SMH

[Bigred_inSD]

 

 

 

How many patriots in this thread rise from their couch to salute the flag?

 

Still haven't seen anyone answer this question and I'm dying to know.

I did last night while watching the game at my parents house. Put my hand over my heart and stood. Was really surprised that they aired the national anthem as they rarely show it.

 

I also fly the American flag in my front lawn everyday. Only take it down to replace it with a brand new one

You better have it lit up at night then

[Bowfin]

How many patriots in this thread rise from their couch to salute the flag?

 

Still haven't seen anyone answer this question and I'm dying to know

 

I sometimes read the morning paper in my underwear on the couch, but I don't do that at Memorial Stadium during the National Anthem. Different things are appropriate at different times and different places, so don't be intentionally obtuse and think it is being clever.

 

It's not that they refuse to stand for the national anthem, it is that they have to make a public display of themselves with their "Look at me!" moment. I put it into the same category as the guys who drop the football on the half yard line so they can start their end zone antics early, nothing more.

[NU5XChamps]

This argument is getting so old. As a Veteran that served 12 years in USAF, and as someone that has presented the flag because their loved one gave the ultimate sacrifice, everyone has the RIGHT to kneel, sit, ignore the playing of the national anthem. They are don't disrespecting my service or anyone else's. They are exercising the rights I severed to protect. The protest are supposed to spawn discussion about the oppression issue, not the kneeling or sitting issue.

 

I am a 40+ year old, white male. So I have no idea what it is like to grow up in this country black. What I can say is that I have never seen outright discrimination anywhere that I have lived. Subtile discrimination I have seen and I have seen it going both ways. It is not just a "white mans" crime.

[Bowfin]

Another post mentioned white privilege, if you don't believe it doesn't exist, I have one statement, look at the NFL,

 

68% of the players in the NFL are black. Don't confuse money privilege with white privilege. Did you every live in a seedy part of a big city as a white kid and see for what special white privileges that automatically qualifies you? I have, and I think you would find them disappointing.

[epocSoN]

Folks that have no nuance in their thinking see this and are offended for our troops. The identity of this country, the flag and our anthem extends far beyond our troops. True Patriots aren't afraid to express their dissatisfaction instead of blind loyalty. So whatever reason these players did this, it's well within their right, and it doesn't make them any less patriotic.

[Bigred_inSD]

Saw someone use the statement " I guess my white privilege didn't earn me a scholarship". Seriously?!?! Are people this dense?

[Bowfin]

True Patriots aren't afraid to express their dissatisfaction instead of blind loyalty

 

.

Let's keep this grounded in reality: True Patriots do a lot more than kneel at a football game because they saw somebody else do it. Expressing dissatisfaction in something isn't the same as ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM. Myself, I think this kneeling thing is blind, but let's see if it turns into something constructive outside of the stadium by those who are doing it. Kind of a "What else ya' got?" determination.

 

I myself have always said that there is more respect to be found for this country in picking up a bag of litter than flying the flag. I do both. These guys?...the verdict has yet to come back, since they have the rest of their lives to back up what they say and think...or not.

[Bowfin]

Seriously?!?! Are people this dense?

 

 

I guess I am.

 

Write me out a list of when and where I received all of these privileges. The only one I remember is a black bus driver rescuing me in South Chicago because I was walking the wrong way, so you can put that at #1, I guess.

[Undone]

So you admit that if that clown becomes president then we will lose one of the most important freedoms guaranteed by our constitution?

 

You are ok sending our soldiers into harms way for "freedom" but hate when people actually use it here at home?

 

I know frightened white man nationalism is at an all time high but this is more disgraceful than any protest. I hope more players start doing it.

Agreed, great post.

 

Come on now. We need the protection of free speech on university campuses right now really badly. This is not a big deal. It just isn't. All of you hardliners saying that this is such an outrage...you realize that you're being the "thought police" on this issue, right?

 

Zoogies, can we please move this to the Politics section?

[Moiraine]

 

Seriously?!?! Are people this dense?

 

I guess I am.

 

Write me out a list of when and where I received all of these privileges.

Do you get pulled over a lot less often because you're not Black? Is it easier for you to get a job because your name isn't Dwayne or Tyrone? Both of these things have been studied and the answer is yes for both. I could probably list 50 more things. People who think it doesn't exist are willfully obtuse.

[theknife]

 

How many patriots in this thread rise from their couch to salute the flag?

 

Still haven't seen anyone answer this question and I'm dying to know

 

I sometimes read the morning paper in my underwear on the couch, but I don't do that at Memorial Stadium during the National Anthem. Different things are appropriate at different times and different places, so don't be intentionally obtuse and think it is being clever.

 

It's not that they refuse to stand for the national anthem, it is that they have to make a public display of themselves with their "Look at me!" moment. I put it into the same category as the guys who drop the football on the half yard line so they can start their end zone antics early, nothing more.

 

 

I agree with you. What you do in your home vs. in a public setting is as vastly different as comparing reading the paper in your underwear in public to taking a silent knee during the national anthem. One of these is clearly a "look at me! moment" and the other is kneeling in solidarity to highlight racial inequality they perceive.

[Redman]

I personally do not think that these players are disrespecting the flag by their actions, but believe that they think that African Americans have been (and still are) being disrespected and maltreated within the country it is the symbol of. This is a complex and deep-rooted issue, and to not examine it as such will only add to the divisive nature of it. I think these kids love their country, but want to use the platform available to them (they think) to make it a better place. They are not out burning the flag or defacing it (which they have the right to do). They are not voicing hate or using separatist language. They simply had the courage to take a knee, even though they knew it most-likely would be met with scrutiny by the public, fans, and probably some teammates.

[In the Deed the Glory]

Listen, I am okay (EDIT: actually I should say I fully support it) with the kneeling. It is their right to protest in a civil manner however they see fit. I also wonder what that is going to accomplish? This would be to raise awareness, but the issue is front and center at this point.

 

There is a big problem in this country, and it really does not have to do with race. Racism at this point, is a terribly unfortunate side effect of economic policies in this country. It stems from the unbelievable disparity of wealth that has allowed the top 1% of wage earners to control 90% of the wealth in America. The cycle of poverty is the root of this. African Americans have long suffered from the oppression of the early 20th century. Legal racism (segregation) made sure they lost out on the prosperity of the Industrial Revolution and the great jobs that came out of that which allowed many Americans to climb out of poverty. Post-dust bowl America became prosperous because of the military-industrial complex that spurred manufacturing and then economy as a whole. Again, African Americans (actually all minorities) were excluded until the late 1960s. When generations of people are raised in a level of extreme poverty, eventually crime allows them to make ends meet. Thus, poverty brings crime and therefore more contact with police officers. Thereby making it more likely for "racism" to be engrained in the officers who are working these areas. I put racism in quotes because even though it seems to be mostly African Americans and is therefore racism, it wouldn't have mattered the color of skin of the people put in this position. In fact, all of this is about a different color entirely...

 

Green.

[Magnus]

When are black athletes going to learn from the "average American" how to behave during the National Anthem?

 

[Undone]

I agree with you. What you do in your home vs. in a public setting is as vastly different as comparing reading the paper in your underwear in public to taking a silent knee during the national anthem. One of these is clearly a "look at me! moment" and the other is kneeling in solidarity to highlight racial inequality they perceive.

Historically, and I could be mistaken...but historically, roughly 100% of protests have been made in public. It's kind of the nature of protests.