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Black Men And Trump.


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Lunatic President Trump Said  Football  Players Kneeling  When The National Anthem Is Played  Should Be Fired,The Sons Of,B_Word Should Be Fired. White America ,They Are Disrespecting Our Flag,They Should,Leave,The,Country. .Lebron  James Called Trump A Bum..Sports Talker Michael Wilbon Said Trump Was Aiming At,Black Men..Pro Football Owners And Players Standing Together .The Patriots Who Are Friends With Trump,Spoke Against Trump. Where Were The Patriots When Trump .Was ,Supporting Neo Nazi With Torches And Guns In Charlottesville,Last Month..White Veterans Upset Over Players,Kneeling...Are White Veterans Upset Over Neo Nazi,With Torches And Guns In The Streets Of Charlottesville?Black Soldiers Have Been In All This Country's Wars. .National Anthem,,The Pledge Of Aleigence  ,Preamble Of The Constitution,Was For White People Only...Not Heard On The News,White Police Fired For Being Klan Members,Klan KKK,A Racist. Terrorist Organization...Neo Nazi In The Military Training,Themselves For The Race War In This Country....Quarterback Colin Kaepernick Still Unemployed...There Is A Fear Of Unity Of Black Men In This Country. Then There Is,Idiot Black Preachers Supporting Trump .After He,  Supporting Neo-Nazi In Charlottesville. ....Black Church .Is  A Corrupt  Dump.....

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Unfortunately since 45 is president I'm forced to hear with the ravings of a lunatic. Why does anyone pay attention to anything Trump writes on Twitter.  Who cares what 45 thinks about what players do in the NFL?  He has no power, no jurisdiction, what he says does not matter.  I'm mean I know it sell papers and drives traffic but sheesh...

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This situation is more than just an annoyance to those who don't have much use for the news media. It is an issue that has taken on dramatic, far reaching proportions and is making the country more divided than ever because it's not just about a game. It exposes everything that is problematic about amerika.  The Trump supporters and their sympathizers put a totally different spin on the "bend-the-knee" gesture.  They think it is disrespecting the flag that American troops have  fought and died for.  They cannot conceive of the idea that these military veterans fought for the right of American citizens to protest injustice.  Not to mention that blacks fought in all of these wars and invariably returned home to a nation that had no problem maintaining the status quo of racism. America is schizoid.

 

And, of course, there is that white element of the population who think these highly-paid black athletes should just shut up and do what their owners tell them to do. This is a sentiment sweeping the country, embodying those angry at troublemaking blacks for rocking the boat and demanding justice instead of revering the American rag and that ridiculous national anthem. It is also challenging the players to flex their muscles and throw their weight around in the 2 sports that they dominate and perpetuate. The NFL and NBA franchises are faced with the dilemma of placating their black players and pacifying their white fans, the latter being very attuned to Trump's racism and false patriotism. These protests are forcing teams to take a stand, risking a defection of black players who dominate these leagues and the white fans who fill the stands. A black boycott by the players would be devastating. Polls show the NFL viewing audience to be way down. All of this is not something to be lightly dismissed. It is a microcosm of the country and involves more than innocuous Tweets from an orange-hued dotard. (The NFL is also in jeopardy because of the growing evidence that the physical violence of this game takes on its players over time.) 

 

Not surprising, hockey franchises and nascar sponsors and their participants have sided with Trump. These overwhelmingly white teams and their fans are the stuff Trump supporters are made of, and their decision  just broadens the racial gap in the political divide. 

 

America is being tested and examined.  Because it is not the noble country it is cracked up to be, it is on a collision course with failure. Unfortunately, any attempt to remove Trump from office will trigger chaos.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"Not surprising, hockey franchises and nascar sponsors and their participants have sided with Trump. These overwhelmingly white teams and their fans are the stuff Trump supporters are made of, and their decision  just broadens the racial gap in the political divide."

 

True. Not more to be said. These virtually all white sports reflect the constituents that support them. The thumbs up to Trumps mindless divisive drivel is no surprise.....

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@Cynique, very well put and I'm sure you are right.  

 

I guess I simply do not care what 45 thinks or what football playesr do.  It is of little consequence to me.  I would like to see the players, who provide the bulk of the entertainment, own a percentage of the league proportional to their participation on the field, but no one seems to care very much about that even though it is a more important issue.  I don't even care if they want to risk brain injury.  They know the risks.  

 

Still I can't help but feel the media is fueling the flames of this.  If I turn on the TV,  open a paper, or post to social media--I have to see 45's stupid tweets.  Other than dropping off the grid there is no escaping his nonsense.

 

Rather than taking a sober look at Colin's motivation and having a sensible dialog, the entire media landscape is inundated with childish bickering that will lead us nowhere good.  The are no voices of reason with a platform large enough to rise above the noise and reach anyone.

 

A thoughtful examination of the issues are not profitable. Emotion fueled controversy is, so this is what we get. Social media has put this on steroids and are laughing all the way to the bank--completely insulated from any negative repercussions due to their great wealth.  

 

 

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11 hours ago, Cynique said:

America is being tested and examined.  Because it is not the noble country it is cracked up to be, it is on a collision course with failure.

 

My most-quoted and referenced movie is The Wizard of Oz. The unmasking of the wizard shown to be bumbling-coot of a con artist is my favorite part.  

I read, recently, stadium sports was used to amp up the revelry for war.  In fact, according to the Washington Post the anthem tradition allegedly began in Chicago before the NFL was founded.  

 

Meanwhile, Senate just passed a  $700 billion  in NDAA (New York Times Article) funding  for the war machine - that is America... A bended knee at the military function, commonly known as NFL match-ups , is like having a traitor in their midst.    

See, Colin Kaepernick, being half-white and raised in a white household understands the war-related symbolism.  He simply dog-whistled the Jingos and like wounded dogs, they are howling.  

 

The rest of us battle-weary Americans are waking from our poppy-field slumber (opioid crisis, my ass) and are no longer under the influence of the Powers-that-Be and their spells.  

 

We see you, WH Resident 45*.   We see clearly the whole damn theatre.


 

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@Mel Hopkins Your remarks are spot on! 

 

@TroyThis "bend-the-knee" fall-out is a legitimate news story that doesn't die because it is so relevant.  It doesn't have to be hyped because it automatically inspires attention by virtue of  being about something near and dear to the hearts of most Americans. And the fact that everybody seems to have an opinion on it is an indication of how it strikes a nerve in the population.

 

IMO, the reaction this  gesture receives is like a litmus test for racism. If a white person refuses to consider that troops didn't die for the flag, but for the freedom the flag is supposed to represent then,  such people reveal themselves as being intrinsically racist. Why? Because implicit in their position is the message that blacks should overlook how the flag does not represent justice and equality for all  and that black grievances are secondary to white perceptions.  This controversy is forcing people to take sides and the true nationalistic character of this country is emerging as it marches towards a fascistic state with a fuerher at its helm.   It's really appropriate that this debate is taking place in the arena of professional sports,  a place in keeping with the "us" against "them" mentality, that reflects America at its worst. 

 

You say all of this is of little importance to you.  Yet, you  bristle about the repercussions of social media and the monopolistic  Google and Amazon being of little interest to others.  Everybody is entitled to  their priorities of course. 

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@Cynique I would be willing to bet that there have been, over the decades, numerous individuals who failed to salute the flag, but they they did not garner so much media attention because there was no 24/7 news cycle and no social media. Again, Colin's story is only "relevant" because of the media's reaction.  No one would have wasted a camera to isolate what individual players were doing during the national anthem 30 years ago. His action would have gone unnoticed.

 

All the man has done is drop to a knee, for Christ's sake! It is not like he risked prison by refusing to serve in Vietnam like Ali. It is not he marched across the Edmond Pettus Bridge while racist cops were beating him senseless.  Let keep things in perspective.

 

Now that 45 has chimed in and everyone has taken a sides. What will come of this?  Does anyone, for a split second, think racism will actually end?  Does anything think that racists will question their own motives and see things differently?  What is the goal of all this attention to the various knee-bending, arm-joining, activity going on in the NFL?

 

Again, I think the whole knee bending is much ado abut nothing, simply because it will not improve race relations. It appears it is not even enough to get Colin his job back, but even if he did, nothing would change.

 

In a pre 24/7 news cycle/social media era Colin would still have a job.

 

Meanwhile the activists, attorneys, legislators, educators, ministers and their organizations, who actually do the work of making change could be getting the actual work done. But today some guy taking a knew gets all the attention, our organizations grow weaker and nothing changes...

 

I'm reading,Ta-Nehisi Coates' new book, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy. In it he draws an analogy between the aftermath of Obama's presidency and and the end of reconstruction.  It is an interesting parallel we saw rise of the Klan and Black people had every benefit provided during reconstruction ripped away for another century.  

 

Poor and middle class, under-educated, white people are angry.  Their social media filter-bubble-fueled bigotry is reinforced and they can't see Colin's actions as anything but overt hate of American and a threat to everything America represents.  

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It bears repeating. Trump will the most unifying divisive President ever.

 

Trump is a brilliant marketer. Which means he os adept at judging the mind or hearts of a large section of the population. If he is speaking their language it means that a large portion if the population think and feel they way he does. Whether you ignore him or not. He is a sign of our times. 

Black Americans were supposed ti die or disappear when their useful as Labor disappeared. 

They didn't get the memo from the Washington Redskins.

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I don't necessarily agree with THIS form of protesting because of the confusion and needless animosity it has brought.

If you have a problem with injustice and racism then address those issues DIRECTLY with the guilty parties involved, but I don't think it's a good idea....though it's their right....to diss the flag and national anthem of their own nation.

Too much Black behavior is convoluted and half-assed and half-hearted and jumbled up in confusion.
Even when many of our people attempt to take a stand for the right reasons, the way they go about it is so confusing, annoying, and basically ineffective that they end up doing 2 things:

1. Instead of just pissing off the racists, they end up turning off a lot of decent well meaning White people who can't figure out what we want or what point we're trying to make besides being a nusance.

2. Further alienate most Black people who are intelligent and/or have good jobs and don't see the benefit in joining into some "protest" that doesn't seem to have any clear goals except to point out racism that most people already know exists.
Many if not most Black people are already a little hesitant to join public demonstrations, and just marching around in circles and getting themselves in trouble with the police without any clear and serious goals to accomplish often further drives them away.

Because of my personal experiences in political and social activism I've learned that people are most successful when they go directly to the "powers that be" with CLEAR GOALS and CLEAR DEMANDS.

Running out into the freeway and stopping traffic or standing around with your shirt off sweating and yelling at police officers doesn't really solve your problems and will often times create MORE PROBLEMS on top of the ones you already have.



But I DO love the fact that rich and famous Black entertainers are finally taking a political stand.
Something many of us have been demanding of them for decades.

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Colin Kaepernick has been a catalyst.   His protest is just the tip of the iceberg and America is on tap for a meltdown. Why do I get the impression that you guys are frustrated by Colin's longevity,  and you'll be disappointed if his symbolic gesture brings about change?  Instead of acknowledging that his demonstration is one spoke in the wheel of protest, you continue to belittle him as if to say your ways are the only ways to prod progress .  tsk-tsk.  

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No @Cynique, you are misinterpreting what I'm saying.  I'm not belittling Colin. My argument is that Colin's protest is driven by media attention.  They choose to promote Colin's to promote--not us.  They can also chose to move on when no more controversy can be rung from the issue.  

 

Obviously, 45 has given the media an opportunity to milk this further, but again this will run it's course, and the unheralded heroes who are actually doing the work our liberation will continue as they always have.

 

Cynique, do you think that Colin taking a knee is the most substantive effort of protest that we are currently engaged in, the effort most worthy of our attention and support, or are you fine with allowing corporations to continue to drive our agenda, based upon profit rather than effectiveness?

 

Time will tell this oft repeated story.

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7 hours ago, Cynique said:

Colin Kaepernick has been a catalyst.   His protest is just the tip of the iceberg and America is on tap for a meltdown. Why do I get the impression that you guys are frustrated by Colin's longevity,  and you'll be disappointed if his symbolic gesture brings about change? 


@Cynique your quote reminds me of how some black men dismissed some of President Obama's work... If I were of age during the civil rights movement - I bet I would have heard  a certain kind of black man poo-poo Martin Luther King, Jr, and Malcolm X too .  

 

Now, I expect certain types of black men to be a distraction to progress.   They are like white women who voted for Trump or against Hillary. For them, as long as the status quo is protected no one will expect them to achieve anything.  The best thing, though is those types may delay progress but they will eventually get run over by it.  

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10 hours ago, Troy said:

Cynique, do you think that Colin taking a knee is the most substantive effort of protest that we are currently engaged in, the effort most worthy of our attention and support, or are you fine with allowing corporations to continue to drive our agenda, based upon profit rather than effectiveness?

How many times do I have to explain that Colin Kaepernick's bending the knee is one tactic designed to call attention to a grievance??  His symbolic gesture exposed the American flag for not living up to its promise and, in rocking the boat, he made a great many people uncomfortable. I applaud  his  moral victory because it not only accomplished its aim, but it created a snowball  effect that is ongoing. 

 

Furthermore, Colin's personal protest has no impact on other more conventional methods of challenging racism. More power to those who take another tack. I am never that optimistic about any black strategies bringing sweeping changes when it comes to race,  but I derive a certain satisfaction from Kaepernick's shaking things up. (Mel's previous post offers great insight about the criticism he has garnered.)

 

In your contempt for the media you overlook the symbiotic relationship between it and the individuals or groups who get ribbons of free publicity in exchange for the profits generated by the coverage of what they do.  Are there really any losers in this exchange?  Scratching each other's backs is the name of the game in the public sector.  I don't have a problem with this because I do have the option of changing the channel when I get tired of sensationalized stories - as do most people.  I make up my own mind about trending issues and I appreciate that the media supplies me with the  information to do this.  What is the alternative?

 

 

 

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