Running racism in America thread

Just so we're clear: Three days after Kaepernick first got attention for sitting - he didn't kneel until Sept. 1 - this was Brees' response:

Drew Brees 'wholeheartedly' disagrees with Colin Kaepernick's method of protest

"I've been on five USO trips, so I've had a chance to meet and talk with a lot of military personnel. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the things that they go through. Also having family that have served and sitting around and listening to my grandfather talk about World War II, so maybe that gives me a heightened level of appreciation for them," Brees said. "But when I look at that flag, I think about them too. I think about a lot of things. Like when I stand and listen to the national anthem with my hand over my heart, there is emotions that well up inside of me.

"Like, I could shed a tear every time the national anthem plays if I would allow myself because it's that powerful."

 

Agreed.

But he might be exaggerating his patriotism to win points from what he thinks of as his conservative constituency.

Emphasizing that while ignoring - or at least completely misunderstanding - what Kaepernick was protesting is an interesting problem in a city like New Orleans, with its history of race politics and segregation and police violence, as well as being home to the National WW II Museum.

 

Started in 1918 during the seventh-inning stretch of Game 1 of the Cubs-Red Sox World Series.

Even though it did not actually become the official anthem until 1931.

 

One thing can bring people together, that's line dancing.

 

There isn't any question Kaepernick had an issue with police violence. (He was wearing the pig socks before he ever sat for the anthem.)

 

Go to certain rodeos or other events and you're expected to show the same respect to that godawful Lee Greenwood song as the anthem.

 

So does the PGA Tour hate Amurrrica since we don't have some slapdick singing the National Anthem on the first tee box every morning before the first group tees off?

 

Of course.

My comment was meant to question whether Brees knows that.

edit to add:

the irony being that Brees's grandfather was fighting not only for that flag, but for Colin Kaepernicks's right to disagree with what that flag symbolizes - or even burn it in protest.

 

Remember back when in america, say 5 years ago, when people complained that athletes never took a political stance?
For decades, the standard was "Republicans buy sneakers, too".

Man, just looking at the scroll on espn.com - Ed Reed. Drew Brees. LeBron James. Splash Brothers. Coco Gauff, for pete's sake.

Pretty awesome.

Painfully obvious is the lack of MLB players, for a variety of reasons.

 

uh oh

 

I really hope this time will be different. But this is the umpteenth wave of protests/riots I can remember - they seem to be coming closer together since the '90s. I do think police are doing a better job of "getting it" from a community relations standpoint, but we do need to find a better way for people to express their support and outrage over these things than damaging our communities.
Maybe I'll have hope if many police agencies do a complete review of current staff and their histories to weed out the potential Chauvin's in their midst. Let them do something where they are kept away from the public and other officers