How can anyone not agree with this?
Hmmm...well I agree with much (most)of what she says...however....not standing...especially taking a knee is not what I would consider disrespect. True it isn't honoring the flag or the anthem but I don't consider it disrespect. Many of these athletes have been taking a knee whenever a player (of any color, from either team) is injured since they were in peewee football. Perhaps they are just showing that they think the country is still injured despite the MLK inspired improvements and having elected a black (Ok, 50%) president. I think taking a knee is more respectful than sitting on the bench or holding a fist in the air but that's just me. Most kneeling are black, but not all, yet I'll bet if interviewed in depth they would have many different explanations for what they are doing. Getting back to the video in question...she mentions that 1. "Despite what we are told by Black Lives Matter and their media allies, the police are not engaged in a coordinated campaign to destroy the black race." I have never heard anyone say that there is a coordinated campaign to destroy the black race. I'm not saying it's never been uttered somewhere, but I certainly can't find it on the Black Lives Matter website and I've never heard it in the news (but then I don't watch Fox, however I doubt she was referring to them as the media allies). She also says that Roland G. Fryer says that it isn't true that there is racial bias in police shootings (True). However he does say that "On non-lethal uses of force, blacks and Hispanics are more than fifty percent more likely to experience some form of force in interactions with police." Which by itself doesn't examine whether or not black and Hispanics might be more likely to do something to trigger such a response. (I didn't read the whole paper, perhaps it does account for this). 2. She says that it makes no sense to denigrate the flag because of some racist police officers. I agree on that, but is simply taking a knee during the National Anthem denigration?. Standing up with fist raised and middle finger extended..yes, turning around with bare butt cheeks facing the flag..yes, taking a knee...I don't think so. Is it self defeating?...maybe...but then here we are typing about it. Discussing it. Whether or not it was caused by football players or by Black Lives matter, more and more police departments are now going with body cameras. I think that it is better for us (most of us) and better for the police officers (vast majority of them anyway). I believe there was a racial/racist problem with the Ferguson police department, however I also think that the jury was correct not to indict officer Darren Wilson. The only video I saw was of Brown acting like a thug in the store. I wish there had been a video of what happened between Brown and Wilson.
Far more interesting to me than if football players stand or kneel, would be if four different groups of typical citizens say 2 separate black groups and 2 separate white groups where to watch two videos of the exact same altercation (enacted with a script obviously) between a police officer and a black person that results in the shooting (theatrical, again obviously) of the black person. In one the officer would be white and the other the officer would be black. (Each of the four groups would only see one video) I'd like to hear the discussion that would follow that. I think the only way we make any progress in this area is through discussion and interaction, not by subject avoidance and not by searching for folks "that think just like me".
Somewhat related, the NFL....some say they won't watch the NFL anymore because of kneeling football players, maybe so..but I heard a lot of that kind of talk over the years about different subjects, players strikes, end zone celebrations, huge $$ contracts etc. The NFL has survived that all just fine, yes viewership and attendance is down and perhaps some is due to the kneeling, but I suspect that if the NFL ever suffers total demise, it will be from head injuries and litigation costs associated with same. Not from lack of fans due to kneeling athletes....but I'm frequently wrong.
Regardless, Thanks Conrad for the video.
