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[QUOTE=Handsome men don't lose fights;4624976]That's an exaggeration. Our government is frequently disappointing, but we still have a voice in it, even when the people who hate us are in power, and harmful administrations can be voted out. Compared to the totalitarianism of the people's party, we're living in Narnia. In China, you and I could go missing just for having this conversation.
[url]https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/china-and-tibet[/url]
What kills me is that the People's party is so thin-skinned, they'll not only go after their critics, they'll also destroy the lawyers who represent them. One Lawyer got forty years for subversion of state power, because he was more knowledgeable about state law than the party officials he was questioning. No advocacy allowed![/QUOTE]
Yeah, that sort of 'cynicism' serves no one but helps to insulate the speaker from feeling the need to engage with it. A shrugging of the shoulders is a lot easier than feeling powerless in the face of China's, say, organ harvesting policy for imprisoned Uyghurs. If it's all the same, well, then we can just be okay not dealing with it.
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[QUOTE=Tendrin;4624990]Yeah, that sort of 'cynicism' serves no one but helps to insulate the speaker from feeling the need to engage with it. A shrugging of the shoulders is a lot easier than feeling powerless in the face of China's, say, organ harvesting policy for imprisoned Uyghurs. If it's all the same, well, then we can just be okay not dealing with it.[/QUOTE]
Bro's right in the sense that many Governments commit hideous acts without fear of accountability, like our illegal war in Iraq. But like you say, we can't just shrug everything off with whataboutisms. At least we can go out on the street and say that Rumsfield, Bush, and Cheney are all war criminals, and the worst that can happen is someone saying "That's like, your opinion, maaaaan."
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[QUOTE=Handsome men don't lose fights;4625019]Bro's right in the sense that many Governments commit hideous acts without fear of accountability, like our illegal war in Iraq. But like you say, we can't just shrug everything off with whataboutisms. At least we can go out on the street and say that Rumsfield, Bush, and Cheney are all war criminals, and the worst that can happen is someone saying "That's like, your opinion, maaaaan."[/QUOTE]
"The line must be drawn here!" /picard
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[QUOTE=Handsome men don't lose fights;4625019]Bro's right in the sense that many Governments commit hideous acts without fear of accountability, like our illegal war in Iraq. But like you say, we can't just shrug everything off with whataboutisms. At least we can go out on the street and say that Rumsfield, Bush, and Cheney are all war criminals, and the worst that can happen is someone saying "That's like, your opinion, maaaaan."[/QUOTE]
We can do that now sure, but in the aftermath of 9/11 and the run up to the Iraq War, most of the country was pretty on board with the rhetoric coming from the Bush administration and most people didn't dare say anything against the war or, god forbid, in support of Muslims and trying to prevent bigotry against them. Sure, all of the critics came out of the woodwork after it came to light just how much of a disaster the invasion had been, but by then it was too late to really do anything about it, so what use was protesting at that point?
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[QUOTE=PwrdOn;4622970]Awareness isn't always a good thing though, particularly if the audience you're trying to reach isn't receptive to your message. Kaepernick is a great example of this, because his protests basically forced a large segment of sports fans who normally didn't bother thinking about social issues to pick a side, which definitively revealed that white America cares a hell of a lot more about the illusion of harmony than they do about police brutality. And because his opponents focused all their attacks on him and his supposed lack of patriotism, they effectively muzzled any talk about the underlying issue that he was trying to raise awareness for in the first place. I do applaud his conviction, but the whole protest was a severe strategic miscalculation, and arguably was a setback to the overall goals of the BLM movement.
And that goes double for trying to protest events happening in foreign countries, which most Americans don't understand and aren't invested in. If you recall Kony 2012 or #BringBackOurGirls, neither of those accomplished a damn thing because fundamentally people didn't care enough to lift a finger to help, but at least there was some inkling of concern there. What we're talking about now is browbeating NBA players into half-hearted protests against China over an issue most of them probably don't know anything about, just because it vaguely aligns with the "woke" image the league has been trying to cultivate.[/QUOTE]
I would suggest though that the problem is that Colin isn't the best spokesman for his cause rather than his protest was useless. As you say, he unfortunately let people reframe the debate into one about patriotism and free speech instead of police brutality which is what it was supposed to be about. However, if the subject ( police brutality) is on people's minds when these incidents happen and hence families are then able to get justice, then calling attention to the problem isn't useless. There's always going to be people who object or obfuscate, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't speak up.
I don't think anyone is trying to browbeat NBA players into speaking out about China in an attempt to be so called woke. People are just pointing out how interesting it is how fast they reigned in someone from their organization when they spoke out. Buts let's face it, the NBA is million dollar entertainment corporation, their not an advocate group. It's not shocking to me that their more concerned with profits than human rights.
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[QUOTE=skyvolt2000;4624562]It depends on what your endgame is.
Take why some folks tune out or left BLM-too many folks used the dead bodies of black males to get movie deals, tv shows, Nike contracts, political office and so on.
Meanwhile in some communities NOTHING has changed.
Instead you see more interrupting of events and hatred for police. With zero attempt at a civil conversation.
[B]It was a movement to sell SHOES to folks you already had in your pocket. What did that cost Nike? 30 million to Kaep? They made that back within hours of giving it to him.[/B]
I would probably say while money is a factor, I would venture to guess EGO is too.
What about all the guys like the Morris twins who are doing social justice stuff in the communities and NOBODY talks about it?
Or guys like Royce White who have been screaming for mental health issues in NBA. Who has to see it get talked about when WHITE GUYS bring it up.
Because sometimes what goes on in your OWN backyard is a lot uglier than when you see next door. At least that is a reason a person might toss out.
Not that it's a right or wrong answer.
Folks can yell about those camps all they like but what can they really do HERE? If those folks try to come over Immigration will stop them.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, they didn't sign him because they care about social issues, it was to get people to get people to buy their product. It was a calculated move and it paid off for them.
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[QUOTE=BroHomo;4624920]That Theres a limit of how much credit a baby can get ?
eh most governments are[/QUOTE]
Exactly, let us forget our voice can get us thrown in jail for saying the wrong thing like criticizing how a police officer is wrongfully apprehending a person from your own private property. Or you know, get shot in your own home while you're just playing video games with your nephew. As mentioned earlier, America is just as bad.
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[quote]FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A white Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed a black woman in her home while responding to a call about an open front door acted inappropriately [B]and resigned before he could be fired, the police chief said Monday.[/B]
Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was killed in front her of 8-year-old nephew, cut down by a bullet fired through her window early Saturday. Police bodycam video showed that Aaron Dean did not identify himself as an officer and fired a split-second after shouting at the woman to show her hands.
Interim Police Chief Ed Kraus said Dean would have been fired if he had not quit. He said a criminal investigation is underway and he expects an update by Tuesday on whether the officer — a member of the force for 1˝ years — will be charged.
“Nobody looked at this video and said that there’s any doubt that this officer acted inappropriately,” Kraus said.
Earlier in the day, Jefferson’s family had demanded that Dean be fired and arrested.
[url]https://www.apnews.com/df8aab0962b44f65a5cd52139d6f0143[/url]
[/quote]
[font=georgia]The poor neighbor that called even spoke to the news about the guilt he feels.[/font]
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[QUOTE=Surf;4627567][font=georgia]The poor neighbor that called even spoke to the news about the guilt he feels.[/font][/QUOTE]
I hope we don't have sunken clowns hugging this...murderer..in a courtroom.
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Does anyone else find weird seeing anti-police sentiment from superhero fans when a lot of the time superheroes are written as having the exact same issues people dislike cops for?
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[QUOTE=Agent Z;4636187]Does anyone else find weird seeing anti-police sentiment from superhero fans when a lot of the time superheroes are written as having the exact same issues people dislike cops for?[/QUOTE]
Just because we enjoy the super-hero story doesn't mean we agree with what the super-hero is doing in the story.
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[QUOTE=Malvolio;4636231]Just because we enjoy the super-hero story doesn't mean we agree with what the super-hero is doing in the story.[/QUOTE]
I've seen these types of superhero fans excuse or just ignore the heinous actions of a character they like all too often. I've also seen them call every cop show propaganda even when the cops in those shows are actually behaving in ways that cops [I]should[/I] behave ideally.
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[QUOTE=Agent Z;4636187]Does anyone else find weird seeing anti-police sentiment from superhero fans when a lot of the time superheroes are written as having the exact same issues people dislike cops for?[/QUOTE]
There's [B]a lot[/B] of behavior that people let pass in superhero comics that they wouldn't if a real person did them. Part of that though is suspending judgment in order to enjoy genre conventions. You could probably say the same about romantic comedies.
Having said that, I think there's many fans who are able to enjoy superheroes and still analyze them with a critical eye ( whether that's seeing the fascist tendencies of some characters or the otherwise mental instability of others).
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[QUOTE=Agent Z;4636187]Does anyone else find weird seeing anti-police sentiment from superhero fans when a lot of the time superheroes are written as having the exact same issues people dislike cops for?[/QUOTE]
A lot of things that we enjoyed as kids and have nostalgia for is really troubling if you apply any kind of logic to it. For example, GI Joe is pretty transparently just straight up propaganda for the military industrial complex, but there are a lot of people who still love the franchise despite their personal politics going the other way.
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[QUOTE=Agent Z;4636187]Does anyone else find weird seeing anti-police sentiment from superhero fans when a lot of the time superheroes are written as having the exact same issues people dislike cops for?[/QUOTE]
Little different. We get to see things operate from a superhero's perspective. So if they're acting a little rushed or even more aggressive than normal, it's usually not on innocent individuals who end up getting shot in their own bedrooms because the superhero might've had a problem with professionalism or race in the past.
But when a super hero does behave poorly, you'll get people who justify it and those who are abhorred by it. Just like we do with police officers.