Thoughts on Kaepernick & the national anthem

[Leon]

Thanks for putting your name out here. It isn't a big deal but is an important part of our forum, hence the rule in bold letters at the top of every page...though this isn't exactly that, it is the reasoning behind it. (simple accountability)

There is no doubt that racism does exist today. Anyone who doesn't think so is not being honest with themselves. That being said there are more opportunities for everyone today than there ever has been. It is hard to deny that by looking at the President, AG, Supreme Court etc.. etc.....
However, I firmly believe parenting is the biggest issue facing our nation today. If it could be taught and taught and taught it might make a lot of the problems go away.
And if you feel the criminals who got shot by not obeying an officer's command, were only shot because of their color...and not because they disobeyed a command, then that is part of the problem, to me. Let's debate why they were being criminals? (*see my parenting point)

I can guarantee if I didn't obey cops in the past I very well might have ended up dead too. Just as anyone of any color would.

Originally Posted by dgo71

Name fixed. Didn't realize that was such a big deal...

Also, no offense, but since you're white your opinion on whether or not "the blacks" is offensive doesn't matter. You don't get a vote as to the offensiveness of terms that don't apply to you. For example, I don't personally find the name "Redskins" offensive, but since I'm not a Native American, my opinion on the matter means nothing. It's easy to not be offended when you're not a part of the group that is being offended.

All that aside, since it's not really the point, black people continue to face unfair oppression from people in positions of authority, and that was the entire point of Kap's protest. To say the people who were abused by police are at fault because they didn't act a certain way is patently false and a willful blind eye to the fact that racism exists. Obviously I'm not saying this is the case 100% of the time as nothing in life is so easily categorized, but comments like yours, whether it was your intention or not, only help perpetuate the myth that racism is a thing of the past.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

There is no doubt that racism does exist today.

And there is no doubt that it works both ways...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5S2E26BWoo

[Leon]

1000%...the video is not there for me but my thousand percent is I agree it goes both ways...

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

and there is no doubt that it works both ways...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vrwjzz4hse

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

1000%...the video is not there for me but my thousand percent is I agree it goes both ways...

Fixed link to video.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Fixed link to video.

Of course that is crazy but there are probably some low life white people teaching their kids the same thing.. I didn't' say parenting was a white or black thing....but it's the biggest thing. We need to teach parenting so kids won't grow up as criminals and can make good choices in life.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by Leon

Of course that is crazy but there are probably some low life white people teaching their kids the same thing.. I didn't' say parenting was a white or black thing....but it's the biggest thing. We need to teach parenting so kids won't grow up as criminals and can make good choices in life.

Absolutely agreed, Leon. The only reason I posted that is because there some people that think white people can't be discriminated against simply because they're white.

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Absolutely agreed, Leon. The only reason I posted that is because there some people that think white people can't be discriminated against simply because they're white.

I never said that. But yeah, I'm sure white males have it just as bad as any minority in a country founded by rich, slave-owning white guys.

As to your comment about a double-standard, acknowledging racism exists in the world isn't an opinion, that's an unfortunate fact. Saying "It's OK to say [insert whatever colloquialism here] because it's not racist" is an opinion. That's the difference. All I'm saying is I hear a lot of people who aren't in the group that's being offended telling other people what they think is offensive and what isn't. Their God-given right to HAVE an opinion doesn't make their opinion valid. If you're trying to decide between the chicken or the fish, are you going to ask a vegan?

Leon, I can totally agree on your point about parenting but I don't think that's actually the debate here. I don't necessarily agree that there are more opportunities in the overall, simply because a few high-ranking positions are occupied by people of color. Sure, those are very powerful positions, but they are still outliers. Look into the general populace of any city in America and tell me opportunities exist equally. Look into the comparison of sentencing to the crime committed between white people and black people and tell me there's equality there. That's what Kaepernick's protest was about. Not the military, not a flag, the idea that equality doesn't exist in the vast majority of this country. Him having millions of dollars doesn't negate his right to empathize with a cause, because he too is an outlier. Brock Turner serves 3 months for raping a girl and there are black men in jail for longer than that for having a small amount of marijuana. If Brock Turner was black do you think he'd be free right now? Ask yourself that honestly.

[Topps206]

It looks like Megan Rapinoe, female soccer player, kneeled in support of Kaepernick.