"If things were as bad as those kneeling claim, then they'd be lynched for kneeling. The irony is deafening."
The protests began by Kaepernick in response to was regarding the actions of "jackboot thugs" that you have expressed disdain for yourself. The only difference is that his protest was in regards to actions associated with racial bias.
"Conservatards love to bleat and bloviate about supporting free speech, until they disagree with what is being said. Then they whine incessantly against it."
Liberals aren't really so different. Ask some of the folks that those fine folks over to Berkeley silenced.
"The best part about the whole debate is that up until a few years ago the players weren't on the sideline for the anthem, they were still in the locker room. It wasn't until the US Army recruitment program funneled money to the NFL for propaganda purposes."
I disagree. The most ironic part of the debate is that, I'm guessing that most of those that are all offended by those players kneeling during the anthem are sitting in a recliner washing down their nachos with a beer while the players are kneeling.
"I like what Jim Brown said about kneeling. He said if Kapernack wants to be an activist then take his money and be an activist."
Kaepernick has put both his money and time into activism.
"I'm curious about something, if those that kneel during the national anthem have the right to do so, why doesn't Trump enjoy the right to condemn them for it."
In my opinion, the problem with Trump's comments is that he made them at a political event as President and was obviously attempting to pressure NFL teams to fired individuals for protesting in a way that he doesn't like. As an individual, he has a right to his opinion, but the President should not be trying to pressure any company into firing people for engaging in a peaceful protest in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.
"The bigger question for those that choose to kneel during the anthem, is there stand actually doing anything? Or is it an empty gesture that does nothing but make them feel warm and fuzzy inside?"
I think that it's fair to say that, if the goal was to bring attention to an issue, attention has been been gained. I wasn't offended by Kaepernick's kneeling. The thing that I thought was crappy was when he expressed that he didn't vote. It seemed kinda' redundant to me to protest potential systematic injustice without using the voting booth to address the issues that he was protesting about. It made his protest seem impotent to me.
"Actually, the message is somewhat missed. While most understand today's protest was against Trump"s "sob" comments Friday, some see it as disrespect to the flag country, military and veterans, and that's understandable. Initially, Kaepernick's protest was against the treatment of minorities by the police. In other words, which is it this week? Next week?"
Why does it have to be one or the other? If you protested last year at a protest designed to bring attention to veteran's affair, should that mean that you can't protest for something completely different at another time?
"But, this is what our military has insured we have the right to do. However, these players, coaches and personnel are paid employees. Most employers frown upon their employees taking political stands while on the clock. It's just a given, as a business, you don't take a political posture on anything because you're gonna piss somebody off. That's just business and this is business. Big business..."
True. It's a business decision. As such, the President should not be trying to apply pressure to a business in order to dictate the decisions of the business.
"Americans should protest the "Black Lives Matter" anti- cops, anti-American socialist left knee-jerkers by not buying their product. Until sanity returns, I for one will not support by attending, watching or buying products from companies that support the "N"FL or the "N"BA."
lol@"Americans." Careful. Your racism/xenophobia is showing.
"I think what is so upsetting to a lot of folks is the fact that most of those who are peacefully protesting the system are those who have obtained great wealth from the same system."
I don't understand your logic here at all. What system are you referring to and in what way has the system that you're referring to given these individuals great wealth?
"Granted, most of them were blessed with strong bodies and great athletic ability, but from the time they graduated high school most everything was paid for. While I waited on and cleaned tables, floors and toilets on a work scholarship which paid about a third of my college cost, they simply honed their skills. Those who were at the top of the list were now in line for the multimillion dollar contracts."
You are painting this picture as if these individuals haven't worked very hard to get where they are. You don't just walk onto an professional team because you were blessed with athletic ability. Even if most of these individuals were granted scholarships, they had to work just as hard (if not harder) than you just to hone those skills that you're referring to and they had to do so while being required to travel across the country. Those peeps spend hours in the gym, hours at practice and hours doing public relations work for their respective organizations as well as to promote their own brand. It's not the same as playing a game in their spare time. It's a job and it entails many things. They don't just work a few hours on Sunday.
"I can not help but wonder, if given the choice, between taking the money or losing it by protesting, how many would have taken a knee! There are many ways for those who have obtained so much from the system to help the oppressed rather than take a knee or seat at a sporting event"
Kaepernick's protest probably costed him quite a bit of money. And as the Forbes article above points out, he has given both time and money while off of the field.
