Can someone explain why kneeling during the National Anthem is disrespectful to the troops?

[MomentsofSanity]

Fire chief directs racial slur at Steelers coach over anthem protest

More deplorable behavior from "both sides"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-c...in-anthem-protest/?ftag=YHF4eb9d17&yptr=yahoo

Now this free speech they will defend because - reasons.

 

[soulcougher73]

Wonder if my job would mind if I made a political protest while I was at work?

This shit is ruining sports. All I want to do when I watch football is watch football.

I dont know. Ask your bosses. The Owners and Commish have given their blessing to protest. Well outside Jones. I really wish they all protested so hed have to fire the whole team lol

 

[MomentsofSanity]

I dont know. Ask your bosses. The Owners and Commish have given their blessing to protest. Well outside Jones. I really wish they all protested so hed have to fire the whole team lol

The stories about Jones threatening to fire kneeling players was fake from the beginning if that's what you are referring to. Hell he came out and took a knee with his entire team before last nights game.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I don't recall an offense called driving while Asian. Discrimination by the state in in a different league.

Motherfucker you have no idea about my experiences. I'm tired of the life is so hard bullshit. I had a hard life. You don't hear me moaning and bitching about it.

As far as the cops thing. I had plenty of harassment from police. I've had my legs kicked apart while in handcuffs leaning against a squad car. Had a prison guard push my head against a brick wall while I was facing it. Had a group of cops wrestle me to the ground and twist my arm in a pretzel while his buddies had their guns on my skull. All of these events happened when I was not resisting. I said some smart ass comments but no resistance. Having said that I have not been in trouble since I was 18. Guess what? The abuse by the cops stopped. Youd be surprised the different response you get with yes sir no sir vs fuck you pig. I want my cops mean and feared. That's what keeps criminals from breaking into our houses and gang raping our wives.

 

[zinfamous]

I've been discriminated against my whole life. Fat kid, half asian, bad acne that was abused by both parents. I couldn't even talk to people until I became an adult. I went to a severely racist all white school. Point is fuck the excuses. At some point you get the fuck over it and make the best with what you have.

do the cops stop you and beat you for suspecting you as being a criminal, because you're asian?

edit: late on the draw, I guess.

 

[bshole]

The stories about Jones threatening to fire kneeling players was fake from the beginning if that's what you are referring to. Hell he came out and took a knee with his entire team before last nights game.

What a farce, does anybody really believe that any of these white billionaire owners give a tinkers damn about black problems? Jerry was just trying to keep the help happy without pissing off the fans.

 

[HomerJS]

Motherfucker you have no idea about my experiences. I'm tired of the life is so hard bullshit. I had a hard life. You don't hear me moaning and bitching about it.

As far as the cops thing. I had plenty of harassment from police. I've had my legs kicked apart while in handcuffs leaning against a squad car. Had a prison guard push my head against a brick wall while I was facing it. Had a group of cops wrestle me to the ground and twist my arm in a pretzel while his buddies had their guns on my skull. All of these events happened when I was not resisting. I said some smart ass comments but no resistance. Having said that I have not been in trouble since I was 18. Guess what? The abuse by the cops stopped. Youd be surprised the different response you get with yes sir no sir vs fuck you pig. I want my cops mean and feared. That's what keeps criminals from breaking into our houses and gang raping our wives.

Anyone single person can have a bad experience with police but there isn't a problem with Asians as a whole. Statistics back that up

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Anyone single person can have a bad experience with police but there isn't a problem with Asians as a whole. Statistics back that up

Let's be honest here. Yes blacks are more likely the targets of cop harassment. Statistics also say they commit a disproportionate amount of crime. I truly feel bad for the ones that are law abiding and are harassed anyways. Having said that it is a problem caused by bad policing and partially because of the actions of the bad apples that are black. It's not a one sided issue as many want to believe.

 

[Snarf Snarf]

I've been discriminated against my whole life. Fat kid, half asian, bad acne that was abused by both parents. I couldn't even talk to people until I became an adult. I went to a severely racist all white school. Point is fuck the excuses. At some point you get the fuck over it and make the best with what you have.

Would you tell your children to get over it? Do you not support the actions being taken by those on the wrong end of this harassment to create a dialogue and address this issue so your children don't have to encounter the same hardship you did?

That's what this is about, creating a dialogue and making sure that we don't allow members of the government to shrink from the task at hand. Police violence is an issue, it happens often to people of all colors and it's a problem, a problem that some people are not okay with being put on the back burner. Protests increase awareness and allow the public to express to those in charge that we haven't forgotten and we will hold you accountable. Alone the protests are worthless, they have to be followed by definitive action directed towards local and state governments requesting that police get retrained to de-escalate and not shoot first.

On a different level, it's not okay for the POTUS to twitter blast and call people exercising their first amendment rights sons of bitches. There's no sidestepping that fact, you can't say that "there's some fine people" among a group of neo nazi's and then call a group of black men peacefully protesting sons of bitches. He will not back track on this, he won't come out and say "but there are fine men among those protesting" he can say it's about respect for America all he wants, but he shouldn't be given a pass on this non-partisan issue.

 

[desy]

No wonder you have so many likes Snarf

 

[Commodus]

Let's be honest here. Yes blacks are more likely the targets of cop harassment. Statistics also say they commit a disproportionate amount of crime. I truly feel bad for the ones that are law abiding and are harassed anyways. Having said that it is a problem caused by bad policing and partially because of the actions of the bad apples that are black. It's not a one sided issue as many want to believe.

It's not one-sided, but here's the problem: both issues are ultimately caused by institutional white behavior.

The increased amount of crime in black neighborhoods is ultimately caused by the long-term repercussions of racist policies (such as redlining and the war on drugs) and neglect from politicians who are more interested in courting suburbanites and the wealthy. You want more 'proportionate' crime levels? Don't just tell them to stop committing crimes, or pretend that cutting social programs will help. Actually support programs that help impoverished neighborhoods, like stronger public education funding and career opportunity initiatives.

And when you say you feel bad for law-abiding black people who are harassed anyway, that's good, but understand this: it happens a lot. It's the police officer who pulls you over because your car is "too nice" for your skin color. It's the stop-and-frisk policies that conveniently only lead to black people being searched. It's the store staff who follow you around because they think you might shoplift. And of course, there's the excessive force that has prompted BLM protests.

Imagine dealing with the one-two combo of institutions that not only foster crime, but deliver harsh punishment for it whether or not you're actually responsible. That's what many black people go through today.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Would you tell your children to get over it? Do you not support the actions being taken by those on the wrong end of this harassment to create a dialogue and address this issue so your children don't have to encounter the same hardship you did?

That's what this is about, creating a dialogue and making sure that we don't allow members of the government to shrink from the task at hand. Police violence is an issue, it happens often to people of all colors and it's a problem, a problem that some people are not okay with being put on the back burner. Protests increase awareness and allow the public to express to those in charge that we haven't forgotten and we will hold you accountable. Alone the protests are worthless, they have to be followed by definitive action directed towards local and state governments requesting that police get retrained to de-escalate and not shoot first.

On a different level, it's not okay for the POTUS to twitter blast and call people exercising their first amendment rights sons of bitches. There's no sidestepping that fact, you can't say that "there's some fine people" among a group of neo nazi's and then call a group of black men peacefully protesting sons of bitches. He will not back track on this, he won't come out and say "but there are fine men among those protesting" he can say it's about respect for America all he wants, but he shouldn't be given a pass on this non-partisan issue.

As always well said, but dialogue is also about mutual empathy. There are undeniable, statistically backed grievances related to police violence. However, we are not a police state. Protests raise awareness, but it is difficult to empathize with protests that escalate to violence or looting. It is difficult to empathize when militant rhetoric leads to the assasination of police officers. Liberals like to talk about privilege. It is difficult to empathize with professional athletes who, regardless of race, occupy one of the highest tiers of privilege in this country.

Is there work to be done? There is tremendous work to be done, and having a POTUS acting so divisively is causing everyone to lose empathy.

 

[MrPickins]

Liberals like to talk about privilege. It is difficult to empathize with professional athletes who, regardless of race, occupy one of the highest tiers of privilege in this country.

Then you fail to understand that they are speaking out on behalf of those people that don't have the privilege of an audience.

 

[Genx87]

This song runs so deep to our roots it took until 1931 for it to become out national anthem. Just a couple years before another national tradition that goes way back, Thanksgiving was made a national holiday.

It is so amusing how for over half of the life of this country we didnt need a national anthem. Yet today if we dont stand the republic is teetering due to the lack of patriotism.

 

[Victorian Gray]

The guy came out of the tunnel to stand there in full public view to salute the flag and did it direct contradiction of what he agreed with his teammates to do. 1.) Why couldn't he salute the flag in the tunnel? Is there some stipulation that when you salute the flag everyone has to see? 2.) And what kind of asshole would do that when the TEAM has decided already to stay in the tunnel. I think this statement is self serving as he looks like an asshole and fuxed other people on his team; those who would have preferred to been out of the tunnel saluting the flag as well.

Maybe it's a bit more complicated:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...or-national-anthem-insists-it-was-an-accident

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Oh deary me have I struck a nerve? As a veteran of the armed forces I do have a different sense of patriotic duty than someone who hasn't served. I see this public display as nothing more than a publicity stunt: one for which I have no respect.

And as a veteran of the armed forces, I see this as a display of freedom, and people standing behind their principles, even in the face of public denigration and mob mentality. More power to them.

 

[Snarf Snarf]

As always well said, but dialogue is also about mutual empathy. There are undeniable, statistically backed grievances related to police violence. However, we are not a police state. Protests raise awareness, but it is difficult to empathize with protests that escalate to violence or looting. It is difficult to empathize when militant rhetoric leads to the assasination of police officers. Liberals like to talk about privilege. It is difficult to empathize with professional athletes who, regardless of race, occupy one of the highest tiers of privilege in this country.

Is there work to be done? There is tremendous work to be done, and having a POTUS acting so divisively is causing everyone to lose empathy.

Depending on what part of the country you're in, some POC would disagree with the police state thing. I'm lucky enough to not have to deal with that where I am. Despite the level of fame and income these men have achieved, it's important to remember a lot of them come from these areas I mentioned. They have incredible reach, and a very powerful global platform to utilize to initiate conversations about different topics. They don't need empathy from others, they are using their reach and platform to give a voice to a group of people who they feel are getting ignored.

What I would love to see is all these big name players who are protesting get on their Instagram/Twitter/Facebook official accounts and provide phone numbers, emails, and petitions to their respective state governors and state legislatures to start putting the fire under them. If you're going to get political then don't just dip your toe in so you can avoid being looked down on by your peers, dive in and really make a splash.

 

[UNCjigga]

Agreed, no need for the players to stand then...

It's not like they're even protesting while the clock is running. Challenge flags, booth reviews, scoring reviews--these are the things we can debate whether or not they ruin football. Not something that 1/5th of a stadium or 3/4 of a home audience will never witness because they had to piss or were too busy dressing a hot dog.

 

[zinfamous]

Then you fail to understand that they are speaking out on behalf of those people that don't have the privilege of an audience.

exactly. I think this is a common issue where conservatives just don't understand the ways in which people act, the ways in which they interpret people making a public display of unity; a cause. For conservatives, something can only be done, should only ever be done, if there is personal gain. Charity is fine and all, but what am I getting back?

These athletes deserve scorn because I can only assume that they are talking about themselves and the abuses they have suffered. It can't possibly because they are using their celebrity to raise awareness for people that are actually not themselves. This has nothing to do with the fact that the majority of these people are black--I am certainly not going out of my way to invent reasons to scorn these people in their peaceful protest about some sort of selfish complaint that they have (Just don't tell me those Nazis should shut up! They deserve to be heard and passively watched as they violently torch our cities!)

etc etc.

It's just strange, for a large group of people that overwhelmingly try to identify themselves with a guy like Jesus, they seem to have a mental block against relating to and standing up for people that are not themselves when they see injustice. They sure do like to make demands on how those people should properly act, too.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

exactly. I think this is a common issue where conservatives just don't understand the ways in which people act, the ways in which they interpret people making a public display of unity; a cause. For conservatives, something can only be done, should only ever be done, if there is personal gain. Charity is fine and all, but what am I getting back?

I don't even think it's this. I think it's purely reactionary, if something is deemed to be coming from 'a liberal', no matter the content or context, it will be disregarded and/or publicly trotted out/made a meme out of it. We have people attempting to stand up for those without a voice, and are actively being bashed. That's about as hardcore 'protector of the innocent'/superhero/american idealist/Christiany/Jesusy as you can get.

 

[hal2kilo]

As always well said, but dialogue is also about mutual empathy. There are undeniable, statistically backed grievances related to police violence. However, we are not a police state. Protests raise awareness, but it is difficult to empathize with protests that escalate to violence or looting. It is difficult to empathize when militant rhetoric leads to the assasination of police officers. Liberals like to talk about privilege. It is difficult to empathize with professional athletes who, regardless of race, occupy one of the highest tiers of privilege in this country.

Is there work to be done? There is tremendous work to be done, and having a POTUS acting so divisively is causing everyone to lose empathy.

I bet they still get pulled over for no reason other than being black and having the audacity to drive an expensive automobile way more times than a white person would.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Depending on what part of the country you're in, some POC would disagree with the police state thing. I'm lucky enough to not have to deal with that where I am. Despite the level of fame and income these men have achieved, it's important to remember a lot of them come from these areas I mentioned. They have incredible reach, and a very powerful global platform to utilize to initiate conversations about different topics. They don't need empathy from others, they are using their reach and platform to give a voice to a group of people who they feel are getting ignored.

What I would love to see is all these big name players who are protesting get on their Instagram/Twitter/Facebook official accounts and provide phone numbers, emails, and petitions to their respective state governors and state legislatures to start putting the fire under them. If you're going to get political then don't just dip your toe in so you can avoid being looked down on by your peers, dive in and really make a splash.

Then we are on the same page. I don't think its a problem of not enough voices. There were plenty of voices and a very vibrant national discussion on police violence well before anyone started taking knees at football games. If anything, on this particular topic, there are perhaps too many voices and no coherent strategy or leadership to guide them.

What you advocate is true activism or a sense of service to society. Ask not what your country can do for you and all that stuff. Taking knees, twitter, social media...this is all lazy activism.

 

[snarfbot]

they are compelled to kneel whether they agree with the reasons or not, if they refused to kneel they would be painted as a racist on the news and the internet.

 

[snarfbot]

What you advocate is true activism or a sense of service to society. Ask not what your country can do for you and all that stuff. Taking knees, twitter, social media...this is all lazy activism.

somethink akin to this old gem:

 

[soulcougher73]

And as a veteran of the armed forces, I see this as a display of freedom, and people standing behind their principles, even in the face of public denigration and mob mentality. More power to them.

Also as a veteran this is how is see it as well. But then again i dont have much respect for this country anymore. Grew up and learned a lot from my young dumb years lol