The National Anthem

[Silver King]

Makes too much sense.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to see someone famous concerned about those 20 kids that got shot (two dead) here in Florida (Ft Myers) a month ago at a place called Club Blu? Damn, a mass shooting that was pretty much forgotten by sundown the next day. In fact it was the fifth mass shooting in 10 months in Ft Myers.

This would still be running 24-7 if it were white school kids, in a white community, or white cops killing a black man, or a gay and lesbian club, or "workplace/terrorist violence" in San Bernardino.

But, it wasn't any of that, it was 20 African American kids and they were shot by people in their community. One was a talented high school basketball player that had a chance to play in college.

That pisses me off - is their any less grief to the loss of innocence in this community than any of the others listed above? If I were black and considering oppression, it would really, really piss me off. And, my anger would be directed at the press and media in this country for not showing it anymore concern than they would have of a lynching in the 1940s. Its veiled racism and people allow it.

Hell tonight there was a story in NBC 2 out of Ft Myers about bolstering the security of Lee County Court House. The talking head said "we wouldn't want something happening here like at Club Pulse," then they even showed Orlando scenes. The dumb asses; the Club Blu shooting occurred a mere 3.1 miles away from the Lee County Court House a month ago yesterday and they didn't even mention it.

 

[Choctaw_fan]

You can prosecute anyone if those who witnessed the crime will not speak. Apparently, the community fears the shooters more than the police.

Back to the subject at hand. Personally, I spent many years around the military and I saw very little discrimination against minorities or women. Maybe the solution is to make every 18-year-old serve 2 years before college like they do in Israel. A person's sex, color, or nationality is of little importance on the battlefield!

 

[Drummer61]

Great post.. As a vet could not agree more..A spoiled brat who may be better served leaving the country..I have been all over the world and most don't know how good we have in America,i do !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[peezy28]

One thing is for sure... CK has everyone talking... his "sit" worked

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

One thing is for sure... CK has everyone talking... his "sit" worked

Yeah, what he did worked alright. At this point, he likely has no concept as to how well.

Unfortunately for him, he has an immediately recognizable face. The guy better learn how to avoid eye contact because it's a cinch that - at the very least - cold, hard stares are going to follow him around until the day he draws his last breath.

Did he make a big mistake? Yes. Should he be harmed as a result? Hopefully not. What's the best thing he can do to insure his safety? He needs to find a place to hide. Seriously.

Neutral isn't advocating violence on any front, but this man has definitely placed himself in harms way. Make absolutely no mistake about it.

 

[peezy28]

I don't think he's scared of Internet bullies trying to fight him.... most of you internet guys are like 5'5 230lbs of adult out of shape state puff marshmallow...

Kaep in another life could be a heavyweight boxer.

Just saying

 

[Silver King]

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

I don't think he's scared of Internet bullies trying to fight him....

I guess you're trying to be funny, but IMHO there's not much to laugh about. Doesn't matter what size he is. Who cares? His life isn't in danger because someone on a forum like this will decide to go off the deep end and take him out, but because it only takes one psycho.

Obviously, you're intelligent enough to understand from fallout in the media that his actions and remarks have incensed millions of people, but maybe you're incapable of concluding that it really wasn't a very bright idea to place himself in that position.

Maybe he'll become a martyr who, as you remarked, could have been a heavyweight boxer in another life. You could turn out to be correct. Much more likely IMHO that he will remembered as a foolish jackass who tried to revile an entire nation of people and lost.

We'll see.

 

[peezy28]

Not trying to be funny at all. As long as folk like George Zimmerman and Casey Anthony walk the earth relatively unscathed I don't see some crazy vigilante coming after ole Colin over not standing for the national anthem.

There are much more important ways to direct your anger.

Who knows it could happen.... I doubt it though.

Then again hes probably been called more N words by Internet tough guys since his jester than the President did in his 1st Year in office.... Well maybe not but they've been on his head.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Then again (Kaepernick) probably been called more N words by Internet tough guys since his jester than the President did in his 1st Year in office ... Well maybe not but they've been on his head.

Nu'Trelle don't watch pro football, has never seen Kaepernick play one down, never knew the first damned thing about him until the past weekend and have no idea what you're talking about with "since his jester". I'm reaching the autumn of my years and don't understand what you mean by that, but it's okay. No harm, no foul. Let me stay dumb.

We're from 2 different generations, probably separated by 40+/- years. That probably explains why we have separate and distinct views of what Kaepernick did and said. When I played, if one of my teammates had tried to sit on his ass and disrespect the flag, we would have beaten his ass before people came out of the stands and did it for us.

Political correctness hadn't been invented yet. And skin color had nothing to do with anything. Black or white made no difference. You did NOT disrespect the U.S. flag. You'd have better luck getting away with calling another guy's Mom a whore.

 

[peezy28]

"Jester" meaning him not standing for the anthem.

And skin color had nothing to do with anything.

I am 34 and graduated in 2000... If your 74 (40 years) and graduated in 1960 skin color most definitely had something to do with everything... You know things weren't all that peachy for people with high levels of melanin back then.

 

[Dan in Daytona]

Great post.. As a vet could not agree more..A spoiled brat who may be better served leaving the country..I have been all over the world and most don't know how good we have in America,i do !!!!!!!!!!!!

You were a jackass the last time I read a post of yours and nothing has changed. " he may be better served by leaving the country." (Drummer61 quote). The old BS line of " love it , or leave it. That way of thinking didn't save the lives of 58,000 American servicemen in that fiasco call Vietnam. Which is still communist 40years later and a long time trading partner with the United States. Many, many flags were burned back in that time, and that act of protest helped end the war and save American lives. I'll gladly trade my China constructed red, white, and blue cloth with stars, to save an innocent life of any race, religion, or sexual orientation. 3/2 ACR, How Btry, Amberg, Germany

 

[181pl]

Anybody that understands our laws cannot have a problem with his right to protest. He's free to do what you want within reason. As long as he's not infringing on the rights of others or breaking laws. However the 49ers do not have to keep his sorry ass employed. But the NFL is a bunch of water down punks who will not take a stand for what's right. They will hide behind his right to protest instead of saying that his views are but the NFL is a bunch of watered down punks who will not take a stand for what's right. They will hide behind his right to protest instead of saying that his views are inconsistent with that of the organizations and they know longer choose to employee him. Which is within their rights.

 

[peezy28]

JD... I'm giving the NFL more credit for being Wise on this one and you should too.

What if they did that... and ALL your star players decided to come out in support of CKs protest.. I'm talking your losing 40% of your favorite teams players in one fell swoop... Scab league all over again then we'd have to hear your rant and rave about that...

Think further than the initial reaction... Business should not operate on emotion

 

[Roadkillav8r]

Well spoken Neutral, and now you know why I prefer this board. We have Neutral, SK, Choctaw Fan, Mustang Mom, Peezy and many other great posters. We may not be as active in the off season but it's a hell of a board during the season.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

I am 34 and graduated in 2000... If your 74 (40 years) and graduated in 1960 skin color most definitely had something to do with everything... You know things weren't all that peachy for people with high levels of melanin back then.

Then we're 37 years apart. Sorry, but not much of what you ASSUME about me is correct. I didn't grow up in the deep South. I grew up in what was then called "the bottoms" of Columbus, OH. Things weren't all that "peachy" in my neighborhood - not because of racial problems - but because we (both colors) lived in poverty.

If I took you back there today, you would shudder. Murder rates have skyrocketed because the kids who live there today are armed. My mom and I moved 18 times from the time she put me in first grade until I graduated from HS and we rarely moved more than 2-3 blocks. When the slumlord raised the rent $5.00 a month, we would take our boxes and move. We had no car, so we walked with our boxes.

25-30% of my friends were black because 25-30% of the kids in the neighborhood were black. It would have been damned hypocritical for me to be racist because there were times when I wouldn't have had anything to eat if black friends hadn't shared some food. There were times when a black friend helped us move our boxes. I had the occasion to help them. They say misery loves company. I say we all understood what it was like to be poor.

Despite having very little in the way of material things, I never knew one kid - black or white - who blamed the government for his circumstances. And all those who made better lives for themselves - both black and white - did so because they educated themselves and worked their way out of poverty.

I'm sure it was different in places like Selma, AL, but I didn't grow up there. I grew in a ghetto several hundred miles north and went to sleep every night dreaming about someday being able to live in a better place.

 

[181pl]

Great post Neutral!

 

[181pl]

Gesture: Dumb fu## CK not standing for anthem.

Jester: Clown, court dummy; court entertainer. What CK became through his "gesture" in the eyes of the majority of America (not counting died in the wool fu## heads over at ESPN or the main stream media, who applaud his idiocy).

Again, nobody is hating on him for exercising his right to be free. They are hating on him for how and why he chose his "gesture".

 

[Zoe Boy]

Since he left UNLV,he has been an arrogant,show off,selfish player,who,at time reminds me a court jester who dresses like a clown and above all, is an ENTITLEMENT BASED CRY BABY.. Hopefully,the team and the far leftist city by the bay show their disdain. Without America and football,this bum is a trash collector or a drug dealer.. Certainly and given some time, a resident of a prison

And he didn't graduate from UNLV... Y'all totally miss his point... Cause he's rich he should just shut up n play ball right?...

 

[peezy28]

Neutral the only thing I ever ASSUMED about you was that you were actually a morph of ole Wavebb but I gave that thought up years ago LOL

Other than that your story and upbringing while was not one in wealth, but was actually in privilege in my opinion... I wish that more people had the privilege to grow up in a colorless society/neighborhood both black and white and realize that those different shades of Brown, Tan, or just Pale white skin don't mean different shades of a person.

Back to my point You graduated in 63 then was it? Color might not have been an issue in your part of America but unfortunately it most certainly was in many many many parts of America as we have established. My mom is the same age as you class of 63 at Old Pinellas High Home of the Panthers (which turned into the youth league most popularly known as the Greenwood Panthers go Garnett and Gold) one of 2 Black schools in Pinellas County while my dad who is 3 years her Sr Grew up in Gainesville and quit school after 10th grade to work and help support the family... Working in the Kitchens at UF to be exact.

I have a lot of stories from their time which unfortunately do not mirror yours all though I wish they had that opportunity to grow up in a colorless world....

 

[Drummer61]

Big Dan, great comeback,great spirit..Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

 

[peezy28]

Gesture: Dumb fu## CK not standing for anthem.

Jester: Clown, court dummy; court entertainer. What CK became through his "gesture" in the eyes of the majority of America (not counting died in the wool fu## heads over at ESPN or the main stream media, who applaud his idiocy).

Again, nobody is hating on him for exercising his right to be free. They are hating on him for how and why he chose his "gesture".

Jester or Gesture pun not meant but rightfully fit (#badgrammar)

 

[Zoe Boy]

Gesture: Dumb fu## CK not standing for anthem.

Jester: Clown, court dummy; court entertainer. What CK became through his "gesture" in the eyes of the majority of America (not counting died in the wool fu## heads over at ESPN or the main stream media, who applaud his idiocy).

Again, nobody is hating on him for exercising his right to be free. They are hating on him for how and why he chose his "gesture".

Only reason ppl is tripping about him is cause he's rich.... Like I said I be at football games and half the ppl there don't stand up for the flag but I know how it feels to be oppress... Last one I experience was trying to buy a freaking house...

 

[Drummer61]

I used to like him as a player, now I no longer respect him as a man. The NFL had better lay some punishment on him for that. Oh, and he is welcome to go play in the CFL, if he dislikes this country so much.

 

[Drummer61]

An ingrate is more like him..He wants out of SF and believes his tactics are a way out.. Funny, he has NEVER been political before so i suspect that his actions are NOT revelations, but rather the frustrations of a selfish brat..He may not know that southern Democrats started the Klan or the Republicans freed the slaves..Usually,ingrates like him really reveal themselves when their upset about how their lives and careers are going and his falling of the table..

 

[MustangMom]

His current status as an irrelevant football player has suddenly awakened his consciousness of "oppression."

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Gesture: Dumb fu## CK not standing for anthem. Jester: Clown, court dummy; court entertainer. ".

Damn, 181pl. Nu'Trelle really appreciate that. He'll sleep good tonite knowing that the problem weren't his being an old man, but Peezy28 bein someone who who ain't got no clue how to spell "gesture".

As a person who feel a responsibility to protest all sorts of chit, Nu'Trelle intends to demonstrate his disgust for those who tried to teach Peezy how to spell by e-Baying off his entire Earth, Wind and Fire collection (CD's, vinyl, and 8-tracks) and boycotting ANY concert where Anita Baker or Patti Austin schedule to perform.

Yeah, you guessed it. Things is gettin sirious.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

...your story and upbringing while was not one in wealth, but was actually in privilege in my opinion...

Interesting choice of words. A hypothetical challenge for you Peezy:

We put a photo collage on the Internet showing all 18 places where Neutral and his mom lived and label it "A POLL ON LIVING CONDITIONS 1950-1963".

I'll pay you $1,000 for every person who hits the "Privileged People Lived Here" button. You give me ten cents each time someone hits the "Oppressed People Lived Here" button.

We'll run the poll until we get 1 million responses or you go bankrupt, whichever happens first.

Tip: If you substitute the phrase, "Living in a place where there was less racial bias/inequity than in Pinellas County, FL" and strike the word "Privilege" that would greatly clarify what you were attempting to say.

Just sayin ...

 

[peezy28]

Interesting choice of words. A hypothetical challenge for you Peezy:

We put a photo collage on the Internet showing all 18 places where Neutral and his mom lived and label it "A POLL ON LIVING CONDITIONS 1950-1963".

I'll pay you $1,000 for every person who hits the "Privileged People Lived Here" button. You give me ten cents each time someone hits the "Oppressed People Lived Here" button.

We'll run the poll until we get 1 million responses or you go bankrupt, whichever happens first.

Tip: If you substitute the phrase, "Living in a place where there was less racial bias/inequity than in Pinellas County, FL" and strike the word "Privilege" that would greatly clarify what you were attempting to say.

Just sayin ...

Neutral..... I said privileged and I meant exactly that... It may not be privileged from a standpoint of wealth (as I stated) but in a standpoint of harmony with your fellow man I would call that a privilege in it of itself. Perhaps you didn't grow up feeling very privileged but as an old man you should be able to look back and realize those interactions you had back then shaped who you became and may have steered you in whatever path lead you to be where you are right now.

If you grew up down south in a segregated town you would not have the privilege of growth in a racially unbiased community... I understand why you may not see that as a privilege but in a weird way it is.

 

[Dan in Daytona]

Anybody that understands our laws cannot have a problem with his right to protest. He's free to do what you want within reason. As long as he's not infringing on the rights of others or breaking laws. However the 49ers do not have to keep his sorry ass employed. But the NFL is a bunch of water down punks who will not take a stand for what's right. They will hide behind his right to protest instead of saying that his views are but the NFL is a bunch of watered down punks who will not take a stand for what's right. They will hide behind his right to protest instead of saying that his views are inconsistent with that of the organizations and they know longer choose to employee him. Which is within their rights.

Any business, corporation, team owner, athlete, that alienates( pisses off) a large segment of society pays for it in dollars and cents. Professional athletes are self proprietors. See Ryan Lochte and what his indiscretion cost him. Colin's stand will cost him too. I only wonder why his motives seem to come into question by my fellow caucasians. A biracial young man in America can't be sincere with his convictions and motives without all this other trash being thrown at his feet.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Peezy - I got your point the first time and understand what you were trying to say. For what it's worth, I would agree if you said I was "fortunate" that I didn't grow up in a place where racism was more rampant. But, if you asked a million people to write down one word that describes any facet of how I grew up, you'd likely spend the rest of your life trying to find another person who would come up with "privileged". It's just not something that fits. Sorry.

 

[peezy28]

I am unique like that N to the Observer... Completely fine with that LOL

 

[peezy28]

Kids Get it

 

[Dan in Daytona]

And that's why we don't need to fear the future.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

Neutral.....Perhaps you didn't grow up feeling very privileged but as an old man you should be able to look back and realize those interactions you had back then shaped who you became and may have steered you in whatever path lead you to be where you are right now.is.

Okay peezy, Nu'Trelle gives up, but the word "thankful" is what he'll use. Here goes:

1. He's thankful for the woman who brought him home from the hospital. She grew up in the same environment and understood how to survive.

2. He's thankful that she took him to church and taught him to respect others.

3. He's thankful that she insisted that the most important lesson in life was knowing "right from wrong".

4. He's thankful that she demanded accountability. no matter how desperate the circumstances.

5. He's thankful that she had zero - and we're talking about absolute zero - tolerance for self-pity.

6. He's thankful she never once mentioned the word "oppressed" or used any other words that would have given him an excuse to expect someone else to bail him out or solve his problems.

 

[Choctaw_fan]

Wait! Let's get back to the fact that Neutral Observer is an OLD MAN! I knew you were older than me but not that much!

 

[Silver King]

SK went to an inservice today put on by the Medal of Honor Society; don't miss it if you ever get the chance.

They don't always have one of the 77 living recipients come out to these, but they had Medal of Honor recipient MSgt. Gary L. Litttrell (lives in St Pete) there today. He was a US Army Ranger/Advisor in Vietnam.

He had some interesting things to say about the SF QB. I wish Kaepernic would watch this clip on PFC Claerence Sasser, a Medal of Honor recipient from Vietnam. There was no color in this action.

 

[Neutral 0bserver]

To young men who would consider turning their back on the U.S. flag and sitting out the National Anthem:

Click on the clip SK posted. Takes 2 minutes to watch. It's about a 19 year old medic who was sent to Viet Nam in 1968. He probably didn't even understand why he was there, but risked his life under heavy fire on his first mission to save others. He survived his wounds and was awarded our highest military honor.

If you rise to your feet for the Anthem, PFC. Sasser is just one of the men you will be joining others to honor. Hundreds of thousands of other men and women have also served. By standing at attention, removing your cap and covering your heart with your right hand, you will be honoring all of them.

If you want to work pro-actively to effect social change, that's fine. Just pick out a way that doesn't dishonor those who felt an obligation to serve their Country. Thanks.

 

[jgking83]

I will always respect the rights of the citizens of this great country. Our constitution is a major reason that we are so great. The issue that people have with this guy is the way he went about expressing his problems with certain issues he sees in our society. The bottom line is that we should never tolerate anyone disrespecting our flag. Stand and honor the men and women that have poured their blood into that flag. There is no justification for not doing so. Social injustice or not. You should honor them.

I am perplexed at the guys that I went to school with that are up in arms about racism and inequality. We grew up in the exact same place at the exact same time. We were given the same opportunities and went to the same schools. We all have the opportunity to succeed here. Your decisions dictate where you end up in America.

There will always be racism. That is just the honest truth. To talk about oppression in this day and age is a slap in the face of our parents and grandparents. Look at the leadership in this country. We have never been so equal.

Maybe we should focus on our own behavior and the way that we treat people. I'm just thinking out loud here. Maybe that would make a tangible difference in our society. Sitting down while our nation's anthem is playing will not.

 

[peezy28]

Anyone know if they are bringing charges against the Cops in Minnesota or Miami for those shooting incidents