Colin Kaepernick is Righter than you know

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/colin-kaepernick-righter-know-national-182349819.html

Before a preseason game on Friday, San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the playing of the Star Spangled Banner. When he explained why, he only spoke about the present: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. … There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Twitter then went predictably nuts, with at least one 49er fan burning Kaepernick’s jersey.

Almost no one seems to be aware that even if the U.S. were a perfect country today it would be bizarre to expect African American players to stand for the Star Spangled Banner. Why? Because it literally celebrates the murder of African Americans.

[smilesammich 10,727]

We should admire those who risk personal gain in the service of promoting the values of their country. Both athletes are in fine company of others who have shown their patriotism in unconventional ways. In 1989, when a federal law prohibiting flag desecration went into effect, Vietnam Veterans burned the American flag as a protest to a law curbing the First Amendment. Their argument was that they fought for the freedoms in the Constitution, not a piece of cloth, and to curtail those freedoms was an insult to their sacrifice. Ironically, the original purpose of flag desecration laws between 1897 and 1932 wasn’t to prevent political dissent, but to prevent the use of flag imagery for political campaigns and in advertising.

One sign of the maturation of American society is the willingness of those in the public eye, especially athletes, to openly take a political stand, even if it could harm their careers. The modern era of athletes speaking out began in 1966 with Muhammad Ali refusing to be drafted to fight other people of color. In 1967, I joined with football great Jim Brown, basketball legend Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali and other prominent athletes for what was dubbed “The Cleveland Summit.” Together we tried to find ways to help Ali fight for his right of political expression. I don’t know how much we were able to accomplish on a practical level, but seeing black athletes in support of Ali inspired others to speak out. The following year at the 1968 Olympics, African Americans Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists during the medal ceremony as a protest to the treatment of people of color in the United States. In 2014, NBA players LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Jarrett Jack, Alan Anderson, Deron Williams and Kevin Garnett and NFL players from the Rams and Browns wore “I Can’t Breathe” shirts during warm-ups for a game to protest police killings of unarmed blacks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/08/30/insulting-colin-kaepernick-says-more-about-our-patriotism-than-his/?utm_term=.d56f95946f5b

[lostinblue 1,989]

I do agree with him that Killary should be facing jail time... An example of her "privilege "

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I do agree with him that Killary should be facing jail time... An example of her "privilege "

But Lib, you said WP doesn't exist, so which one is it? Because there's no such thing as the woman card.

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination

[lostinblue 1,989]

But Lib, you said WP doesn't exist, so which one is it? Because there's no such thing as the woman card.

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination

[smilesammich 10,727]

But Lib, you said WP doesn't exist, so which one is it? Because there's no such thing as the woman card.

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination

where do ya'll come up with this stuff?

i was under the impression you're a firm believer that folks in jail did something wrong to land themselves there, at least that's what i've gathered from the past few years of your posts. now all those folks were jailed by clinton privilege and should be freed? do you think obama has pardoned some of these poor folks by now, you're cool with obama's pardons right?

Edited August 30, 2016 by smilesammich

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

But Lib, you said WP doesn't exist, so which one is it? Because there's no such thing as the woman card.

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination

Wait, so Hillary Clinton was President back in the 90's? You sure about that? Because I could have sworn the person I met back in 2000 was in fact Bill Clinton...

[Teddy B 17,252]

But Lib, you said WP doesn't exist, so which one is it? Because there's no such thing as the woman card.

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination

So Lib is now a spokesperson for BLM! Who woulda thunk it?

where do ya'll come up with this stuff?

i was under the impression you're a firm believer that folks in jail did something wrong to land themselves there, at least that's what i've gathered from the past few years of your posts. now all those folks were jailed by clinton privilege and should be freed? do you think obama has pardoned some of these poor folks by now, you're cool with obama's pardons right?

It's amazing the pretzel one will twist themselves into to make sure they stick to the script.

[smilesammich 10,727]

It's amazing the pretzel one will twist themselves into to make sure they stick to the script.

must be rough when the script is so flimsy.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

must be rough when the script is so flimsy.

A wet piece of toilet paper is stronger...

[smilesammich 10,727]

A wet piece of toilet paper is stronger...

indeed.

another good bit i read yesterday on kaepernick ..

1. “The real problem with Kaepernick is that sports and politics shouldn’t mix!”

Initially, this seems like a simple and sober ask. Sports are a very effective distraction from the real world. ####, you could argue that sports exist specifically to distract people. So it’s not beyond reason to A)expect to be able to be divorced from politics while you’re watching a game and B) become upset at a person who doesn’t allow that to happen.

Unfortunately, that’s impossible to do in America. Sports aren’t just intertwined with politics. It might very well be the most transparently political and politics-driven entity here. (Besides, of course, actual politics.) To wit, the national anthem is played before every high school, college, and professional sporting event. I’ve probably been to 500 of these events, and the anthem was played before literally every single one. That’s 500 times I’ve spent 60 to 90 seconds before a sports game facing our flag and reciting a verse from a cultish, terribly written song that makes negative infinity sense and effectively serves as bumper sticker patriotism. The Pledge of Allegiance doesn’t even occur in every school anymore. But if you’re throwing and catching a ball somewhere in America, you better Star Spangle the #### out of that ball.

And this is particularly true when it comes to football; the NFL specifically. Between the perpetual Marine commercials and fighter jets flying overhead and illogical allusions to #### like “the trenches” and “the battlefield,” NFL games are practically three-hour-long military snuff films. We’re thisclose to holding actual beheadings at halftime of the Super Bowl. Especially after Beyonce decided to be Black this year.

2. “Why is Colin Kaepernick protesting? He just signed a nine-figure salary! He’s not oppressed!”

This is my favorite dumb-### #### I’ve heard this week. Because it’s the dumbest, it’s the dumbest in the most ways, and it’s the least self-aware. (It also seems to be the most popular one. Maybe the Dumb-### #### store was having a two for one sale on this.)

The two most obvious signs of myopic idiocy here are A) the implication that rich Black people are somehow immune to racism and B) the equally inane implication that only poor people can speak out against it.

The sentiment in B) is particularly foolish because it neglects to consider an inalienable and sacrosanct truth about America and Americans. We only listen to rich people.

Generally speaking, America does not care about what poor and/or oppressed people have to say. Aboutanything. Racism, classism, sexism, violence, health care, politics, education; you name it and we don’t give a damn about poor people’s opinions on it. Unless, of course, there are like a million of them saying it at the exact same time. Or they’re saying it while standing in the middle of the interstate or doing something else that disrupts daily life. (And even then, you might get trucked by a Prius.) But one non-rich American protesting a worthy cause causes as much noise and garners as much attention as a spider with sleep apnea snoring. Think about it: There are 300 million people in this country. And the person the GOP felt is most qualified to represent it is a man whose only qualification is his bank statement.

Why is Colin Kaepernick, millionaire superstar quarterback, protesting? Because no one would give a damn if Colin Kaepernick, Retail Sales Representative at Verizon Wireless, did.

http://verysmartbrothas.com/colin-kaepernick-isnt-too-rich-to-protest-this-is-america-remember-we-only-listen-to-rich-people/

[Teddy B 17,252]

A wet piece of toilet paper is stronger...

Marv I think Lib is trying to reach out, maybe you could take him to the next BLM meeting and introduce him to the group?

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

indeed.

another good bit i read yesterday on kaepernick ..

http://verysmartbrothas.com/colin-kaepernick-isnt-too-rich-to-protest-this-is-america-remember-we-only-listen-to-rich-people/

I read his stuff from time to time. The root usually posts something around 2 to 3 times a month. His article is spot on.

J and I was talking last night about how if Colin was broke, no one would care about his message. And being rich in the NFL negates his right to "protest" by most people's standard.

For you to be oppressed here in this country, they want you to be in physical chains. Like it was in what some people say were the "good ole days".

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Marv I think Lib is trying to reach out, maybe you could take him to the next BLM meeting and introduce him to the group?

If he wants to come, he can PM me. J and I would LOVE to bring him under our wing

[smilesammich 10,727]

I read his stuff from time to time. The root usually posts something around 2 to 3 times a month. His article is spot on.

J and I was talking last night about how if Colin was broke, no one would care about his message. And being rich in the NFL negates his right to "protest" by most people's standard.

For you to be oppressed here in this country, they want you to be in physical chains. Like it was in what some people say were the "good ole days".

not only do we not listen to poor people, we also don't care much about women athletes who protest - just when it starts messin with our murican pigskin men folk..

i can't find the article that brought the lack of attention to the wnba protests to mind now, something shaun king linked to on fb. but very true and they're being fined for their protests..