that has people stirred up. Racial and gender equality has never been better than it is now. There has never been so much effort to try to make things better for both race and gender groups. the problem is that someone always tries to grab the nearest thing to blame for their situation. If you come from a historically trodden group the easiest thing is to blame your failure on what happened before. Is there room to grow, yes. But these groups want to pretend that their anecdotal evidence is actual evidence of systemic failure and that is just a lie. Are there corrupt officers, maybe even corrupt stations but it is not the norm.
Their understanding of the right to Free Speech is very likely superficial. They are only parroting a rudimentary response to "do they have a right to peacefully protest". Like most Americans (unfortunately) they don't even understand the 1st Amendment. I'm one of them and I can tell you that many of my fellow veterans barely made it out of high school. It doesn't make them bad people but their knowledge of the constitution is likely somewhat lacking. they have the "right" to not be arrested/imprisoned for their protest. They don't have the "right" to remain employed if their employer says "don't do it". Since the NFL hasn't said don't do it, there are no repercussions other than people like me saying "F" the nfl. So, they can continue to protest, continue to lose viewership and continue to lose money. That's their right. If/When the NFL and/or team owners say 'no more' then the players will have to make a choice. Do I continue to exercise my right and get fired, or do I shut the heck up?
The COUNTY settled because it made fiscal sense...they did not want to risk a jury that only saw color instead of facts and the law. There was no admission of guilt. And the DPS portion was next to nothing, which again comes back to law enforcement did not kill Bland. If someone wants to off themselves over a nothing bond because they got stupid at the side of the road and, once no longer stoned from chewing pot, realized they had pissed a job away, more power to them...I just feel sorry for the poor schmucks on duty that have to cart the corpse out of the cell. And, in this case, I feel sorry for the citizens of Waller County that get saddled with the increase in tax over a bullsh*t settlement over a suit brought by the family that clearly didn't give a damn about Bland until there was money to be made...
Equating potential liability in a suicide (i.e. should they have been checking up on her more regularly) with some admission that the police killed her is idiotic. Frankly, the fact that there was a suit at all tells me that the people didn't believe she was murdered.
Rose McGowan has, so far, deftly positioned herself as a sympathetic victim in this ugly Weinstein story. She even won a brief war with Twitter, earning herself even more sympathy. But now she may have bitten off more than she can chew -- going after Jeff Bezos. I think Dems/progressives/liberals and all other forms of socialists will draw the line here. They will not turn on the next and future king of the world, no matter what he may have down. He literally has too much money for them to risk it. She managed to find the one untouchable white male hetero liberal in this story.
Do you folks look at Harvey Weinstein and see "extreme masculinity"? Any masculinity? Other than he a Bill-Clinton-style-horndog? Hollywood nitwits are trying to screw this up even worse
Who stated the "system is designed to kill black people"? I'd agree with Crockett, we need to listen and have a dialogue but so far many are simply saying "sit down and shut up" by criticizing every method of protest.
So ... do we want to protest or have a dialogue. And ... the reaction ("criticism" as you say) is pretty much limited to ... don't rape/pillage/assault/burn/destroy/disrespect the symbols of our nation. There was a guy once who had a much bigger hill to climb with regard to equal rights/opportunity than the current generation of exasperateds ... he spoke against such actions because those actions get you attention, not the attention you need.
The players kneeling have clearly been saying all along they want a dialogue. Some players like Doug Baldwin and Kaepernick HAVE been involved in dialogue. The latter has donated significant sums of money to support his cause, not including sacrificing a roster spot presently. I'll repeat, Nate Boyer didn't think Kaepernick was "rape/pillage/assault/burn/destroy/disprespect[ing] the symbols of our nation" by kneeling.
