(October 20, 2017 at 2:00 pm)Brian37 Wrote:(October 20, 2017 at 1:38 pm)FFaith Wrote: Well, I don't think Trump ever cared about the anthem (his wife needs to nudge him during it just to remind him that he's supposed to be pretending that he cares), so my reaction is kind of just, meh. Trump only spoke up about the anthem protests because he thought it would be a political win for him, what with most of the country and flyover country being against the protests, but he went overboard like he always does and said that the owners should fire them. If he had just called them unpatriotic and left it at that, that probably would have been the smart move, but at least he went back on his statement and said they should not be fired.
It's a meh story to me because it's not about something the government actually cares about. When Trump talks about being ok with protesters being assaulted, that's something that I worry about, because protesters are actually being assaulted in the US (pipeline protest, etc). When Trump or Hillary say close up parts of the internet, I worry about that because they actually want to get that done. When they talk about "doing something" about media that contradicts the establishment narrative, I worry very much so. The rich and powerful don't want a society with free and open discussion. They want to be the ones that get to manufacture the "truth" and they want to be the only ones that get to tell it. The ministry of truth. These are extremely real threats. The idea of football players being made to stand by the government is not a real threat. This whole thing is something Trump is using to distract from bigger things.
I don't care whether the NFL players protest one way or the other. I don't watch so it doesn't bother me either way. The NBA is the only league I've ever spent my time watching, and I admit that it probably is selfish of me, but I don't want teammates on my team having personal issues with eachother because of some protest when that has happened in the NFL. Some players on a team stand. Others don't. Some of them then get pissy about it and chemistry suffers. I don't want that.
Are the protests unprofessional? Well, the protest was designed to get a reaction, was it not? It wasn't designed to just make everyone smile and hold hands. Protesting during the anthem is super controversial and these players knew that. That's all I'm saying. Can something extremely controversial also be called professional at the same time? I don't know about that.
There is absolutely NOTHING "extremely controversial" about doing the right thing.
Again, you cant agree with CK and then say at the same time it is too much.
It has not been enough otherwise it would have never gotten to this point.
If blacks back in the 60s took a "don't rock the boat" attitude they would still be using separate bathrooms.
Again, the only "unprofessional" thing going on is holding the oval office hostage.
Yes, it is extremely controversial. Even if it's the right thing to do, by definition it is extremely controversial. I agree with Kap's message but I don't agree that one has to either choose to support the message and the ability to protest, or not support the message and be against the ability to protest. I can be fully with Kap on his message, but at the same time not have an issue with players not being able to protest while on the job. In the NFL, a player was told he was not even allowed to wear pink to pay tribute to his mother who passed away from breast cancer. This is how strict the NFL's rules are. The future of black people does not depend mainly on some NFL protest. The protests will still continue in the streets whether NFL players are allowed to protest on the job or not. These athletes can still bring awareness to these issues without protesting during the anthem.
I take back what I said about the government not really caring about the protests though. I was wrong about that. They care because the anthem is a recruitment tool of theirs for the military and they want to see the playing of the anthem respected so the propaganda works better. I don't really think Trump was demanding that the NFL change their policy though, nor did he need to. The free market has done that just fine on it's own, which is why Roger Goodell wants the players standing. Business is hurting. They should have never started playing the anthem, but since they can't go back in time, they're in a tough spot.
But yes you're right, next to everything that comes out of Trump's mouth is unprofessional and hilariously inappropriate.
