Cleveland First Responders won't hold giant flag on opening day.

[Coffeedrinker]

I did not see this posted

 

Article

 

I can definitely see the point of the Police union and First Responders Union.

 

 

[mikey287]

Protesting a protest...not that smart. I coach ice hockey, we have an anthem before everything (hell, sometimes two)...I stand and my players know early in the season that they don't talk during the anthem. That said, anyone has the right to kneel or do jumping jacks or moonwalk during the anthem if they so choose...

[Myles]

40 minutes ago, mikey287 said:

Protesting a protest...not that smart. I coach ice hockey, we have an anthem before everything (hell, sometimes two)...I stand and my players know early in the season that they don't talk during the anthem. That said, anyone has the right to kneel or do jumping jacks or moonwalk during the anthem if they so choose...

Of course they do, but there may be consequences.  

[mikey287]

Certainly. Freedom of speech does not extend to freedom of consequences...alleged public servants, or whomever, taking a catty, passive aggressive stance against a very feeble protest is petty and worthless. Take the high road. All you're gonna do is give what you hate (kneeling) more air time/press/credence/etc. It's more clever by half.*

 

* - as such, it's no surprise that something from Cleveland thought of this. One wonders if people will protest the protesting protesters by lighting the local river on fire...

[Myles]

8 minutes ago, mikey287 said:

Certainly. Freedom of speech does not extend to freedom of consequences...alleged public servants, or whomever, taking a catty, passive aggressive stance against a very feeble protest is petty and worthless. Take the high road. All you're gonna do is give what you hate (kneeling) more air time/press/credence/etc. It's more clever by half.*

 

* - as such, it's no surprise that something from Cleveland thought of this. One wonders if people will protest the protesting protesters by lighting the local river on fire...

I understand what you are saying.   I also agree that they can do more to make their point by continuing what they planned to do. 

However, if this is how they want to protest the Browns allowing their players to protest the national anthem, I guess they are free to do it.   

 

I'm so sick of protests.   Mostly because I don't believe most are being done for the right reason.   Seeking attention is not the right reason.  

[Coffeedrinker]

1 hour ago, mikey287 said:

Certainly. Freedom of speech does not extend to freedom of consequences...alleged public servants, or whomever, taking a catty, passive aggressive stance against a very feeble protest is petty and worthless. Take the high road. All you're gonna do is give what you hate (kneeling) more air time/press/credence/etc. It's more clever by half.*

 

* - as such, it's no surprise that something from Cleveland thought of this. One wonders if people will protest the protesting protesters by lighting the local river on fire...

All protests are passive aggressive, that is why it's called a protest not a fight.  As far as giving it more air time, the kneelers are getting the air time anyways but the first responders are not.

As a vet, I completely agree with their right to protest and it's one of the freedoms I fought for.  And I would be totally against any government agency arresting them for doing it.  But I'll be damned if I support those * that want to disrespect the flag and the country and all the men and women that have died for them to have that right.

 

[mikey287]

Eh, semantics maybe...but some protests are aggressive and pointed and have some very real meaning behind him. Kneeling during a song as a million dollar athlete and then seemingly taking almost no action/carry-thru thereafter is one kind of empty...protesting that protest out of spite is a whole 'nother kind of empty...

 

The protesting of a protest just amplifies the original protest's cause and can only serve to hurt what you represent. So it's a double whammy for you (the protesting of protesters) and there is almost no upside. 

 

Your points are not disagreeable...I would like people to respect the flag and people like yourselves who fought for it...but, hey...what can you do? 

[Carlos Danger]

I think that the police union and first responders union are on the wrong side of this issue... They should be working to reform police departments from the inside instead of responding to percieved attacks... 

 

Protesting the protest makes it seem as though they don't believe that there is a major problem with how unequally and unfairly the law is enforced and applied in this country. Statistics clearly reveal that there is. There is no argument. 

 

Police procedure is only part of the problem, but the police unions also protest against the elimination of mandatory minimums and marijuana reform, illustrating that they would rather have job security than fair, rational justice. 

 

I think that this protest is wrong-headed and the police who are offended by "black lives matter" are miguided. The NFL players who sit for the national anthem have my support and have the support of 2 out of the 3 police officers in my immediate family. Those players are patriots (the good kind) in my view. Not all cops are on the side of the union on this. 

 

Police need better training and more pay for the important work that they do. It's insane that the lady who cuts my hair had to spend more time on her education and training than the police that protect my kids.

 

I understand that the issues are instututional, go higher than just enforcement, and that the police are in an unwinnable situation here. That being said, protesting against the kneelers doesn't help anything or anybody. One group is protesting in favor of human life, the other is bristling against criticism when they should be just as outraged as the rest of us. 

 

JMO, the nature of this thread was political, which is the reason I felt free to speak my piece despite the forum rules. Mods feel free to delete if I crossed a line.

 

 

 

 

[DougDew]

The problem is that the NFL wont stand up against Kaps stupid meaningless protest because  a lot of stupid fans will express Fake Outrage over their Faith that their lousy place in life is the result of oppression from people like Goodell and the owners.  How else do people like that get ahead?

 

The only reason anybody in this country has anything, Kap, Owners, fans, is because of all of the dead soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery.  Your skill or smarts can't measure up to having a greater influence over your life than another taking a bullet on your behalf.

[Buck Showalter]

I'm not sure what more can be said on this topic that has not already been expressed. There are legitimate arguments on both sides of this issue, however, any more debate will easily lend itself towards the political. 

 

Thank you to those who have posted in this thread so far, in terms of keeping the discussion civil. However, the thread will be locked