4 minutes ago, Dave Moss said:

I am sensing that your anus really hurts. 

Hey Grandpa, no one wants to discuss a topic with someone who replies to themselves three times in a row.  
 

   

1 minute ago, Dave Moss said:

Hey Grandpa, no one wants to discuss a topic with someone who replies to themselves three times in a row.  
 

   

OWNED!!!  

Honestly, I don’t know what’s more annoying - that racial equality is such a persistent problem or that Trump acts like he can sit down and figure it out in a few hours.  
 

My wife just bought a 500 page book by Ibram X. Kendi.  She said she wants to learn about racial justice.  I was like, "you’re never gonna read that...”

I do think learning about race and racial issues is important though.  Not every American has the same experience and part of that has to do with race.

Bo hit the bottle hard today. 

59 minutes ago, Dave Moss said:

Honestly, I don’t know what’s more annoying - that racial equality is such a persistent problem or that Trump acts like he can sit down and figure it out in a few hours.  
 

My wife just bought a 500 page book by Ibram X. Kendi.  She said she wants to learn about racial justice.  I was like, "you’re never gonna read that...”

I do think learning about race and racial issues is important though.  Not every American has the same experience and part of that has to do with race.

We all have our differences and always will so the question is why can't we just accept that and stop focusing on what makes us different instead of what makes us the same?  I mean, Han Solo's best friend in the whole F'ing galaxy was a Wookie from Kashyyyk.  And Han was a Corellian who spoke Basic.  And Chewy also befriended the Ewoks on Endor and they all got along.  Why the F can't we?  

 

10 hours ago, Green_Guinness said:

We all have our differences and always will so the question is why can't we just accept that and stop focusing on what makes us different instead of what makes us the same?  I mean, Han Solo's best friend in the whole F'ing galaxy was a Wookie from Kashyyyk.  And Han was a Corellian who spoke Basic.  And Chewy also befriended the Ewoks on Endor and they all got along.  Why the F can't we?  

 

We can.  I'm not sure how closely related characters from Star Wars are to humans from Planet Earth though.  The most realistic place in Star Wars was the bar in Mos Eisley, where Obi Wan chops off some dude's hand and Han blows away Greedo.

 

What the flag stands for is more important than the material it is made from. 

9 hours ago, What The F said:

Bo hit the bottle hard today. 

2 weekends in a row with a f'd up thread where almost all the replies are his own.  damn.  

20 hours ago, dawkins4prez said:

People do need to realize just how strong a statement it is to be protesting the flag or the anthem.

The strongest statement that can be made is one done by a flag whose integrity and symbolic value is strong enough to survive protests against it by protestors both domestic and foreign alike.  I know many military people who understand that 100% though I'm sure many do not see it that way at all.  Almost no one likes seeing the flag sheeted on but the right to do so is far more important than the negative feelings some/many of us feel when we see the flag under protest.

Quote

GENERAL COLIN L. POWELL, USA (RET)
909 NORTH WASHINGTON STREET, SUITE 767
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314 

The Honorable Patrick Leahy
United States Senate
Washington, DC 10510-4502

Dear Senator Leahy, 

Thank you for your recent letter asking my views on the proposed flag protection amendment. 

I love our flag, our Constitution and our country with a love that has no bounds. I defended all three for 35 years as a soldier and was willing to give my life in their defense. 

Americans revere their flag as a symbol of the Nation. Indeed, it is because of that reverence that the amendment is under consideration. Few countries in the world would think of amending their Constitution for the purpose of protecting such a symbol. 

We are rightfully outraged when anyone attacks or desecrates our flag. Few Americans do such things and when they do they are subject to the rightful condemnation of their fellow citizens. They may be destroying a piece of cloth, but they do no damage to our system of freedom which tolerates such desecration. 

If they are destroying a flag that belongs to someone else, that's a prosecutable crime. If it is a flag they own, I really don't want to amend the Constitution to prosecute someone for foolishly desecrating their own property. We should condemn them and pity them instead. 

I understand how strongly so many of my fellow veterans and citizens feel about the flag and I understand the powerful sentiment in state legislatures for such an amendment. I feel the same sense of outrage. But I step back from amending the Constitution to relieve that outrage. The First Amendment exists to insure that freedom of speech and expression applies not just to that with which we agree or disagree, but also that which we find outrageous. I would not amend that great shield of democracy to hammer a few miscreants. The flag will be flying proudly long after they have slunk away. 

Finally, I shudder to think of the legal morass we will create trying to implement the body of law that will emerge from such an amendment. 

If I were a member of Congress, I would not vote for the proposed amendment and would fully understand and respect the views of those who would. For or against, we all love our flag with equal devotion. 

Sincerely,
General Colin Powell, USA (RET) 

 

 

I have come to disagree with his general definition of protestors as miscreants, but agree otherwise. 

Whenever this type of thing comes up I think of the words of Eleanor Roosevelt "Great minds discuss ideas ; average minds discuss events ; small minds discuss people."

Applied here the flag is the person/item, protesting the flag is the event, and the freedom of expression the flag stands for is the idea.

i think people in the stands on their cell phones during the anthem should be taken out by a military satellite laser canon.

11 hours ago, What The F said:

Bo hit the bottle hard today. 

12 hours ago, hukdonfoniks said:

I don't know what the F happened in here but

 

Bo got sheet faced again and started an obvious fishing attempt that even the left isn't stupid enough to fall for

Here's how Nate Boyer got Colin Kaepernick to go from sitting to kneeling

In the 49ers' final preseason game, backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick decided to kneel for the national anthem instead of taking a seat on the bench.

Turns out it was former Seahawks player and Green Beret Nate Boyer who talked Kap into making the change. Boyer wrote an open letter to Kaepernick earlier this season, and it caused the two to meet up and discuss America and honoring the anthem.

On the upcoming episode of HBO's "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" (airing Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET), Boyer reveals what happened in the discussion between the two men.

"We sorta came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammates," Boyer says. "Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave, you know, to show respect. When we're on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security."

Asked by Gumbel if Kap was "receptive" to his ideas, Boyer described him as "very receptive."

"Very receptive. He said, 'I think that would be-- I think-- I think that would be really powerful,'" Boyer recalls. "And, you know, he asked me to do it with him. And I said, 'Look, I'll stand next to you. I gotta stand though. I gotta stand with my hand on my heart. That's just-- that's just what I do and where I'm from.'"

The two met and took a picture together, but Boyer wasn't willing to take a knee.

Boyer also got called many names for his decision to stand next to Kaepernick during the anthem.

"I got called a lotta things from both sides. I was told I was a disgrace to the green beret by a couple Green Berets, one of 'em I was friends with," Boyer says. "And that hurts, you know? It really does. But then I also had a lot of people in the military and people in special forces that said, 'Man, I hadn't really thought about that before. And I think you're onto something.'"

There are always going to be people who don't appreciate what Kap is doing, and there are always going to be people who don't appreciate Boyer reaching out to him.

But the bottom line is that discussion, in a positive and peaceful fashion, is always better than screaming angrily about a subject matter.

Boyer and Kap might not see eye to eye, but bridging the gap by even speaking about the issues is a pretty good start.

 

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/heres-how-nate-boyer-got-colin-kaepernick-to-go-from-sitting-to-kneeling/

A part of it is Kaepernick was the wrong face for the movement.  He did an interview about it with a Che Guevera shirt.  It was easy for people to make him a polarizing figure.

IMO Malcom Jenkins communicated the issue in a better way.  Eventually the kneeling spread throughout the NFL and other sports.  You have white players supporting it and kneeling as well.  

We have 2A protesters that feel they need to be armed in case the government becomes tyrannical and starts attacking or killing citizens.  

Well...uh...hmm.

On 6/14/2020 at 9:46 AM, dawkins4prez said:

People do need to realize just how strong a statement it is to be protesting the flag or the anthem.  Not that you can't do it, but it's not something that should be done willy nilly.  The other side of protesting is people need to realize that without a specific goal, you aren't going to enact much change.  I still don't see much use to kneeling "until racism stops".  What exactly does that look like?  What do you need people to do for you to stop protesting a scared symbol?

 

And that's the part of it that rings hollow to me.  Protesting without a set goal is pissing in the wind.  Protesting sacred symbols without a goal is pissing in the wind and straight into somebody else's face.  But none of that actaully prevents the right to protest.

Such a great post.  good job. 

On 6/14/2020 at 12:46 PM, dawkins4prez said:

People do need to realize just how strong a statement it is to be protesting the flag or the anthem.  Not that you can't do it, but it's not something that should be done willy nilly.  The other side of protesting is people need to realize that without a specific goal, you aren't going to enact much change.  I still don't see much use to kneeling "until racism stops".  What exactly does that look like?  What do you need people to do for you to stop protesting a scared symbol?

 

And that's the part of it that rings hollow to me.  Protesting without a set goal is pissing in the wind.  Protesting sacred symbols without a goal is pissing in the wind and straight into somebody else's face.  But none of that actaully prevents the right to protest.

Thought this was relevant: https://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-kaepernick-kneel-boyer-20180916-story.html

Ultimately I think willingness to have a dialog and exchange ideas in a good faith manner is a requirement for progress. Too many come to the table with an agenda and a dug-in idea of what the other side believes, and refuse to be shaken of that prejudice.

 

Edit: looks like @MidMoFo beat me to it. Great minds...

My personal opinion on the issue is that I stand for the national anthem because my grandpa fought in WWII, an uncle in Vietnam, another uncle in desert storm and several other family members served in the military but didn’t go to war.

I also realize that the battlefield is the most equal place for an American. Whether you’re white, black, red, yellow or brown every race of people has died on the battlefield fighting for the USA. 
 

If you think Kaepernick was protesting the military, it’s because you made the decision to listen to a president who lives on creating a divisive enemy and playing on your fear and anger. You CHOSE not to listen to the motive of the actual protester. Whether you agree with the silent, peaceful protest by Kaepernick or not, he’s doing what every white, black, red, yellow and brown American died protecting. As many of the "kneeling” protesters have requested, you need to LISTEN.
 

In my opinion, as a white male American, anyone who treats someone of a different race with any sort of disrespect is dishonoring the military veterans of that race who served and died for our country. If all Americans are equal enough to die for our country, then every race deserves the right to be treated equal at home.

If you don’t like it... go fist yourself!

9 hours ago, NOTW said:

 

IMO Malcom Jenkins communicated the issue in a better way.  

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/malcolm-jenkins-cnn-eagles-saints?fbclid=IwAR2iEdgo7sTebvMmPVfmBLjeeGG-mlttH1KHRuLDgjGfIM_pIxeu77UL_iE

Former Eagle Malcolm Jenkins hired as CNN contributor

Quote

 

"Now more than ever, the public needs to be educated on the roles of elected positions of power, such as the District Attorney, Police Chief or City Council and how to hold those individuals accountable, especially through their voice and their vote,” Jenkins said in a statement. 

"In an important election year, I’m eager to join the CNN family and share my perspective as a regular contributor. I also want to thank CNN for their thoughtful leadership in viewing professional athletes beyond their sport as another educated voice who brings a varied perspective and value to the network’s programming and shows.”

 

 

Is his disrespectful to the flag?

Spoiler

 

7 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Is his disrespectful to the flag?

  Hide contents

 

Extremely. She should take it off