What is the controversy surrounding #takeaknee

[Amarok]

But arguing that taking a kneel is itself a largely empty gesture because all it does is draw attention to racial issues that are currently omnipresent in the news anyway, and does bugger all to stop it (possibly because the underlying issues are so entrenched that nothing short of nuking humanity off the face of the earth will stop it), well, that also makes sense.

But none of that is an excuse for silence . Beta position is pure fatalism .

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People pay money to watch games. They do not pay money to watch preachy scolds make them uncomfortable.

Tough shit . 

But honey, I had to beat you because I love you so much."

You can't abuse a flag .it can't suffer .Nor can you abuse a nation by criticizing it.  

Foreign policy in Syria
The disproportionate suicide rates of white men.
The Holocaust of innocent unborn children
Date Rape
Don't like Trump
Don't like Obama
Save the Whales
VA hospital wait times
Animal rights

Yup it's called freedom of speech sorry if it inconvenience you . And slippery slope fallacy .

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Initially he sat during the anthem. Apart from the anthem, he was seen wearing socks depicting police officers as pigs. He later cleaned it up a bit by kneeling, but don't act like he's full of respect for police or the US. He isn't.

1. Why would he show respect to the organization that disrespects his whole race . Why would he respect a country that treats his people like shit. 

And this sad attempt a villainizing  him is very telling .

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A lot of people are patriotic in the US.

A lot of people are jingoists in US

[Rev. Rye]

But arguing that taking a kneel is itself a largely empty gesture because all it does is draw attention to racial issues that are currently omnipresent in the news anyway, and does bugger all to stop it (possibly because the underlying issues are so entrenched that nothing short of nuking humanity off the face of the earth will stop it), well, that also makes sense.

But none of that is an excuse for silence . Beta position is pure fatalism .

Yeah, like I said, I personally think taking a knee is a good move. I'd be lying if I said I believe that NFL players not standing during the National Anthem could be the tipping point to convince the Republican Party to curtail their racist juggernaut, but, given that the NFL's players are 70% black, they have to start every game with the national anthem, and they have to deal with racism that the government is caring less and less about, it's certainly an interesting sign to see them rebel against it.

Overall, this reminds me  of this little speech. Frederick Douglass was asked to give a Fourth of July speech in 1852 to the Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York. He gave this speech, lambasting the blatant hypocrisy of a society that prided itself on its freedom while people they still enslaved people who looked like him (and there was still the possibility that he could be kidnapped by some enterprising asshole and re-enslaved, something that was only made worse by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which made the possibility of an escape like his a lot riskier):










And, yes, hearing it read by famed actor, voiceover artist, and civil rights activist Ossie Davis makes it resonate even more.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Isn't black Americans' independence day actually December 6, when slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment?

[Losty]

Isn't black Americans' independence day actually December 6, when slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment?

First: wut

Second: I'm no history buff but I thought slavery was abolished June 19th...?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Isn't black Americans' independence day actually December 6, when slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment?

First: wut

Second: I'm no history buff but I thought slavery was abolished June 19th...?

Here's a short primer = 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth...nstitution

It was ratified on December 6 but officially adopted on December 18, 1865.  So actually black independence day is December 18, not December 6 as I previously stated.  That's when racial slavery officially ended but slavery is still legal in America.  People can't own slaves but the government can.  The federal government could round up all of the illegal aliens and make them slaves to build the border wall as punishment for being illegal aliens.  It would be completely Constitutional.

[John V]

People in general in America are complacent about inequality and racism, if you can't see that you're blind.

... or complacent.

... or they believe in the ideal of a post-racial society. You know, like MLK proposed.

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Broncos say there's no greater country than the US and they'll be standing on Sunday:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/soon-...-together/

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Thursday night game: players stand
https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/2017...506653117/

[Thumpalumpacus]

... or complacent.

... or they believe in the ideal of a post-racial society. You know, like MLK proposed.

I doubt you're very interested in a post-racial society. I missed your griping about these protesters:



They sure look post-racial to me .

Why were you so silent then? You posted once on those riots which saw one killed, and then in a very blase manner ("Counter-protests play right into their hands").

Between this thread and Brian's "Forced Ritual" thread, you've posted twenty-seven times. That's right, twenty-seven times. No one has been hurt at all, no one has been killed, no one has even been arrested, but this protesting over the treatment of blacks in America sure gets you wound up a hell of a lot more than a march by white supremacists that ended up with one dead and thirty-eight injured.

So yeah, spare me your fake concern about a post-racial society, or Dr King's words. You're pissed off because those uppity niggers are -- gasp! -- kneeling in protest. We get it.

[Amarok]

... or they believe in the ideal of a post-racial society. You know, like MLK proposed

This is bullshit even by your incredibly low standards Beta

[John V]

I doubt you're very interested in a post-racial society.

You're wrong.

I missed your griping about these protesters:

They sure look post-racial to me   .

Exactly. The KKK and other white supremacists had become fringe jokes, exactly because people didn't dignify their positions with a response. The left gave them some relevance again by trying to tie them to Trump to buy a few votes, and now antifa is again giving them some relevance.

So yeah, spare me your fake concern about a post-racial society. You're pissed off because those uppity niggers are -- gasp! -- kneeling in protest. We get it.

It's sad that you have to paint your opponents into extremes like that.

[Thumpalumpacus]

It's sad that you have to paint your opponents into extremes like that.

You're the one up in arms about blacks protesting.

It's clear you're much more concerned when blacks protest in the name of equality. It's clear that you think white protests under swastikas should go unanswered -- but boy, let some football players take a knee for the anthem and you're a regular Energizer Bunny.

I'm not painting a thing, Alf. You're taking a selfie.