Trump Vs The Nfl

Aero

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Is anyone paying attention to this? I get that most people's opinions on the matter are completely irrelevant, but I think some good conversations can come from it. Personally I hope we can use this moment, and the Trump presidency in general to figure out who we really are. Or what we want to be.

Seriously though, what the fuck happened to America. We aren't allowed to protest anymore? Protesting is more American than apple fucking pie. So what's the real deal. Some people told me last night about how it's so disrespectful to the military. But it fundamentally has nothing to do with the military, or the cops.

Part of being an American is being free to disrespect the Military, and the cops on a daily basis. So what's the point of getting upset for the military and cops? Did they get up and ask the shithead public to have their backs? I'm guessing not. And I know some of these protests upset some of you here, so please tell me.

Why do protesters get under your skin? WTF does it matter in your life.
 

Leviathan

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I think it's a silly thing for Trump to obsess over. With all the natural disasters, pollution, poverty, sickness, murder, r*pe, bigotry, etc., that happen in America on a daily basis, he should have bigger things to be outraged about than how a group of athletes acts while a song is being performed. He always focuses on the most silly and trivial things rather than the things he should.

The way I see it, they are kneeling for a reason. That reason is police brutality and the way blacks are treated in this country. If kneeling during the national anthem is so offensive to Trump he should something about it by taking away the reason they're doing so in the first place. Maybe then they'll conduct themselves in a way he deems appropriate. But no, he is too busy calling them "sons of bitches" while he's sure there are "some good people" at the white supremacist rallies.
 

mecca

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Seriously though, what the fuck happened to America. We aren't allowed to protest anymore? Protesting is more American than apple fucking pie. So what's the real deal. Some people told me last night about how it's so disrespectful to the military. But it fundamentally has nothing to do with the military, or the cops.
The way I see it, they are kneeling for a reason. That reason is police brutality and the way blacks are treated in this country. If kneeling during the national anthem is so offensive to Trump he should something about it by taking away the reason they're doing so in the first place. Maybe then they'll conduct themselves in a way he deems appropriate. But no, he is too busy calling them "sons of bitches" while he's sure there are "some good people" at the white supremacist rallies.
That's exactly what I've been thinking.
 

polymoog

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the NFL owners who the players answer to (they are being employed at the time) are ok with them doing this during the game, so they have the right to kneel if they wish. of course, outside of their workplace, their employers have no say at all, unless its part of their contract.
however, the right to do something does not always mean its the right thing to do. and for those who find it offensive (LE, police, military, vets, etc.), simply vote with your tv remote and turn it off.
 

rainerann

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I am just hearing about this and for the life of me, I can't understand what they are protesting other than trumps recent comments about them protesting. Why did the protesting start before trump made any comments?
 

Aero

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Well it all started with Colin Kaepernick.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

But he doesn't play football anymore. Like he got pushed out of the league over it. And I'm pretty sure only few players took knees in the preseason. So it was never an actual "scandal". Americans are just easily triggered and wimpy. Don't cry a river over the flag in front of me, cause I will boil those tears till they are gone. Than make it rain on you.
 

rainerann

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hmm, well I think it is interesting. I don't have a problem with it as long as I would be able to participate in protest of the Patriot Act and supporting Israel with billions of dollars. I would also like to kneel during the anthem in protest of taxes. I think I have just found a reason to go to a football game.

There are many reasons that I think it would be legitimate to not stand for the anthem in protest to some of the things that the US is responsible for doing right now.

Especially, when we are talking about people kneeling during the anthem. That's not exactly a riot, so I support it essentially.

However, with most of the recent protests, my frustration is over the way the politics has become a trendy social media discussion that generally stays in safe zones. People protest racism in the year 2017 when an entire generation has graduated school post civil rights movement. I specifically remember my teachers telling me stories about participating in some of these activities and that slavery and all such things were a negative thing we need to remember in history so we don't repeat it.

So, I just don't agree that we have racial issues in the US that require a lot of protest in the same way as I don't think women suffer oppression in such a way that requires protest.

I have always liked politics and have been following some things for years like new discussions within Congress regarding the patriot act and issues related to the NSA invading our privacy. I remember I even posted some things about this on Facebook. I think it was a petition to address NSA spying. No one seemed to notice.

No one seemed to notice anything until this recent election where Trump won and it has become fashionable to assume that the degenerancy of our country can be corrected by protesting Trump. This has clearly become more about protesting trump again then protesting racism.

So I just have a hard time taking most of these people seriously knowing that there is a whole community of targeted individuals out there that has been trying to get their attention for years about patents and different proofs of electronic weapons, but sure. Let's all pretend that it is the year 1865 and slavery just ended. I feel like I should dress up like Clara Barton to get the full experience of protesting racism.

This doesn't mean that I don't think racism is still present and I know some people are still arrogant and stupidly believe they are justified in a racist belief, but let's be real. Trump being president has made politics safe and trendy for a bunch of people who would otherwise just continue posting selfies and pictures of what they had for dinner on Facebook.
 
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mecca

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There are many reasons that I think it would be legitimate to not stand for the anthem in protest to some of the things that the US is responsible for doing right now.
Yeah, there are so many reasons. That's why I thought it was so crazy that he got such extreme backlash for kneeling.
 

Devine

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Is anyone paying attention to this? I get that most people's opinions on the matter are completely irrelevant, but I think some good conversations can come from it. Personally I hope we can use this moment, and the Trump presidency in general to figure out who we really are. Or what we want to be.

Seriously though, what the fuck happened to America. We aren't allowed to protest anymore? Protesting is more American than apple fucking pie. So what's the real deal. Some people told me last night about how it's so disrespectful to the military. But it fundamentally has nothing to do with the military, or the cops.

Part of being an American is being free to disrespect the Military, and the cops on a daily basis. So what's the point of getting upset for the military and cops? Did they get up and ask the shithead public to have their backs? I'm guessing not. And I know some of these protests upset some of you here, so please tell me.

Why do protesters get under your skin? WTF does it matter in your life.
LOL @ "most people's opinions are completely irrelevant". so true. all, in fact.
 

rainerann

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Yeah, there are so many reasons. That's why I thought it was so crazy that he got such extreme backlash for kneeling.
I don't think there was any real backlash for the original incident that was outside of the norm. It actually is very normal for a player to create a certain response from their specific audiences. People who like sports like to talk about sports and what the players are doing. That's what ESPN is for.

I am not into sports, but somehow or the other, there is always someone around me who is very into sports and they have their own tabloid section so to speak. Always have, and the original incident did not exceed the normal amount of attention given for things like this.

What makes this distinct is all about Trump and how it is trendy to protest what Trump responds to. That is entirely why there is any notice or backlash of this outside of the audience of the average sports fan.

This I would like to protest just as much as any remnant of racism that remains or even the blind support of the military some people have.
 

The Zone

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It was the NFL owners who took the money as well as the league. A greed thing on their part. As for Kapernick, he has never won much and cannot pass, so part of it is about that.

As for Trump, it was his stupidest tweet yet and a battle that cannot be won which he only inflamed. He shot himself in the foot with the comment and opened the door to everything be politicized. Protests in the NFL went from a trickle to a flood.
 

polymoog

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It was the NFL owners who took the money as well as the league. A greed thing on their part. As for Kapernick, he has never won much and cannot pass, so part of it is about that
As for Trump, it was his stupidest tweet yet and a battle that cannot be won which he only inflamed. He shot himself in the foot with the comment and opened the door to everything be politicized. Protests in the NFL went from a trickle to a flood.

im not 100% sure this was not a smokescreen.
i find it hard to believe he would bring up the protest when he knows that presently in the NFL, the players have this right. why would trump virtue signal LE, vets, and other rightists? he already has their loyalty. maybe he wanted to galvanize his backing before making an announcement which might alienate some of his base. just speculating here.
i think trump is testing his sway against the corporations. the NFL television marketshare is taking a huge beating. should be interesting to see how this turns out.
OTOH, perhaps trump simply wants everyone to be united americans, and that starts with the flag. americans united as americans first, then they can protest for individual causes. i think those boycotting the NFL games agree with this.
 

Aero

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It's becoming clear that Trump likes the mob. In both cases of the word probably. Organized crime and the public beast. I'm not sure which we should be more concerned about. Maybe all of this stuff will blow over, but I think everyone should at least pay a little bit of attention to all of this stuff going down. Because the Justice system is a joke, and that's the origin of these protests.

In a way Trump is taking over the narrative though. He's trying to make it about him, and it's unfortunate that people let him do it so often. I get that it's tough not to react, but people are being manipulated. That should be incentive to try a different approach. And I'm not saying I have that approach, but I could develop one if people want me to.
 
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Kaepernick's protest is based on a lie. If he wants to protest racial injustice or race privilege, why not quit the obviously racist NFL? NFL is 70% black. Needs more diversity. Almost half of NFL teams are owned by Jews too, but "white privilege" is the problem ...
 
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