Kneeling During the National Anthem

[Kirby101]

Hat off to Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who was decorated with a Bronze Star for valor, of the Pitts Steelers.

As his teammates stayed in locker room, former Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva stood outside for anthem

Did you expect anybody to criticize him for this? Why is what he did today a big deal?
Or do you think what Trump said doesn't merit the protests and are criticizing his team mates?

[mojotastic]

Also i have problems with the article and the writer about fans screaming "EH PUTO", besides the use of buzzwords like "the wrong side of history", trying to compare the tradition of the use of the word puto with white people flying the confederate flag and apply her own life experience as the example of why puto is a bad word that you dont say in front of people you respect (spoiler:yes you can)

The reason is because the word puto such as the word negro (black), or marica (queer) have many meanings, for example as the writer described it, the word means man whore but it can also be use as "bro" with any of your friends, it can be also be use to refer to someone sexual prefences or it can be use to describe someone who is a loser.

Also have in mind that only 10% of mexican consider the chant homophobic, is pretty common in Latino America to use vulgarities in the soccer stadiums it goes way before than the use of the word puto that why the use of "bad words" in our day to day basis has been so normalize, this is a problem on the interpretation of the language and i can understand why someone from the states woudlnt be able to understand the cultural aspect of it
http://www.animalpolitico.com/2017/0...os-parametria/

[WestPhillyPunisher]

This whole damn business has been a teapot in search of a tempest. Prior to Dolt45 giving that speech in Alabama Friday night, Colin Kaepernick was off the national radar since he hadn't been signed by an NFL team and wasn't likely to make anyone's roster while only a handful of players were doing the sideline protest, not nearly enough for it to have become a serious issue. However, for reasons all his own, Trump decided to make the kneel down an issue in his uniquely ugly and asinine manner, and it all spiraled out of control from there. I've speculated on the Politics thread that Trump used the NFL protests as a diversion to fire up his base and take their minds off the fact that his Obamacare repeal had been shot down yet again, but, one poster countered that Cheeto Jesus was simply letting his racist flag fly since the majority of the protestors are black, calling them "sons of bitches", language he NEVER once used towards white supremacists, especially in the aftermath of Charlottesville. Hell, not even Kim Jong Un was badmouthed to that degree, and that pudgy bastard is saber rattling the U.S. almost daily. There was no good reason for Trump to stir that hornet's nest, other than to kiss up to his supporters who remain convinced he walks on water and can do no wrong while continuing to be a national embarrassment for the rest of the country.

[dancj]

There was no good reason for Trump to stir that hornet's nest, other than to kiss up to his supporters who remain convinced he walks on water and can do no wrong while continuing to be a national embarrassment for the rest of the country.

Trump isn't a national embarrassment. He's a global embarrassment.

[TheInvisibleMan]

it went from 6 players last week to over 200 this week

Orange Foolius kicked that lantern over

[InvincibleDom]

Or maybe white guys should stop telling black men how they should feel about issues that only affect black men.

Or maybe white guys should stop threatening the employment of black men for having an opinion and expressing it through the means provided to them.
(Which, it's worth noting, is exactly what all these white guys are doing at the moment.)

I dunno... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Thank you for this.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

it went from 6 players last week to over 200 this week

Orange Foolius kicked that lantern over

And if Pissy POTUS keeps on ranting and raving against the league (and it's a mortal lock he will, he lives for doubling down on the dumb shit he says), heaven only knows what those numbers could swell to come this Sunday.

[CaptCleghorn]

Did you expect anybody to criticize him for this? Why is what he did today a big deal?
Or do you think what Trump said doesn't merit the protests and are criticizing his team mates?

He did something different when the rest of his team stayed in the locker room. That can easily be thought of as a counter-protest to the protests going on. It may very well be that Villaneuva had the blessings of his team. In many cases, he'd be the one guy who didn't show up.

I know nothing about what went on in the minds of the NFL players about this but I'm sure every member of every team was thinking about this yesterday.

[Iron Maiden]

When I was in school there were a couple of students that didn't stand during the Pledge of Allegiance or the playing of the National Anthem. The teachers explained to the class that it was due to the fact that they were Jehovah's Witnesses. No parents picketed the school or anything like that.

The Star Spangled Banner bears some researching itself. No one every gets down to singing the third verse and there is some controversy over what slaves Francis Scott Key is referring to:

No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Some historians feel it might refer to the slaves that were offered their freedom if they fought for the British Army. They were part of a unit known as the Corps of Colonial Marines.

[ZombieHavoc]

I may disagree with why they're kneeling, but they should be able to kneel. I don't see why its a big deal. Especially in a time where many protests turn violent, its very important to encourage peaceful protesting!

You disagree with why they are kneeling?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

From the sports section of my local fishwrap today:

"To say as a president that everybody who protests peacefully deserves to be fired, maybe you're leading the wrong country. Because that's not America. This country was built on dissent."
---Chris Long, defensive lineman, Philadelphia Eagles

[Scott Taylor]

Trump being Trump. He's the Marty McFly of presidents, just cannot resist being called out in any way.

[goledensilence]

You disagree with why they are kneeling?

I personally disagree with the reason they kneeled. None of these athletes would have took a knee if it wasn't for Trump opening his big mouth. Some of the people kneeling, Tom Brady/Ray Lewis, look like huge hypocrites because of the stuff they'e said prior to Sunday.

Now why is it that everybody wants to kneel when Trump threatens the integrity of the NFL, but nobody wanted to kneel when Kaep was trying to raise recognition for the things P.O.C. go through on a daily basis? Also why do I have a feeling that this was just a one time thing for most of those athletes?

One last thing I will say about this situation is that I'm tired of us black people marching & kneeling. I feel like a lot of us need to start putting our money where our mouth is. We need to start putting money back into the black community instead of just talking about the unfair ways of America. Support black owned banks. Get our top athletes to attend HBCUs like the greats use to do way back in the day. Help build up the way your local community looks (a lot of black communities look like train wrecks with the abandoned houses, pop holes, etc) That's what I want to see happen!

[mojotastic]

Are you trying to say that this was a protest to the president more than a protest for any other reason ?

[leo619]

I personally disagree with the reason they kneeled. None of these athletes would have took a knee if it wasn't for Trump opening his big mouth. Some of the people kneeling, Tom Brady/Ray Lewis, look like huge hypocrites because of the stuff they'e said prior to Sunday.

Now why is it that everybody wants to kneel when Trump threatens the integrity of the NFL, but nobody wanted to kneel when Kaep was trying to raise recognition for the things P.O.C. go through on a daily basis? Also why do I have a feeling that this was just a one time thing for most of those athletes?

One last thing I will say about this situation is that I'm tired of us black people marching & kneeling. I feel like a lot of us need to start putting our money where our mouth is. We need to start putting money back into the black community instead of just talking about the unfair ways of America. Support black owned banks. Get our top athletes to attend HBCUs like the greats use to do way back in the day. Help build up the way your local community looks (a lot of black communities look like train wrecks with the abandoned houses, pop holes, etc) That's what I want to see happen!

It's simple really, Kaep is a leader. Not everyone is built to be a leader, others are meant to be a follower. Just because you join the NFL does not mean you immediately gain leader based skills and capability to stand against an entire nation on your own. Have your ever heard of the group effect? There's an actual term to it but I forgot what it was called. It's when if someone is tossed into a river, you're much more likely to be saved if there's only two people around in comparison to 400 people around.
Because the more people that's there, the less likely someone will take responsibility upon themselves to assist and help. This is more noticeable in group based culture like Japan and Korea than individualistic cultures like Western society, but it's still very prominent. However, once a couple of people make the first move, more our motivated to participate in the cause due to the group behavior that humans have. That is why humans have leaders and followers, not everyone is born to be a leader. To be honest, I'll say very few people are born to be a leader. That's why being a leader is so special.

It will also depend upon the idea on the players themselves. What you mention is a very pro black mindset that's steadily growing in the black community. But there are others, like myself, that what's to have every get together and make changes in all the places needed. For example, my comic book company is heavily based on socialism and diversity. BUT, we want the inclusion of all, or as many people as possible that believes in our cause to help assist in different communities. I personally believe we shouldn't be having a "black community problem" Or a "asian community problem" "Or a "woman community problem", these should all be american problems. The default american problem should not be white male problems, and I know there are plenty of people, of all ethnicities, who believe in the same way. So there maybe football players that believe the same thing and is trying to make a difference in that fashion, instead of going the black community route.