Trump blasts NFL anthem protesters

[+Liquid Gardens]

5 minutes ago, Aquila King said:

Rather than forcing people to honor America, why not do something to earn their honor in the first place?

I think there's plenty of things to honor about America, and lots of things to not.  One thing that people in other countries used to admire about us is that people are free to protest without other people losing their marbles in response to it.

[Lilly]

2 hours ago, Liquid Gardens said:

They aren't 'disrespecting' anyone or anything, least of all this country.   On what planet is it disrespectful to protest inequality, disrespectful to whom exactly?  The people who champion inequality?  Good.

 

 Not standing for the National Anthem is obviously an act of disrespect, and it is an act that one can most certainly choose to take, but only on their own time. When one is playing professional football one is being employed by the NFL and they are at work. When you are at work you are representing your employer and should act accordingly.

As for all of this "inequality, do African American football players make less money than their White and Hispanic counter parts? I think not. I also think that all this "inequality" is something that a person being paid tens of millions of dollars really needs to think long and hard about. Living in a country that has allowed them to be able to achieve such a level of success seems to me to be something they (everyone) should be grateful for.

[Odin11]

41 minutes ago, Lilly said:

 Not standing for the National Anthem is obviously an act of disrespect, and it is an act that one can most certainly choose to take, but only on their own time. When one is playing professional football one is being employed by the NFL and they are at work. When you are at work you are representing your employer and should act accordingly.

As for all of this "inequality, do African American football players make less money than their White and Hispanic counter parts? I think not. I also think that all this "inequality" is something that a person being paid tens of millions of dollars really needs to think long and hard about. Living in a country that has allowed them to be able to achieve such a level of success seems to me to be something they (everyone) should be grateful for.

Right because what happens in the lives of about 1,000 black men completely negates what happens in the lives of the other 42 million.

I want to know the answer to LG's question:  At exactly what income level do people lose their right to protest or speak?

You really need to get out of that bubble you live in.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Odin11

[F3SS]

1 minute ago, Odin11 said:

Right because what happens in the lives of about 1,000 black men completely negates what happens in the lives of the other 42 million.

You really need to get out of that bubble you live in.

Just as the acts of a few thousand white men who settled this country a few hundred years ago and the acts of a few cops completely negates all the decency and good that hundreds of millions of people afterwards have contributed. Right?

[+Liquid Gardens]

31 minutes ago, Lilly said:

 Not standing for the National Anthem is obviously an act of disrespect, and it is an act that one can most certainly choose to take, but only on their own time. When one is playing professional football one is being employed by the NFL and they are at work. When you are at work you are representing your employer and should act accordingly.

It's not 'obvious' to me that it's 'disrespect'; it's just as disrespectful to ignore what they are specifically protesting and misconstrue it (not that you have).  Since the NFL hasn't banned this, I assume everything's okay then since it seems like you're arguing it's up to them as their employer.

Quote

As for all of this "inequality, do African American football players make less money than their White and Hispanic counter parts?

Why is that relevant, you don't really think the inequality they are protesting is related to their paycheck do you?  Recognizing that in some ways people are equal doesn't erase inequalities.

35 minutes ago, Lilly said:

I also think that all this "inequality" is something that a person being paid tens of millions of dollars really needs to think long and hard about. Living in a country that has allowed them to be able to achieve such a level of success seems to me to be something they (everyone) should be grateful for.

Did they say they weren't grateful?  It is of course entirely possible to love this country and be grateful for what you have and simultaneously stand against how people are treated unequally.  People do it all the time. 

Am I allowed to agitate against poverty even though I'm not poor?  I really don't understand this line of argument that keeps referencing the personal financial situation of millionaire protesters (some of whom have already put their money where there mouth is with donations); being concerned about people who have more difficult lives than you is typically referred to as 'compassion'.  "But what about propriety!" seems like a pretty thin objection relative to what they are protesting.

[toast]

36 minutes ago, Lilly said:

 Not standing for the National Anthem is obviously an act of disrespect, and it is an act that one can most certainly choose to take, but only on their own time.

The action was not done due to disrespect, the action was done as a protest against oppression of black people, which is a disrespect against humans and this has much more weight than an anthem. The protesters arent anti-America, on the contrary, they protest because they feel that very American values are getting violated.

 

[.ZZ.]

6 minutes ago, toast said:

The action was not done due to disrespect, the action was done as a protest against oppression of black people, which is a disrespect against humans and this has much more weight than an anthem. The protesters arent anti-America, on the contrary, they protest because they feel that very American values are getting violated.

 

Please give us some examples of "oppression of black people".

[Lilly]

I still say you should all go out and do exactly what I've suggested. Go into your place of work and find a means of social political protest that serves to upset many of your co-workers and those the business serves. Then see what your employer does. 

[toast]

1 hour ago, Lilly said:

When one is playing professional football one is being employed by the NFL and they are at work. When you are at work you are representing your employer and should act accordingly.

#45 is "employed" by the USA and payed by tax money obtained by its citizens and he has no right to call citizens "SOBs".

[Gromdor]

2 minutes ago, toast said:

#45 is "employed" by the USA and payed by tax money obtained by its citizens and he has no right to call citizens "SOBs".

Yes he does, it's the same right the NFL'ers have.

[F3SS]

He's elected and sure as heck not by one of those SOBs.

Edited September 23, 2017 by F3SS

[Agent0range]

10 hours ago, Lilly said:

 Not standing for the National Anthem is obviously an act of disrespect, and it is an act that one can most certainly choose to take, but only on their own time. When one is playing professional football one is being employed by the NFL and they are at work. When you are at work you are representing your employer and should act accordingly.

As for all of this "inequality, do African American football players make less money than their White and Hispanic counter parts? I think not. I also think that all this "inequality" is something that a person being paid tens of millions of dollars really needs to think long and hard about. Living in a country that has allowed them to be able to achieve such a level of success seems to me to be something they (everyone) should be grateful for.

Why does everyone keep bringing up the amount of money they make?  What does that have to do with anything?  Isn't it refreshing that someone who makes that amount of money actually cares?  Look up how much money the people actually taking a stand donate.  Kaepernick is unemployed, yet donates more than most of us will make in a lifetime.  They aren't protesting their pay, as opposed to their white counterparts.  So, that is a stupid point to even bring up.

Another thing...protesting the anthem is an act of disrespect to whom?  I don't feel disrespected.  I don't feel like my brothers that died fighting along side of me are being disrespected by someone not standing for some old song.  The only people who seem to feel slighted are the ones who have no reason to feel slighted. 

Edited September 24, 2017 by Saru
Removed inflammatory remark

[Agent0range]

10 minutes ago, Lilly said:

I still say you should all go out and do exactly what I've suggested. Go into your place of work and find a means of social political protest that serves to upset many of your co-workers and those the business serves. Then see what your employer does. 

And it is NOT the Presidents place to tell the employer what to do.  You are completely missing the point of this entirely.

[toast]

24 minutes ago, .ZZ. said:

Please give us some examples of "oppression of black people".

Why should I?

[Paranormal Panther]

My elderly relatives remember the days of Jim Crow, so I get the protesting at the *1968* Olympics. The bad old days make me grateful and thankful to live in the here and the now, but the present ingratitude of people, with much better lives than their elders could dream of having, is sad. They don't have the dignity of their grandparents who had *much* worse lives as they dealt with *real* institutional *racism*. This generation seems like spoiled brats in comparison to the one that was represented by civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks, so cry me a river, whiners.

[Gromdor]

11 minutes ago, Agent0range said:

Why does everyone keep bringing up the amount of money they make?  What does that have to do with anything?  Isn't it refreshing that someone who makes that amount of money actually cares?  Look up how much money the people actually taking a stand donate.  Kaepernick is unemployed, yet donates more than most of us will make in a lifetime.  They aren't protesting their pay, as opposed to their white counterparts.  So, that is a stupid point to even bring up.

Another thing...protesting the anthem is an act of disrespect to whom?  I don't feel disrespected.  I don't feel like my brothers that died fighting along side of me are being disrespected by someone not standing for some old song.  The only people who seem to feel slighted are the ones who have no reason to feel slighted.  What have you done for your country, Lilly, and why do you feel slighted by their peaceful protest?

I've talked with a few people that felt that the success and money that wealthy blacks acquired invalidated their claims of systematic racism.  So they tended to bring up their wealth in discussions as proof that the system isn't working against them and that their claims are baseless.   

[GlitterRose]

Same people see a Nazi spout off and they're like...free speech! Freedom of expression! Freedom, freedom, freedom!

Oh wait, some guy didn't stand for the flag? What??? Something should be done about that guy. 

[GlitterRose]

Ultimately, this non-issue and many more like it are being used to effectively drive wedges between people who would ordinarily get along just fine. 

[GlitterRose]

And it always amuses me when the religious are this gung-ho about idolizing the flag. Sure, you want to stand for the ideals that it's supposed to represent. But no one should be legislating the worship of a piece of fabric. Your Kingdom is not supposed to be Earthly.

[Will Due]

Yup. Turn off CNN and FOX, and go watch some F-Troop reruns.

 

 

[GlitterRose]

And turn off football, too. It's killing people for entertainment purposes.

[Odin11]

10 minutes ago, ChaosRose said:

Same people see a Nazi spout off and they're like...free speech! Freedom of expression! Freedom, freedom, freedom!

Oh wait, some guy didn't stand for the flag? What??? Something should be done about that guy. 

If only there was some indication that can help tell us which group of people that they'll allow to protest, maybe some color code.

[GlitterRose]

Just now, Odin11 said:

If only there was some indication that can help tell us which group of people that they'll allow to protest, maybe some color code.

LOL. 

I dunno...it's a cluster**** by design. 

Everybody all at each other's throats, and meanwhile, folks at the top are making off with all the loot. 

[Will Due]

What's funny about Kaepernick is that he went from the Super Bowl near champs to absolute loser in what, the span of two years?

Nah, getting on his knees didn't have anything to do with his team having the life sucked out of it (and now all of American Pro sports apparently).

Good job political activist athletes!

Next time, retire from the game before you enter the cesspool of mindless political grandstanding for some useless purpose except to draw attention to yourself for about absolutely nothing.

 

 

[GlitterRose]

1 minute ago, Will Due said:

What's funny about Kaepernick is that he went from the Super Bowl near champs to absolute loser in what, the span of two years?

Nah, getting on his knees didn't have anything to do with his team having the life sucked out of it (and now all of American Pro sports apparently).

Good job political activist athletes!

Next time, retire from the game before you enter the cesspool of mindless political grandstanding for some useless purpose except to draw attention to yourself for about absolutely nothing.

 

 

It's time to retire the whole game. It's literally killing people. 

I'd like to think we've evolved past the Coliseum days.