Would you take a knee?

[IrezumiKiss]

I'm not at all surprised by the folks that don't get what it's about. You don''t understand, because you simply don't want to.

https://twitter.com/nfl/status/911972323263172608

https://media.giphy.com/media/NckWsOcp1HSHC/giphy.gif

also this

https://pics.me.me/this-is-you-every-saturday-and-sunday-when-the-national-27876704.png

Taking a knee is not ruining sports. It is not ruining your existence. It is not ruining America.

 

[cowslinger64]

I understand what this is about. I'm not against the protest for what I see is a problem here in this country.

However, as someone who served in the military, I find the anthem to be something with a lot of meaning. To see these people sully the memory of those who were willing and actually gave their lives for this country, is not only misplaced but a terrible disservice to their memory.

There are lots more ways to protest and show your displeasure. I agree with much of what Paul Chance posted. If you want to really show your support for a cause, find a much better way of doing it and giving up your time and money to do so is something much better.. than being disrespectful.

 

[adrina]

You earn respect. You don't force respect.

Unless you're NK or nazi Germany.

Otherwise it's just a show of fake respect. Which is a far worse thing.

 

[cowslinger64]

You earn respect. You don't force respect.

Unless you're NK or nazi Germany.

Otherwise it's just a show of fake respect. Which is a far worse thing.

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but someone willing or having to die for their country is the ultimate in earning respect.

 

[jaF0]

What too many don't understand is that this 'sacrifice ' they speak of is about exactly this kind of freedom. The choice of not supporting a symbol of indoctrination at their free will.

 

[LincolnDuncan]

Never did before but I would to protest trump, the divider-in-chief

 

[cowslinger64]

What too many don't understand is that this 'sacrifice ' they speak of is about exactly this kind of freedom. The choice of not supporting a symbol of indoctrination at their free will.

I'm sure many of us do understand.. however, just because you have the right, doesn't mean you should exercise it.

Perhaps if those that disagree with my feelings on the subject which mirrors the feelings of many others, probably many vets... had they actually served their country, they would feel different. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and point out that "they don't understand".

 

[nowisthetime]

I am so proud of the solidarity of the NFL against this vile man.

He wants to control these athletes who he sees as Neanderthals. Or perhaps slaves? He is a bully only fit to be a CEO of a private company and not the chief of a country.

No one should be fired over not standing for a national anthem. That is ridiculous. Has he heard of the Constitution?

I am so over Republicans and their little petty faux outrage against standing for the Anthem. Bet some of these whiners are the same people going around flying or supporting the rebel flag, a flag of treason and murder!

 

[cowslinger64]

I am so proud of the solidarity of the NFL against this vile man.

He wants to control these athletes who he sees as Neanderthals. Or perhaps slaves? He is a bully only fit to be a CEO of a private company and not the chief of a country.

No one should be fired over not standing for a national anthem. That is ridiculous. Has he heard of the Constitution?

I am so over Republicans and their little petty faux outrage against the Anthem. Bet some of these whiners are the same people going around flying or supporting the rebel flag, a flag of treason and murder!

This isn't about trump. He's in an idiot class all his own. And I am not republican and I'd venture to say that many of us that disagree with the taking a knee, are not.

 

[spacekowboy]

Today this is 100% about Trump. He called them sons of bitches and that they should be fired for expressing their 1st amendment right. They are not carrying tiki torches and shouting anti American, anti semetic slogans.This president only cares about the first amendment when it suits his divisive rhetoric. So yes, today I would take a knee to support my team mates.

 

[MGurkus]

No. Why? I served and I respect our nations colors.

But if you want to take a knee go ahead, just remember I fought for your freedom to do just that. Of course I will beat the snot out of you for doing so.

You fought the Nazis?

 

[adrina]

I'm not sure if that's directed at me, but someone willing or having to die for their country is the ultimate in earning respect.

I mean the country. The country and the symbols therein must earn the respect and it cannot be forced. Thus the comparison to nazi Germany and North Korea who force respect at the end of a gun.

The country has to earn a person's respect. It's not automatic. Otherwise it's not a country worth respecting.

 

[adrina]

Never did before but I would to protest trump, the divider-in-chief

He is the single most divisive public figure I have ever witnessed in my lifetime.

 

[Paendragon]

They entire controversy is horseshit. The flag is too sacred to kneel for, but hey, if you win an Olympic medal by all means use the flag as a towel (for the record, I don't like either, but I support the right to do so).

So, ask yourself: do I really think the flag is sacred? Or do I just not like what the protest is about?

 

[Jennifer]

I would absolutely take a knee and do anything else to oppose Trump.

 

[butters]

https://pics.me.me/this-is-you-every-saturday-and-sunday-when-the-national-27876704.png

Taking a knee is not ruining sports. It is not ruining your existence. It is not ruining America.

 

[cowslinger64]

Today this is 100% about Trump. He called them sons of bitches and that they should be fired for expressing their 1st amendment right. They are not carrying tiki torches and shouting anti American, anti semetic slogans.This president only cares about the first amendment when it suits his divisive rhetoric. So yes, today I would take a knee to support my team mates.

I agree that he escalated it with his big mouth.. but this protest started long before he rolled in and funked up the place. That was my point.

 

[Paul_Chance]

I don't think the flag (or the national anthem) is sacred, at least not in the sense of I think of things being sacred. But it's a powerful symbol - if it wasn't, then what would be the point of protesting it?

"Today, 32 NFL players refused to eat bacon to protest police brutality..."

Of course, for some people bacon is near sacred, so I am sure that it would irritate someone.

As a human being, I tend to be respectful of the symbols of a wide variety of cultures. I guess that is just my nature. I'm a respectful kind of guy.

I also don't think respect has to be earned. It can be earned. It can also be lost. But, for me, the general position is one of respect. If I meet a stranger, I start out from a point of being respectful. They don't have to be virtuous first - I assume they are, and then go from there.

I've always thought it would be more effective to co-opt the symbol than to oppose it. For example, if I somehow had the magical position of organizing against what I perceived as a group not living up to the American Ideal - I'd drap myself (and my protest) in the symbols of America and take them away from the group I perceived as un-American.

Rather than burning the flag, I would carry it frequently and proudly. It strips the symbol away from them.

I've joked that a far more effective protest against the confederate flag as a symbol of white supremacy would be to co-opt it as a symbol of opposition to white supremacy. It would confuse the hell out of them. Maybe make it the symbol of the Nation of Islam. Ten thousand strong black men and women marching down the street, waving confederate flags proudly. Symbols are representative of what we assign to them.

On a personal level, when I see the flag I think of the people I know who "gave all" wearing it on their uniform. I stand up and I remember them. I'm glad in this life I called them "brother". I think of all that was swept away in the blink of an eye. It is a symbol - big, beautiful, flawed, imperfect - and it represents the value I assign to it.

 

[Paendragon]

One more small point: I see, especially on the Fourth of July, flag-themed plates, napkins, tablecloth, clothing . . . I've seen sheets, pillowcases, hats . . . you get the point. I hope.

Also, I voted no.

 

[FakeNews]

"I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ers-players-stay-in-locker-room-during-anthem

Chicago 23
Pittsburgh 17

The Steelers should have stayed in the locker room.

 

[cowslinger64]

https://hellopoetry.com/poem/2132039/untitled/


To football players who take a knee :

To the NFL players who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.

So, you want to take a knee?

Take a trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle. Wait your turn while listening to the screams of pain from the wounded.
Then take a knee.

Go to Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, dodging dead bodies and withering machine gun fire,...the very sea stained with American blood. Imagine that your fellow players are your dead brothers in arms.
Then take a knee.

Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. Over 60,000 Americans died in those jungles.There was no playbook or million dollar contracts for doing your job, but they understood what our flag represented. When they came home, they were protested by their fellow Americans.
Then take a knee while they spit on you.

Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat..Trade in your pads for a Kevlar helmet and battle dress...You'll have to stay hydrated, but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. And watch out for those IEDs when you take a knee.

There's a lot of places to take a knee. Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your protest, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled it defending your liberty.

So while you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on manicured fields striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of game yardage...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest.

No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women on the land, air, and sea, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us..so you would have the opportunity to dishonor their service by "taking a knee."

You have no clue what it took to get you where you are...but your "protest" is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation, it points to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your stats and game jersey are forgotten...

If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for both of our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all...because He is the one who provides those things.

But no protesting allowed. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave.

May He continue to bless America, the ignorant and selfish sinners we all are. What an incredible gift He has given us!

 

[nowisthetime]

One more post, it's a damn shame that someone convicted of executing dogs secured a job pretty damn quick , but not a man who refused to stand for an anthem well within his constitional rights. Sad.

There are a lot of fucked up NFL overseers, oops teamowners.

I would have loved it even more if all of the black players simply didn't show up cause you know there would be no NFL, compromised of 70% black males. House nigging only gets you so far.

 

[butters]

oh my....

(response to cowslinger's post)

 

[4evahBB]

I am so proud of the solidarity of the NFL against this vile man.

He wants to control these athletes who he sees as Neanderthals. Or perhaps slaves? He is a bully only fit to be a CEO of a private company and not the chief of a country.

No one should be fired over not standing for a national anthem. That is ridiculous. Has he heard of the Constitution?

I am so over Republicans and their little petty faux outrage against standing for the Anthem. Bet some of these whiners are the same people going around flying or supporting the rebel flag, a flag of treason and murder!

BAKE THE CAKE BIGOT!

Let GROWN MEN IN LITTLE GIRLS ROOMS

 

[adrina]

https://hellopoetry.com/poem/2132039/untitled/


To football players who take a knee :

To the NFL players who took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.

So, you want to take a knee?

Take a trip to Valley Forge in January. Hold a musket ball in your fingers and imagine it piercing your flesh and breaking a bone or two. There won't be a doctor or trainer to assist you until after the battle. Wait your turn while listening to the screams of pain from the wounded.
Then take a knee.

Go to Normandy where man after American man stormed the beach, dodging dead bodies and withering machine gun fire,...the very sea stained with American blood. Imagine that your fellow players are your dead brothers in arms.
Then take a knee.

Take a knee in the sweat soaked jungles of Vietnam. Over 60,000 Americans died in those jungles.There was no playbook or million dollar contracts for doing your job, but they understood what our flag represented. When they came home, they were protested by their fellow Americans.
Then take a knee while they spit on you.

Take another knee in the blood drenched sands of Fallujah in 110 degree heat..Trade in your pads for a Kevlar helmet and battle dress...You'll have to stay hydrated, but there won't be anyone to squirt Gatorade into your mouth. And watch out for those IEDs when you take a knee.

There's a lot of places to take a knee. Americans have given their lives all over the world. When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your protest, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have. That's what the red stripes mean. It represents the blood of those who spilled it defending your liberty.

So while you're on your knee, pray for those that came before you, not on manicured fields striped and printed with numbers to announce every inch of game yardage...but on nameless hills and bloodied beaches and sweltering forests and bitter cold mountains...every inch marked by an American life lost serving that flag you protest.

No cheerleaders, no announcers, no coaches, no fans...just American men and women on the land, air, and sea, delivering the real fight against those who chose to harm us..so you would have the opportunity to dishonor their service by "taking a knee."

You have no clue what it took to get you where you are...but your "protest" is duly noted. Not only is it disgraceful to a nation, it points to your ingratitude for those who chose to defend you under that banner that will still wave long after your stats and game jersey are forgotten...

If you really feel the need to take a knee, come with me to church on Sunday and we'll both kneel before Almighty God. We'll thank Him for preserving this country for as long as He has. We'll beg forgiveness for both of our ingratitude for all He has provided us. We'll appeal to Him for understanding and wisdom. We'll pray for liberty and justice for all...because He is the one who provides those things.

But no protesting allowed. There will only be gratitude for His provision and a plea for His continued grace and mercy on the land of the free and the home of the brave.

May He continue to bless America, the ignorant and selfish sinners we all are. What an incredible gift He has given us!

So his act is an insult to vets but the treatment of black people in our society is something to just suck up and swallow because... ya know, vets.

Sorry but your experience is not their experience. There are many vets out there that disagree. Poetry is nice an' all, but what were you fighting for? The freedom of people to do what you think is right? Or their ability to have the rights granted by the constitution.

I'm not trying to pick a fight here, but I find it a bit odd that you seem to have some very selective perceptions.

You fought to defend the country and our constitution. All of it.

You don't have to agree with him but the reality is he not only has a right to his demonstration, but we should all fight for that right. Otherwise we may as well be in Kim Jong Un's North Korea or Hitler's nazi Germany where rights come at the whim of those in power.

The black experience in this country - and thankfully I haven't experienced it - is nothing to be so glib about. Yes there were many battles fought. And he is fighting his.

Whether you agree with his opinion or not, his right to say it has been enshrined in our constitution. The one you raised your right hand and swore to protect and defend.

I appreciate your service but I am a bit surprised that you are taking his actions as a personal affront.