Liam Rosenior in the Grauniad: NFL kneeling protest

[Stat Brother]

All these smart footballers, thick footballer, white, black, brown footballers, but no gay footballers.

What are the chances of that happening?

 

[Bakero]

I don't understand why they play the national anthem before games anyway? The only time we do here is if it is a NATIONAL sporting occasion.

I did ask the question on the Facebook thread of an American friend of mine, but was accused – by one of HIS friends – of being a 'snooty Brit' and told to 'keep out of our politics and we'll keep out of yours'. Which was nice...

I love American sport, but I too find the anthem and constant references to the military both baffling and unnerving.

See post #62.

 

[spring hall convert]

I understand this (Take a Knee) is a protest against police brutality. My concern is that the protest is non-specific. The players are not observing convention with regard to the Anthem, but that means they reject or object to....what? Their country? Trump?

The protest predates Trump. He's just stirring it up to appeal to his core support of mouthbreathing neckbeards.

 

[Seagull kimchi]

We either tear the whole thing apart or try to start getting it right. My thinking is trying is the best thing to do- and that means moving on.

 

[looney]

Nobody has put fault at anyone's door. You have done that.

However, the data - and whether you choose to read it or not, that's up to you, but don't ignore the facts - shows that people are shot on a regular occurrence and that if unarmed, then skin colour can affect your chances of being shot. Those facts require scrutiny.

I'm delighted that you are prepared to start scrutinising data. That's what we all need to do.

So, for example, 12% of police officers in the USA are black, which broadly reflects the number of black citizens in the USA. In terms of reflecting diversity, the police force does that. They are facts. So, why do black citizens get treated differently? The police are not the sole makers of society, they just administer law. And so the plot thickens.

Lastly, you really must stop attaching the word 'fake' to the word 'news' like some Trump hired mobster. There really is no need.

News is either news, or its a lie. So, call it for what it is. If you believe a research paper that has examined all the shootings in a given time period and analysed the ethnicity of those shot is a lie, then call it a lie, not fake news. Of course, you will then need to tell us why the numbers that have been counted are lies, or you begin to sound like a liar yourself.

What Trump is trying to do is muddy the water between what is the truth and what is not the truth. Let's not let him do that.

You are comparing shootings between blacks an whites, this is a false argument. As the NY times pointed out lives for whites have got safer over the last 20 years weras life for blacks has got worse. Poverty breeds more violent crime and therefor a great violent response to it so the measure is poor blacks shot compare to poor whites.

I prefer the term Lugen Presse but tend to be called a nazi for using german even though it predats the third reich, I have noticed prior to trump and brexit a divergence between online and MSM reporting of the news. A classic example is all the islamic attacks called Mental illness or hate crimes. Its the Governments responsibility to keep its people safe from harm, first responsibility. The job of the media should be vigilance to any threat and honest reporting of it. This goes just beyond "fake news" and breeds suspicion and contempt.

If Trump wants to call it fake news thats good enough for me. Ive stopped watching it and get my news from about half a dozen online sources.