Delete This Account Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 No. My point is that in the middle of the game I think politics should stay out of it. The same way I think, for example, even if I totally agree with what some of the actors and actresses are saying in their Oscar speeches, I thInk that is not the right place for it and they should shut the hell up and leave politics out of that night. too often, athletes stick with what's safe without crossing the bounds of fantasy potential. too bad that this isn't peyton manning or tiger woods for that matter. it would resonate far more. too often the "stars" stay to the script of not rocking the boat. and less often do those in the public sphere speak out today as opposed to the rebellious 60s. this disregard for saying what one feels or believes in is partially what's got us to this safe and ignorant place, where whatever the punce Hannity says is considered to be "factual" by some. that someone, anyone for that matter, is rocking the boat is welcome because otherwise all that's acceptable is that racism is but a mere myth and coldplay is rock and roll. jw
26CornerBlitz Posted August 28, 2016 Author Posted August 28, 2016 My only point is that our flag and our precepts allow us to express ourselves and evolve. I think we've done that and will continue (and need to) to do so. Colin or anyone else) who disparages the flag misses the point IMO. Did he really disparage or desecrate the flag by refusing to stand up for the anthem? It's not as if he burned the flag or crapped on the anthem like Rosie O'Donnell did several years back.
Delete This Account Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 Carlos and Smith's protest was ICONIC. No athlete had done anything like this. No American outside of the country had done this on such a stage. What Kaep did has been done in many ways by many athletes i the past few WEEKS. He couldn't even articulate what he was protesting. please. Kaepernick is not the first to sit down for the national anthem since then. that he's the latest is notable in this time when race is relevant. that other athletes have supported CK with his stance should not be ignored. perhaps, others should follow. jw
GG Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) so, because you think he stinks as a qb means he has no right to expressing his right to free speech. it just doesn't work that way. jw Again, fee people are arguing that he doesn't have the right to free speech. It's just a bit disingenuous to blame an entire country for suppressing a whole race, when you are an example of a person from that race that's been far from repressed. Edited August 28, 2016 by GG
Mr. WEO Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 too often, athletes stick with what's safe without crossing the bounds of fantasy potential. too bad that this isn't peyton manning or tiger woods for that matter. it would resonate far more. too often the "stars" stay to the script of not rocking the boat. and less often do those in the public sphere speak out today as opposed to the rebellious 60s. this disregard for saying what one feels or believes in is partially what's got us to this safe and ignorant place, where whatever the punce Hannity says is considered to be "factual" by some. that someone, anyone for that matter, is rocking the boat is welcome because otherwise all that's acceptable is that racism is but a mere myth and coldplay is rock and roll. jw Say what?? So if guys like Kaepernik don't "rock the boat", the rest of us wouldn't be able to discern whether racism in various forms and in various institutions still exists? Utter media nonsense. No one outside of the press believes this.
dave mcbride Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 too often, athletes stick with what's safe without crossing the bounds of fantasy potential. too bad that this isn't peyton manning or tiger woods for that matter. it would resonate far more. too often the "stars" stay to the script of not rocking the boat. and less often do those in the public sphere speak out today as opposed to the rebellious 60s. this disregard for saying what one feels or believes in is partially what's got us to this safe and ignorant place, where whatever the punce Hannity says is considered to be "factual" by some. that someone, anyone for that matter, is rocking the boat is welcome because otherwise all that's acceptable is that racism is but a mere myth and coldplay is rock and roll. jw Payton is pretty conservative (judging from his on-record political donations), so I think it's unfair to exepct this sort of gesture from him.
jimmy10 Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 coldplay is rock and roll. jw Gah! Don't even get me started!
Kelly the Dog Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 See the nyt article i posted above about the distortions of blm. I actually read it right away and commented on it and thought I posted thanks, and what a good article it was, but I don't see it. But yes, thanks for that, and I am aware that the BLM movement does some good things. A bunch. I don't think they go about it in the right way though as far as the media goes, and they often allow the movement to appear to be something other than it is.
Delete This Account Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 Again, fee people are arguing that he doesn't have the right to free speech. It's just a bit disingenuous to blame an entire country for suppressing a whole race, when you are an example of a person from that race that's been far from repressed. i'm on record as saying i'm one of the fortunate ones. i won the lottery being a white male. i can't and won't apologize for that. but i can also appreciate that i'm where i am in part because i of pure dna. jw
dave mcbride Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 (edited) Again, fee people are arguing that he doesn't have the right to free speech. It's just a bit disingenuous to blame an entire country for suppressing a whole race, when you are an example of a person from that race that's been far from repressed. To be fair, none of us have any idea of what drives his views, and what his early experiences in life were like. He struck it rich because he was good at football and had a strong arm (averaging 91 mph at Nevada as a pitcher). Success in sports doesn't wipe all of his other life experiences off the table. Flipside: he's likely a dumb jock, which shouldn't be discounted. Edited August 28, 2016 by dave mcbride
Delete This Account Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 Say what?? So if guys like Kaepernik don't "rock the boat", the rest of us wouldn't be able to discern whether racism in various forms and in various institutions still exists? Utter media nonsense. No one outside of the press believes this. right. the elephant in the room in this nation has been racism and something it's failed to resolve. so you're right. one athlete exercising his right to free speech shouldn't matter. and yet. ... jw
Chilly Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 I too used to think that was cool. Then I found out that teams were paid for those promotions. Damn really? That's pretty lame.
26CornerBlitz Posted August 28, 2016 Author Posted August 28, 2016 Damn really? That's pretty lame. The NFL returned the $ to the government after a public backlash.
Kelly the Dog Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 too often, athletes stick with what's safe without crossing the bounds of fantasy potential. too bad that this isn't peyton manning or tiger woods for that matter. it would resonate far more. too often the "stars" stay to the script of not rocking the boat. and less often do those in the public sphere speak out today as opposed to the rebellious 60s. this disregard for saying what one feels or believes in is partially what's got us to this safe and ignorant place, where whatever the punce Hannity says is considered to be "factual" by some. that someone, anyone for that matter, is rocking the boat is welcome because otherwise all that's acceptable is that racism is but a mere myth and coldplay is rock and roll. jw Ha. I agree with a lot of that. But I also protested when Tebow was tebowing, because he was forcing his religion onto the field. I have no problem with the mid field prayers of course. But he was literally singing hymns on the sidelines and it was infringing a political element on a non political game. In fact, this hasn't been brought up I don't think in this thread yet, but professional football is one of the very least racist places on earth. Players on NFL teams rarely show racial prejudices, blacks and whites get along on NFL teams better than almost anywhere, and even fans of NFL teams temporarily forget their hatred for each other for three hours every Sunday.
Flutie Flakes Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 I am a veteran of the Gulf War so for me, the song stirs strong emotions. What better way to begin a sporting event than to hear the National Anthem played and celebrated by tens of thousands of people. The flyovers and parachute drops are nice, but for me, it is the song and the emotion that it stirs in an 80K fan filled stadium that gets me fired up. If someone feels strongly in not participating, it is certainly their prerogative, but I feel it is disrespectful not to at least stand in observance. I may not agree with the politics of places like North Korea, Iran, Syria, etc., but if their anthem were played in an Olympic venue, I would stand out of respect.
jimmy10 Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 Payton is pretty conservative (judging from his on-record political donations), so I think it's unfair to exepct this sort of gesture from him. The bigger point is that it's refreshing to hear a pro athlete speak their mind at all. They have quite a soapbox and audience at their disposal that so few choose to use. And they have the ability to spark debates like the one in this thread (which has been remarkably civil I think, credit to everyone for that) which I guarantee is being replicated in thousands of other forms right now all over the country. Debate is good.
Delete This Account Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 this is a nation in which Michael Jackson had to essentially hold MTV hostage to broadcast black acts' music videos. let's stop suggesting this stopped being an issue in the 1860s. jw
Mr. WEO Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 right. the elephant in the room in this nation has been racism and something it's failed to resolve. so you're right. one athlete exercising his right to free speech shouldn't matter. and yet. ... jw And yet..what? kaeprnqick's indictment of "this country" as being complicit institutionally with the killing of black men by a few cops and your own self flagellation as a white male do nothing to advance the discussion of racism in this America.
Kelly the Dog Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 this is a nation in which Michael Jackson had to essentially hold MTV hostage to broadcast black acts' music videos. let's stop suggesting this stopped being an issue in the 1860s. jw True, but shortly thereafter he was turning white.
GG Posted August 28, 2016 Posted August 28, 2016 i'm on record as saying i'm one of the fortunate ones. i won the lottery being a white male. i can't and won't apologize for that. but i can also appreciate that i'm where i am in part because i of pure dna. jw I have a feeling that a star athlete from Wisconsin who got a full ride to a D1 school didn't have the full brunt of shackles in his life. If this country was as oppressive as he makes it out to be, we would never even know his name, because he'd never beat out the white kid in Pop Warner.
Recommended Posts