What did you do today?

[Spicoli43]

Your opinion is your opinion, but why would he "kneel about the mass killings every single week in major cities that are Black on Black gang crime" when the National Anthem is being played. He indicated that his explanation for his action was simple: "to protest racial inequality and the oppression of Black people in America".

So I ask this: You want him to be concerned about "black on black" crime, but not police brutality and killings? If that's the case, you have won me over.

Also, wouldn't it be kinda, selfish to be concerned about 'black on black' crime, but not other types, i.e. black on brown, black on white, white on black, white on yellow, etc? What if a deeper dig into the police killings result in a solution for ALL of these crimes? It seems to me that the entire discussion, relative to Kapernick, focused on his kneeling and stopped any other discussion of him. The following blacklisting by the NFL, proves my point.

Here's my take: Any sane analysis of crime indicates that murder, at least, generally takes place against the folks in your closest periphery, so to stop 'black on black' crime, just integrate their neighborhoods. So NFL players should kneel for integration. That way they could focus on brutality.

(Author inserted this silly solution purposefully).

By the way, your thoughts about the timing of the kneeling is among the more reasoned responses I've read about this issue. I don't mind saying that I'm surprised at that, but I have to call them as I see them.

Hopefully the moderator will allow these comments to remain.

There's no oppression of Black people in America. That's completely fabricated by the Leftists because they count on Black votes. They are BY FAR more racist in their history, including Biden as the biggest racist. There is spots of racism in America like some portions of the Deep South, and Northern Idaho, but this isn't a racist Country.

Whites die by Police gunfire an average of twice as much per year than Blacks, that's FBI stats. All it boils down to is that Idiocy is color blind. White people don't pick the Flag out and kneel for White justice because we refuse to support the idiots in our race.

There is some bad Cops, which is the same as there is some bad Plumbers and Accountants.

 

[BuzzLOL]

There's no oppression of Black people in America. That's completely fabricated by the Leftists because they count on Black votes. They are BY FAR more racist in their history, including Biden as the biggest racist.

Yep, Democrat manipulation of blacks is still nearly as bad as when they actually owned slaves...

 

[Spicoli43]

Yep, Democrat manipulation of blacks is still nearly as bad as when they actually owned slaves...

Yeah, that's why there is no outrage on the Left about the White woman that wore a Gorilla Mask and threw eggs at Larry Elder. People that only watch Leftist news probably don't know it even happened.

 

[Flyover]

68bucks, I was referring to "love of the game" as the thing that gets people emotionally invested in sports to where they follow how teams are doing, what athletes are saying, they can't miss a game, they get riled up because the league doesn't reflect their own political opinions, etc. It doesn't matter if that game is televised or they're sitting in the stands. I have in-laws who wouldn't come to my daughter's (their niece's) birthday party because there was a game on TV. One of them played football in high school, the other never played sports so far as I know. Both are in their 40s presently. They have "love of the game". I.e. it's their religion.

I enjoy watching sports, as I've said many times now. But it's very low on my list of things to do if I get some free time, because it's just not important compared to the tons of other things going on in my life, things similar to what I previously assumed most healthy adults have going on in their lives. (Actually I assumed this was true of most people from about age 12 onward.)

(I put on my weighted vest and went for a walk with my wife yesterday around one of the new adjacent neighborhoods. So many houses have 3-4 cars in the driveway and the garage is full of couches with a giant TV, where some guy is sitting and watching a game, usualy by himself. Often there's a flagpole out front with the flag of some sports team hanging from it. These houses clearly also have kids living in them. I asked my wife, "Don't these guys have kids to play with, or broken toys to fix, or floors to sweep, or dinners to help cook or anything?" She said most people put their kids in front of screens, throw out things that break and buy new, lots of women do ALL the cleaning, lots of families just eat microwave food every day. I felt like an alien on my own planet.)

Yes, I go to concerts. No, I don't care about the political opinions of the musicians. No, I don't walk around wearing t-shirts with band names on them. (I've bought a couple such shirts to support the band, but I only wear the shirts as at-home "working around the house" or "working out" shirts.) I love some bands I suspect are pretty right-wing, some I know are very left-wing. My favorite rappers are consistently the ones I wouldn't want to live within 100 miles of. My favorite world msuic artists probably have politics I wouldn't understand at all since they live on the other side of the globe. I love a lot of gospel and bluegrass music made by people with whom I'm sure I share very few if any spiritual beliefs.

One form of magical thinking is to imbue artifacts (objects, performances, etc.) with the properties of their creators. A lot of sports fandom is indistinguishable from idolatry, frankly.

 

[Eddie_T]

I don't care what others do, at times it give me a chuckle. I worked with an engineer that came in one Monday so hoarse he could hardly speak. I asked him what happened he said there was a Clemson (his alma mater) game on TV.

 

[oldognewtrick]

It would be a boring world if everybody liked the same things. And thank goodness we can still decide what it is we like to do with our spare time.

 

[zannej]

Flyover, she owns the truck that I would need to drive to get into town. So I didn't have permission to take the truck. The updates look nice! I need to get my workshop cleaned up.

I have to disagree about there not being oppression of black people. I have seen it for myself. There are numerous studies and statistics on it. I'm not going to get into it because I don't feel like arguing with people.

I went into town to get mail and popped in to my friend's house to sand and put another coat of oil on the butcherblock. Friend is feeling better today. His gf is also feeling better since my brother convinced her to start taking her meds again. He sat down and had a long talk with her last time about depression and how to cope with it.

Unfortunately, things aren't going so well with her brother and her sister-in-law. While FEMA did agree to give them a loan, they just got a call from their landlord this afternoon informing them that unless they paid rent ($550) for this month, they have until Oct 1 to get all of their stuff out of the remains of the rental property because he's going to demolish it. First of all, the place has not been livable since Aug 29 and they have not been in it since Aug 30. He can't legally charge rent for a place that is not habitable. The frickin' roof caved in! Second, he has to give them written notice and reasonable time to get their stuff out. The sister-in-law was crying because they don't know how they will be able to pick through the rubble and get everything out in time. It's a 4 hour drive each way to get there and they have no place to put stuff. I told them they need to contact an attorney for advice but also tell the landlord that they need written notice. He's also telling them they won't get their security deposit back. I told them that if he doesn't send them written notice with an itemized list of damages for a security deposit, he can't withhold it. But, he can't do it anyway since the place has to be demolished due to a storm- not anything they did. They thought he wouldn't have to return it because the deposit was given to the previous property owner who sold it to him. I explained that when he bought the property he took on the liabilities and is obligated to pay the security deposits of all of the tenants that were paid to the previous owner. If he didn't get that reduced from the price of buying then that's his problem. I'm hoping things will work out for them.

Sometime this week I need to get my transmission flushed and refilled on the truck. I'm thinking Thursday. Mom indicated she wants to go with me.

 

[Flyover]

I need to get my transmission flushed

You mean your mom's transmission!

I have to disagree about there not being oppression of black people.

Yup, me too, though I acknowledge the hazards of not defining terms like "oppression" and "racism". I do think if you don't have any black people close to you in your life, or don't interact closely with any black people on a regular basis, it's easy to pretend their situation is A-OK, but if you actually know black people and have honest conversations with them just about all can tell you story after story about racism they've been on the receiving end of, both from other people and from broader institutions.

 

[zannej]

LOL! Yeah, my mom likes to remind me sometimes that it's her truck and not mine, but I tend to call it mine. I love that truck.

When I lived in California I did not notice the racism because I didn't experience it myself. Once I moved down here the racism was so overt that it was proverbially hitting me over the head. It wasn't until I went overseas to places where I was the minority and experienced micro-aggressions and discrimination myself that I learned how to spot it better. Plus I've studied both psychology and sociology. In sociology we talked a lot about things that seem harmless but are actually hurtful. Racism was one of the things we discussed. My brother-in-law recently went back to college and was learning about all sorts of studies that were done that showed subconscious bias. The racism isn't quite as bad here as it used to be. Interracial couples can hold hands in public and not be threatened (at least not in person) but there are still a lot of people here who use racial slurs in public and who post all sorts of racist vitriol on FB.

One of the dogs stepped on my head and woke me up so I'm trying to get myself sleepy so I can rest. I'm going to try to make myself sleep for at least 8 hours but not longer but I have 6 cats and a dog hogging my bed. Two of the cats are on either side of me like little fluffy statues.

 

[Spicoli43]

There is spots of racism, but oppression is the complete rule over people. That can be applied to the Leftists rules for Covid, as the rule makers don't follow their rules.

I have lived in predominately Black areas, there was no racism there.

 

[ekrig]

Trying to hire landscaping contractors to clean up and arrange the area around back and left side of the fence. Here to hoping that they quote me a reasonable price I did the area around the house's foundation throughout the spring and summer, but I realize that there is still too much for me to finish this year, so...

There is plenty of racism, although most of time is via micro aggressions and other forms of discrimination. For example, my wife often gets suspicious looks and "cold" costumer service when checking out in the supermarket, but the same checkout person behaves quite differently to me. Or more easily get passed on or more carefully scrutinized when looking for a job... Hence, white folks (e.g., myself) don't really feel it, and we tend to think that everything is ok. The reality is of course that there is plenty to fix and that we all ought to try to improve by having an increased understanding and tolerance toward others.

All that said, the situation is also not as bad as the grim picture that some politicians want to make us believe. But that is not what it is really bad. What is really bad is that they are revealed time and time again that (1) they have no interest in actually changing the root causes of the problems and (2) all they want and a different kind of discrimination that, I venture, gives them more power over people. That is not just misguided actions, it is hypocritical (from the naive) and evil (from the disingenuous)!

 

[tomtheelder2020]

You're basing your entire thought process on one person's opinion? I know several Veterans that agree with me. I saw Soldiers die right in front of me for the Flag that wasn't good enough for Kaepernick when he was paid insanely well. Did he flee to North Korea for their much better working conditions and pay?

There is 10,080 minutes in a week. Why did he choose those 2 minutes? Why didn't he just gather with his supporters and kneel an hour before the game? Why didn't he kneel after the game? Why didn't he kneel before the start of the second half? If the point of the exercise was to be seen it would have been seen by the media that's there before the players and stays after they leave.

Why didn't he kneel about the mass killings every single week in major cities that are Black on Black gang crime?

The Flag and the National Anthem have NOTHING to do with racism.

Clearly you did not read the full article. That quote is not just from some random ex-soldier, it is from an ex-soldier who was so upset by what he considered Kaepernick showing disrespect by sitting on the bench during the National Anthem that he wrote an open letter to Kaepernick that was published in Military Times. They met, talked about it, and agreed that taking a knee was a more respectful way of protesting. If you read the article you almost certainly will still disagree - but you might gain understanding and respect for others opinions.

You seem to think that it is OK for him to protest as long as he either: 1) doesn't protest what he is most concerned about, or 2) protests in ways that are easily ignored. A person would have to be pretty craven to agree to either of those.

Frankly, I found it absurd that you indicate he should have kept quiet in gratitude for being well paid. If fact, he was willing to risk his career (and he did loose his career - and potentially tens of millions of dollars) to "stand up" for what he believed in. Do you think you have that kind of moral courage? I'm not sure I do. If you read about Kaepernick you will learn that his actions were guided by his faith. Among those tattoos you see on him are “To God the Glory,” “GOD WILL GUIDE ME,” and “Faith.” Effectively, you are saying he should turn his back on those too.

 

[tomtheelder2020]

Kaepernick should have just stayed in the locker room.

Where everyone could ignore him. And MLK should not have crossed the Selma bridge. Consider reading MLK's "Letter From Birmingham Jail."

 

[Spicoli43]

Clearly you did not read the full article. That quote is not just from some random ex-soldier, it is from an ex-soldier who was so upset by what he considered Kaepernick showing disrespect by sitting on the bench during the National Anthem that he wrote an open letter to Kaepernick that was published in Military Times. They met, talked about it, and agreed that taking a knee was a more respectful way of protesting. If you read the article you almost certainly will still disagree - but you might gain understanding and respect for others opinions.

You seem to think that it is OK for him to protest as long as he either: 1) doesn't protest what he is most concerned about, or 2) protests in ways that are easily ignored. A person would have to be pretty craven to agree to either of those.

Frankly, I found it absurd that you indicate he should have kept quiet in gratitude for being well paid. If fact, he was willing to risk his career (and he did loose his career - and potentially tens of millions of dollars) to "stand up" for what he believed in. Do you think you have that kind of moral courage? I'm not sure I do. If you read about Kaepernick you will learn that his actions were guided by his faith. Among those tattoos you see on him are “To God the Glory,” “GOD WILL GUIDE ME,” and “Faith.” Effectively, you are saying he should turn his back on those too.

Then go buy his Jersey and use it as a pillow case.

Point out where I said he should remain quiet.

 

[Eddie_T]

Where everyone could ignore him. And MLK should not have crossed the Selma bridge. Consider reading MLK's "Letter From Birmingham Jail."

Did MLK ever disrespect the flag or the anthem?

 

[Flyover]

Did MLK ever disrespect the flag or the anthem?

The Klan probably thought so.

 

[zannej]

So, I slept most of the day. I got up to cook for mom and ate a little, but not much. I should eat more. Honda place was booked up so I can't get my truck serviced until Friday.

I'm hoping the car wash will be working properly to do an undercarriage wash because it desperately needs it. Last time the undercarriage wash didn't work but there are no employees at the car wash for refunds or anything.

My friend's gf is back on her meds and already feeling better. My brother is feeling happier because he might be able to get a job from home. It pays less than his previous job but he doesn't have to commute and he can eat while at home. His last job he was on his feet constantly and didn't always get lunch breaks. I'm hoping I can get a job with the company too.

One of my friends who just got Covid is going through a rough time. The man that was like a grandfather to him just passed away. I hope it wasn't from Covid and I hope my friend didn't give him Covid. Still no details. I saw the man at the store just last week and said Hi to him. He was a bit more down than usual since his wife passed away about a month ago.

 

[Rusty]

Did MLK ever disrespect the flag or the anthem?

No but he plagiarized to get his doctorate. He also plagiarized the "I Have a Dream" speech.

 

[Rusty]

I was in the army with many black guys and worked in a factory with many of them. Most were really nice but there were also some black people who were extremely racist against whites. And there were white who were racist against blacks. Did you know that lighter skinned Hispanics are racist against darker ones? Guatemalans and Mexicans hate each other. It dates clear back to Aztecs against Mayans.

 

[Eddie_T]

No but he plagiarized to get his doctorate. He also plagiarized the "I Have a Dream" speech.

Plagiarism is common as citing references and footnoting is a hassle. I plagiarize a bit myself, I might cite a source for long quote. But citing plagiarism in the case of MLK is ad hominem at the moment. MLK didn't insult patriotism.