Bennett

[obiken]

MIke is spun, his fault our fault nobody's fault, he is cooked. A friend of mine said he did the Black Power salute over a white player after he tackled him, I missed it but he is cookoo!

[Aseahawkfan]

Bennett is writing a book called How to Make White People Uncomfortable. He's fully embraced the activist role. He's going to push the race agenda to the max.

[burrrton]

I'm saying this with the caveat that I didn't see that, but: if he did that, he's officially not in the game. He's playing his own Social Justice Warrior Battle while the rest of the team is trying to win an NFL football game.

That said: I'm skeptical until I see it on replay, and I don't think he'd be that 'out of it' to do something so ridiculous.

[obiken]

I'm saying this with the caveat that I didn't see that, but: if he did that, he's officially not in the game. He's playing his own Social Justice Warrior Battle while the rest of the team is trying to win an NFL football game.

That said: I'm skeptical until I see it on replay, and I don't think he'd be that 'out of it' to do something so ridiculous.

I got it from a good friend of mine. However, I agree with you, I have not seen a replay of it.

[burrrton]

I got it from a good friend of mine. However, I agree with you, I have not seen a replay of it.

I'm too pissed off to watch it yet, but I've got it Tivo'd- I'll see what he did, and I'll retract every word if necessary. His press descriptions sound too reasonable for me to buy that too readily.

[Hawk Sista]

I may not hold the same political positions that some of you do, but the Hawk’s players I heard speak on it (Bennett, Sherm, RW & Doug - the latter making me most proud) did a very nice job of discussing the topic post game. Particularly in light of POTUS basically denying free speech to al AMERICANS! I’m a proud fan today. The loss sucks, the maturity allowing many points of view calmed me during a time of tumult.

[Largent80]

I may not hold the same political positions that some of you do, but the Hawk’s players I heard speak on it (Bennett, Sherm, RW & Doug - the latter making me most proud) did a very nice job of discussing the topic post game. Particularly in light of POTUS basically denying free speech to al AMERICANS! I’m a proud fan today. The loss sucks, the maturity allowing many points of view calmed me during a time of tumult.

Well said Sis.

[RiverDog]

MIke is spun, his fault our fault nobody's fault, he is cooked. A friend of mine said he did the Black Power salute over a white player after he tackled him, I missed it but he is cookoo!

That's pretty outrageous, obi. You're going to need to reference the play rather than just repeating something your friend thought he might have seen. I watched the entire game and I sure as heck didn't see it.

Having said that, I am growing very weary of these protests, and whether you agree with him or not, our POTUS is making things worse by adding his two cents worth. All he's doing is pouring fuel on the fire.

[idhawkman]

I may not hold the same political positions that some of you do, but the Hawk’s players I heard speak on it (Bennett, Sherm, RW & Doug - the latter making me most proud) did a very nice job of discussing the topic post game. Particularly in light of POTUS basically denying free speech to al AMERICANS! I’m a proud fan today. The loss sucks, the maturity allowing many points of view calmed me during a time of tumult.

Don't go flying off the handle Sis. The president didn't give up his free speech rights. He can have an opinion just like the players.

The players should actually thank the president for the comments. They wanted a national discussion, well they have it now. BUt instead of having it on what they wanted (cops on black shootings), they have it on what it means to respect the National Anthem and whether sports should be involved in politics. Bummer for them but that is what you get when you do the most inflamatory thing to start a discussion. To make a point, maybe I could say the most inflamatory thing about them and then say, let's have a chat. Do you think that would work for me?

[mykc14]

MIke is spun, his fault our fault nobody's fault, he is cooked. A friend of mine said he did the Black Power salute over a white player after he tackled him, I missed it but he is cookoo!

I am pretty sure I saw him do it last week after a sack, but it didn't feel like it had anything to do with the player he sacked being white anymore than his pelvic thrust celebration had anything to do with the color of the guy he sacked. To me it was just what he is going to do now post sack (use it as another opportunity to make a political statement. I am pretty sure OBJ did it yesterday after a TD as well (and then pretended to pee like a dog after another TD, which kind of makes his first celebration look bad, IMO)...

[c_hawkbob]

That ain't anywhere near "flying off the handle" ID, Cheeto absolutely proffered the limitation of freedom of speech. The office of POTUS carries a much greater responsibility than does citizenship, lets hold him to a higher standard shall we?

And OBI, what are you taking about?

[Hawk Sista]

POTUS is the POTUS. SURE, he can have his opinions, but if you really cannot see the hypocrisy of calling for the firing of those exercising their right to a Peaceful protest, I dunno what to tell you. He is the president, for crying out loud. POTUS had kinder things to say about Nazi flag waiving bigots chanting racial slurs. The division in this country has always been there, trump has shone the light on it and it really sickens me that people are lining up to pile-on. Freedom means freedom.

[rich121]

I call bullshit to all this 'right to protest' crap!

How many of you have the right to protest during your work hours? None!

This is a racist movement, pure and simple.

Blacks males, who are less than ONLY 7% of the US population MURDER 2 times the number of Whites than Whites (male + female) murder blacks each year, and that number is including Hispanics (male + female) with the white population.... check out the FBI crime stats... THIS is where the outrage should be!

Almost 50% of all violent crime is committed by the same Black males... again... less than 7% of the US population.

Blacks kill their own... MORE THAN 90% of Blacks murdered were murdered by Blacks... but where is the outrage by the Black community? NOWHERE....

Yes, I'm sure there are times when BOTH Blacks AND Whites are killed by Police that it could have been avoided (Whites are killed 2 times more often than Blacks by Police)... but the fact that Blacks put themselves in situations with the police themselves, by committing many, many times more crime than other races.
Blacks have many, many more times the contact with Police just because of the shear fact they commit many many more times the crime, but the 'outrage' and 'protest' is about the few Blacks killed by Police... what about the same sort of instances where Whites are killed by Police, who are also killed by Police 2 times more often than Blacks?
Again... this is nothing less than racist.

Yes, I am a new member here, as I felt a need to post about this and not allowed to post this subject on other NFL forums.....I have been a huge fan of my local Hawks team since their inception in 1976... but after what has happened the past 2 years I am done with anything relating to them or the NFL.

This is nothing less than disgusting.

[burrrton]

I felt a need to post about this and not allowed to post this subject on other NFL forums.

You shouldn't post rants like that in here, either- take it to our OT forum.

[Largent80]

The potus walks with a goose step. Go Bennett, preach brother.

[Aseahawkfan]

I have to ask, are any of you allowed to protest at work? I am not. Then again I don't have to stand for the national anthem before my job everyday either. Or pray. Or do anything remotely like they do at a football game. Perhaps if they want to remove this issue and view this as a regular workplace, they should remove the national anthem from the games. Then it would be far more like a regular workplace.

Freedom is relative to the person. There's a lots of people that don't let other people be free for having disagreeable opinions. There are plenty of religious folk that aren't allowed to exercise their free speech and choice rights with their children and businesses. And taxation itself to feed the beast of government and the general population size is not freedom, i'ts a nearly permanent claim on your labor and possessions that is now tied to the running of the nation in a way that will never allow freedom of the kind intended again. Suffice it to say, we can no longer afford freedom. We absolutely need a large portion of the human population in America working, so that the government can take their 20 to 40 cents per dollar earned from them to a pay the bills for a government that has been promoting anything but freedom for quite a number of years. To apply it to this situation just to add to the mess, we're literally paying for cops to be on video at all times because general human incompetence, prejudice, and other negative human emotional traits have created a situation where we must monitor them due to their position in society. Can you imagine how being a cop at this point requires you to be on video at all times? Then again we're moving towards a society of constant monitoring. Who am I kidding, we're already there. I can't use a search engine without some add showing up for the last place I searched. I know all my financial transactions are tracked. We're screwed. We'll be fighting in foreign wars for other nations and slowly moving towards bankruptcy to keep the masses from collapsing into economic chaos until we're bankrupt.

[Aseahawkfan]

IThis is nothing less than disgusting.

You can't talk about the violent gang/thug culture in the ghetto black and Latin community. You'll be viewed as a racist.

[NorthHawk]

I have to ask, are any of you allowed to protest at work? I am not. Then again I don't have to stand for the national anthem before my job everyday either. Or pray. Or do anything remotely like they do at a football game. Perhaps if they want to remove this issue and view this as a regular workplace, they should remove the national anthem from the games. Then it would be far more like a regular workplace.

Freedom is relative to the person. There's a lots of people that don't let other people be free for having disagreeable opinions. There are plenty of religious folk that aren't allowed to exercise their free speech and choice rights with their children and businesses. And taxation itself to feed the beast of government and the general population size is not freedom, i'ts a nearly permanent claim on your labor and possessions that is now tied to the running of the nation in a way that will never allow freedom of the kind intended again. Suffice it to say, we can no longer afford freedom. We absolutely need a large portion of the human population in America working, so that the government can take their 20 to 40 cents per dollar earned from them to a pay the bills for a government that has been promoting anything but freedom for quite a number of years. To apply it to this situation just to add to the mess, we're literally paying for cops to be on video at all times because general human incompetence, prejudice, and other negative human emotional traits have created a situation where we must monitor them due to their position in society. Can you imagine how being a cop at this point requires you to be on video at all times? Then again we're moving towards a society of constant monitoring. Who am I kidding, we're already there. I can't use a search engine without some add showing up for the last place I searched. I know all my financial transactions are tracked. We're screwed. We'll be fighting in foreign wars for other nations and slowly moving towards bankruptcy to keep the masses from collapsing into economic chaos until we're bankrupt.

Basic rights are under pressure, that's clear simply by the uses of technology. Wait until AI and quantum computing is commonplace. As well, a vocal segment of society wants to suppress others freedoms of speech, not just in the NFL, but in Universities and other places too.
I'm beginning to wonder whether the National Anthem should be discontinued as well. At least it wouldn't be a focus on the divisions in society.

Taxes? They are a necessity that impacts the individual for the greater good. At least that's the philosophy behind it.

[The POPE]

Yes, the POTUS is a freaking idiot, that's pretty well established. The players have a right to protest whatever they want under the constitution, that's a fact. The problem is they have chosen to spit in the face of the symbol that stands for their freedom. I for one am sick of entitlement and all that goes with it. Black on Black violence is a major issue, yet the press, players, etc. choose to skirt around that issue. Try setting up some peaceful demonstrations to address that issue. Or maybe they could protest the welfare program that provided food to many of them so that could get to this point, provided by the same country they refuse to salute. Try taking advantage of the education system to get ahead, instead of blaming everyone else. I have known and worked with many African American people who have taken advantage of the educational system and done well for themselves and I respect them for overcoming obstacles to achieve their goals. This stands for anybody of any race. I dont have any more respect for a lazy white man than I do a lazy black man. Way to many of these players go through college and can't even speak common English, and yet the college system floats them through in order to make a Buck off their football programs. If anybody has watched Last Chance U on Netflix you would see everything that is wrong with the system. Baby players through the system to make a buck on Saturday or win a championship. This is wrong. Playing in NFL or College level is a privilege, not a right. The colleges and NFL only care about the almighty buck, not the individual. As far as the Hawks and Titans sitting in the dressing room during the Anthem I have no respect for either team. At least have the guts to come out and kneel as a team, but hide in the dressing room..Cowardly BS. The whole system is screwed up. The fans continue to feed the problem with unwavering support. I have been guilty as hell of this, but moving forward I will reevaluate my Position. I was raised to believe we are all responsible for our own success and decisions. Naive...maybe, but until we all take a look within and determine our own faults nothing will change. The easiest way is to place the blame somewhere else. The whole work is f'd up right now and we all have bigger things to worry about with rocket man and the dotard leading the way.

[obiken]

That ain't anywhere near "flying off the handle" ID, Cheeto absolutely proffered the limitation of freedom of speech. The office of POTUS carries a much greater responsibility than does citizenship, lets hold him to a higher standard shall we?

And OBI, what are you taking about?

Here you go Cbob.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A% ... _B5dRgxdPc

[RiverDog]

I have to ask, are any of you allowed to protest at work? I am not. Then again I don't have to stand for the national anthem before my job everyday either. Or pray. Or do anything remotely like they do at a football game. Perhaps if they want to remove this issue and view this as a regular workplace, they should remove the national anthem from the games. Then it would be far more like a regular workplace.

That's a good point. I'm not allowed to protest on the job, either, and of course, we don't start our day with the anthem, the pledge of allegiance, a quiet time for prayer/reflection, or anything more spiritual than a safety talk or butt chewing.

It's pretty hard to mandate that any American citizen honor the flag or the anthem, nor should we ever attempt to. I can remember a lady I used to work with who was in Hitler's youth core as a 9 year old girl tell me that in Nazi Germany, if you were a little boy and didn't salute a poster of Hitler, you got whipped, and if you were a man and didn't give a salute to the poster, you got shot. So as far as Trump's opinion about firing anyone who disrespects the flag, if as an owner he ever did fire someone for that reason, he'd get that termination shoved so far up his hind end that he wouldn't know whether to crap or have puppies.

But there is a simple solution. If team owners or the league does not like the protests, then keep the teams in the locker room for the ceremony as the Hawks and Titans did Sunday. Some coaches at other levels and sports have opted to do this anyway in order to take advantage of the 5-10 minutes it takes to get organized and do a little more coaching.

On a personal level, I don't care for Michael Bennett, Colin Kaepernick, or anyone else giving me their unsolicited opinions on worldly matters and preaching to me about anything not related to the game, and if they keep it up, I'll tune them out just as I kick off my property the bible beaters that want to shove a bunch of their propaganda down my throat or hang up on unsolicited phone calls. I feel I'm very much in tune to current events and don't need them to draw my attention to it with their symbolism. I'm so tired of this crap that I'm one bad losing streak by the Hawks from taking up golf or fishing. It's not what I'm paying for. This sport is looking more and more like professional wrestling.

[mykc14]

Here you go Cbob

That video shows exactly what I was talking about... Bennett's new sack 'celebration.' It has nothing to do with the color of the guys skin he just sacked and he doesn't do the 'celebration' over him. He does it 15 yards away. I imagine we will see this after every sack. If he had more than 1 in 3 games we would know for sure...

[Hawk Sista]

Before meetings and events at work, we salute the flag and say a prayer. Some sit through the prayer and nobody ever brings it up. I stand but don’t bow my head, and I don’t say amen. No comments from anyone and the city attorney would personally be opposed, but steer clear.

[Hawk Sista]

MYKC - I saw it and thought the same. He got in trouble for his gyrations- this is his 2017 version.

[c_hawkbob]

Here you go Cbob

That video shows exactly what I was talking about... Bennett's new sack 'celebration.' It has nothing to do with the color of the guys skin he just sacked and he doesn't do the 'celebration' over him. He does it 15 yards away. I imagine we will see this after every sack. If he had more than 1 in 3 games we would know for sure...

If that's what he wants to do for his TD celebration and it doesn't cost us a penalty, let him, it is still a free country.

Seems to me the anti PC crowd is getting awfully touchy about their version of PC ...

[idhawkman]

That ain't anywhere near "flying off the handle" ID, Cheeto absolutely proffered the limitation of freedom of speech. The office of POTUS carries a much greater responsibility than does citizenship, lets hold him to a higher standard shall we?

And OBI, what are you taking about?

No. He got elected being himself. I don't deny anyone their right to free speech. He has his. He said that the owners "should" fire the S.O.B. Not that they will be required to.

The rancor that the american political state has fallen to does not dictate that he have to be P.C. and he probably never will. I guess you can call it the "new Normal" to steal a line from the Democrats.

[idhawkman]

POTUS is the POTUS. SURE, he can have his opinions, but if you really cannot see the hypocrisy of calling for the firing of those exercising their right to a Peaceful protest, I dunno what to tell you. He is the president, for crying out loud. POTUS had kinder things to say about Nazi flag waiving bigots chanting racial slurs. The division in this country has always been there, trump has shone the light on it and it really sickens me that people are lining up to pile-on. Freedom means freedom.

I'll set the record straight here if you are open to hearing it.

The president wasn't talking about the Nazi flag waving bigots. The protest had a mix of many groups, one of them was the Nazi waving bigots but also included non-nazi waving bigots who wanted to preserve history (ugly as it may be) symbolized in the statue they wanted to take down. When the Antifa jack legs (isn't that a contradiction in itself) started the rioting at the rally, the normal people left and the Nazi flag wavers stayed there to argue with the Jack legs.

NOTE: The mayor and Governor denied a request by the original protesters to move the demonstration to a more open place farther away from the constrained area just a couple days prior to the event. Now, to get to the president's comments. Both sides had thugs egging for a fight. Both side also have some good people there. Unfortunately, the good people left as most smart good people would from both sides when the thuggery started. But just as unfortunate, you only hear one side of what happened.

I guess in some people's eyes, the president shouldn't comment on someone disrespecting the american flag but his whole campaign was run on "making America Great Again". To do that, you must have patriotism and put America first which includes individualism. Our soldiers and first responders do that on a daily basis and he is defending them. He's not Anti player or even against their cause. He's against the disrespect of the anthem and the flag.

[c_hawkbob]

I'll set the record straight here if you are open to hearing it.

The president wasn't talking about the Nazi flag waving bigots. The protest had a mix of many groups, one of them was the Nazi waving bigots but also included non-nazi waving bigots who wanted to preserve history (ugly as it may be) symbolized in the statue they wanted to take down. When the Antifa jack legs (isn't that a contradiction in itself) started the rioting at the rally, the normal people left and the Nazi flag wavers stayed there to argue with the Jack legs.

Sorry, ID, and seriously: no offense intended but I'm just not buying your filtering of the events. I was paying attention real time as well and that just wasn't my take on it at all.

This isn't the OT section so this is the last I'll comment on it the main forum. Apologies all.

[Hawktawk]

This is as clear as the nose on your face unless you're a Trump true believer. You have "rocket man", Russia investigation, 3 natural disasters including the US virgin islands and Puerto Rico where they are in desperate shape. Meanwhile trump is down in Alabama stumping for the establishment "SWAMP "CANDIDATE strange who is opposed by Hannity, Limbaugh, Palin, Bannon etc.. So he has to throw some red meat to his vulgarians to distract their attention.

He apparently spent a good deal of time during a private dinner with legislators talking about how this latest controversy is "really catching on". Damn straight idiot. you took a relatively isolated protest and made it half the league or more. Today he continues to tweet about it nonstop. Good lord we are in a heap of trouble with this lunatic DOTARD somewhat in charge.
I've made it plain I think the stadium is the wrong forum for protest but this latest blow up is all about Donald Trumps shell game with his adoring base.

[NorthHawk]

I don't think it's a shell game, rather it's a need for attention. I think any appearance of a shell game is simply by accident.
He's always picking fights and directing attention to him. Like someone above or in another post said he's an internet troll who happens to have the biggest voice by being President.

[Largent80]

Just a question. Do y'all stand up in your living room every time they play the song on tv?

I know I don't and I'm a proud veteran.

[NorthHawk]

I think it was Baldwin who pointed out people in the stands are moving to their seats and buying beer as well as sometimes yelling during the anthem.
I've never seen anyone try to correct their behavior or even mention it much.

[Aseahawkfan]

That's a good point. I'm not allowed to protest on the job, either, and of course, we don't start our day with the anthem, the pledge of allegiance, a quiet time for prayer/reflection, or anything more spiritual than a safety talk or butt chewing.

It's pretty hard to mandate that any American citizen honor the flag or the anthem, nor should we ever attempt to. I can remember a lady I used to work with who was in Hitler's youth core as a 9 year old girl tell me that in Nazi Germany, if you were a little boy and didn't salute a poster of Hitler, you got whipped, and if you were a man and didn't give a salute to the poster, you got shot. So as far as Trump's opinion about firing anyone who disrespects the flag, if as an owner he ever did fire someone for that reason, he'd get that termination shoved so far up his hind end that he wouldn't know whether to crap or have puppies.

But there is a simple solution. If team owners or the league does not like the protests, then keep the teams in the locker room for the ceremony as the Hawks and Titans did Sunday. Some coaches at other levels and sports have opted to do this anyway in order to take advantage of the 5-10 minutes it takes to get organized and do a little more coaching.

On a personal level, I don't care for Michael Bennett, Colin Kaepernick, or anyone else giving me their unsolicited opinions on worldly matters and preaching to me about anything not related to the game, and if they keep it up, I'll tune them out just as I kick off my property the bible beaters that want to shove a bunch of their propaganda down my throat or hang up on unsolicited phone calls. I feel I'm very much in tune to current events and don't need them to draw my attention to it with their symbolism. I'm so tired of this crap that I'm one bad losing streak by the Hawks from taking up golf or fishing. It's not what I'm paying for. This sport is looking more and more like professional wrestling.

That's how I am as well. Athletes talking means nothing to me. The one-sided way these athletes and politicians are dealing with this situation is not going to fix the problem. This problem goes much deeper and isn't as tied to racism as people would like it to be.

[Aseahawkfan]

I think it was Baldwin who pointed out people in the stands are moving to their seats and buying beer as well as sometimes yelling during the anthem.
I've never seen anyone try to correct their behavior or even mention it much.

I love our national anthem. It's a great anthem. But I don't think it should be at sporting events. I think it demeans the anthem to have it so tied to such a frivolous activity. A children's sport played by grown men watched by rabid fans chanting just doesn't seem like a great place for the national anthem. But tradition is strong in our national sports.

[RiverDog]

That's how I am as well. Athletes talking means nothing to me. The one-sided way these athletes and politicians are dealing with this situation is not going to fix the problem. This problem goes much deeper and isn't as tied to racism as people would like it to be.

Cbob is probably going to cringe at my bringing this up again, but I do not hold athletes, even my favorites like Russell Wilson, on a higher level than I do any other average human beings. I refuse to buy jerseys with someone else's name/number on it, but still proudly wear my Nike home blue Seahawks #12 with my own moniker on the back, and as such, their opinions...good, bad, and indifferent....do not impact me anymore than Joe Six Pack's opinion does.

That's why I don't give two rusty farts what Michael Bennett thinks. If he feels oppressed or disenfranchised, then he has enough resources to take his grievances to someone that gives a chit. I'm very comfortable with who I am, that I treat people fairly without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, or religion, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let him or anyone else make me feel guilty because my skin color just happens to put me within the demographic of those he seems to have a problem with.

[idhawkman]

Sorry, ID, and seriously: no offense intended but I'm just not buying your filtering of the events. I was paying attention real time as well and that just wasn't my take on it at all.

This isn't the OT section so this is the last I'll comment on it the main forum. Apologies all.

No offense taken. This is a discussion on a civil level.

I didn't filter any of it but ok.

Regarding the OT - We as fans did not introduce politics into our sports. Our team's players did. It is going to be very difficult to separate it out because whether they like it or not, this is going to effect the team. As Taya Kyle said in her open letter to the NFL.

The NFL is what America should be. People of all races, colors, religion, creeds, etc coming together to unite in the pursuit of one goal. The win.

Unfortunately, now they have to decide what they want to stand or kneel for and whether their team mates are with them or not on the playing field.

My take on all of this is: If I walk up to someone and spit in their face and then get surprised that they don't want to hear what my cause is, then I deserve their reaction. It should be common knowledge that you don't start a conversation (or public debate) by first insulting the person you want to have listen to your posiiton. They can't get past the insult especially if it is as bitter and deep as the one they chose (kneeling or sitting for the anthem). There's better ways to open the discussion. So until they quit insulting me, I will not listen (or watch) them. and honestly, it is breaking my heart because I have been a Seahawk fan for 40 years.

[Aseahawkfan]

No offense taken. This is a discussion on a civil level.

I didn't filter any of it but ok.

Regarding the OT - We as fans did not introduce politics into our sports. Our team's players did. It is going to be very difficult to separate it out because whether they like it or not, this is going to effect the team. As Taya Kyle said in her open letter to the NFL.

The NFL is what America should be. People of all races, colors, religion, creeds, etc coming together to unite in the pursuit of one goal. The win.

Unfortunately, now they have to decide what they want to stand or kneel for and whether their team mates are with them or not on the playing field.

My take on all of this is: If I walk up to someone and spit in their face and then get surprised that they don't want to hear what my cause is, then I deserve their reaction. It should be common knowledge that you don't start a conversation (or public debate) by first insulting the person you want to have listen to your posiiton. They can't get past the insult especially if it is as bitter and deep as the one they chose (kneeling or sitting for the anthem). There's better ways to open the discussion. So until they quit insulting me, I will not listen (or watch) them. and honestly, it is breaking my heart because I have been a Seahawk fan for 40 years.

It does seem like none of the players want to accept the consequences of their protest. It seems like some think they shouldn't have to. That part I don't agree with. Nowhere does it say you get to practice your 1st Amendment Right without consequences. The protections apply only to the government, not private citizens who can react as they wish.

[RiverDog]

My take on all of this is: If I walk up to someone and spit in their face and then get surprised that they don't want to hear what my cause is, then I deserve their reaction. It should be common knowledge that you don't start a conversation (or public debate) by first insulting the person you want to have listen to your posiiton. They can't get past the insult especially if it is as bitter and deep as the one they chose (kneeling or sitting for the anthem). There's better ways to open the discussion. So until they quit insulting me, I will not listen (or watch) them. and honestly, it is breaking my heart because I have been a Seahawk fan for 40 years.

That's a great way of putting it. I've said a similar thing since Kaepernick started all this last season but didn't explain it as clearly as you have. My major objection with the protests is that it's way too generalized, that the vast majority of Americans, white, black and everyone inbetween, are decent, fair minded individuals, and that by making such a generalized protest against a symbol that is supposed to represent all of us, that they're insinuating that the opposite is the case and that the country needs a wake-up call.

And I have a similar dilemma regarding my reaction to the insults. I've been a Seahawks fan since the get go, and a football fan in general since I was first conscious of what the heck it was my dad was watching. I am a bad losing streak away from just tuning the whole damn thing out and dust off my 12 gauge and go bird hunting on Sundays instead of pouring my heart and soul into a game played by overpaid athletes that thumb their noses at me.

[Hawk Sista]

Except nobody is spitting in your face, so your metaphor doesn’t work here. They are peacefully making a statement. If you choose to feel spit on because a group of people are peacefully communicating that their America is not the same as yours, then you are missing out on an opportunity to listen and learn. Listen to Doug Baldwin articulate the challenges he’s faced. Listen to a black friend or co-worker describe being thrown to the floor and hand-cuffed after merely walking into a dept. store. First time he walked through the doorway of that store, yet he was a suspect for a robbery committed earlier in the week. I visited w/ my co-worker who described the complexities of the different set of realities he faces everyday because he’s the only African American on my team. I learned some things.

Reasonable people can disagree on the how/when, but we are discussing it - as we should. And NOW, when people are up in arms about their protest after the POTUS called the players SOBs after just saying that many of the KKK/nazi-loving thugs who marched through the streets chanting racist very racist things were “very fine people” - it’s hard not to assume that that people’s anger about the protests isn’t rooted in racism. I’m not saying that is the case, but I’m saying the peaceful protestors likely do, and understand that.

[Largent80]

I served in Vietnam and live to tell about it, and even after all of that, I would NEVER let the actions of others spoil what I do in my life, and especially what I do for enjoyment and entertainment.

People are so anal about everything these days, but simply fail to look at the real underlying causes of people that seem to be making them miserable.

And that is another problem with this society. People are up in everyones business, there is no privacy anymore, no real friendships like I had back in the 70s-90's. Bunch of hateful people walking around.

It doesn't need to be that way and it's up to each one of us to do a personal introspection and see if we are happy with the way we are.