Here's An Item Outta St. Louis

[pacolts56]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-wont-discipline-rams-players-for-hands-up-dont-shoot-gesture/ar-BBgcztb?ocid=AARDHP

 

I guess whether one considers Kenny Britt an "expert on the topic" or a rather inappropriate spokesman for this collective expression on the part of Rams players depends on what side of this Ferguson mess you park your opinion on.

 

That aside....the NFL probably did the right thing taking a hands-off approach on this hands-up gesture by the Rams players as they took the field yesterday.

 

As for the police association representative who registered his disgust with the NFL's decision and pretty much implied a boycott of sorts?

 

That won't mean much after the Rams move back to L.A., ociffer.

[Blue Horseshoe]

I thought it was sickening especially since the Rams were hosting several of the completely innocent business owners whose lives were destroyed by the thuggish mob.  I thought it was very cowardly of the league to not crack down on this especially since they crack down on organized touchdown celebrations.  Which is worse?  Celebrating a touchdown or celebrating a bunch of criminals burning the city down?

[HtownColt]

Non story

But to hear this from a police officer who falsifies police reports is laughable

[pacolts56]

I thought it was sickening especially since the Rams were hosting several of the completely innocent business owners whose lives were destroyed by the thuggish mob.  I thought it was very cowardly of the league to not crack down on this especially since they crack down on organized touchdown celebrations.  Which is worse?  Celebrating a touchdown or celebrating a bunch of criminals burning the city down?

Good valid points....the fallout from the grand jury decision was an irrational self-destructive mob action and many business owners from their very community are the ones who suffered. 

 

But I'm guessing that these days the NFL is walking on eggshells with every new hot potato issue that gets lobbed their way....and another can of worms like this was something they wanted to steer clear of.

 

Maybe someday we'll just have boring old NFL football again. <<<<game show buzzer>>>>

[DougDew]

In order to foster legitimate change, protests should probably be based upon facts and not on disproven community here-say.

The protesters are embarrassing themselves. Players should have been counseled about how embarrassing it might be for them as individuals, but the official NFL response of nothing is probably appropriate.

Frankly, the NFL should respond with nothing many more times than it does.

[pacolts56]

Non story

But to hear this from a police officer who falsifies police reports is laughable

Oh, then you'll love this tirade....grab a beer or a cup of coffee....

 

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/01/i-cant-take-it-anymore-joe-scarborough-gives-passionate-defense-of-police-over-b-s-being-spewed-in-michael-brown-saga/

[BOTT]

Non story

But to hear this from a police officer who falsifies police reports is laughable

??

[snkdy]

I know people feel very strongly on both sides of this issue but personally, I'm glad the NFL left it alone. 

[southwest1]

First of all, I thought the peaceful protest prior to the game was actually fine. It did not represent any St. Louis business specifically or reflect  poorly on the Rams organization at all. A few athletes on the team were voicing their objection to this incident & a lack of a grand jury indictment in this case that's all. 

 

I don't like the tone of this statement from PAC56's article by Mr. Jeff Roorda "Well I've got news for people who think that way, cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours."

 

Wait a minute, it's 1 thing to say that you felt uncomfortable with a player's actions on Sunday, but did that display of awareness promote violence of any kind or accelerate a riot or property damage in any way? No.

 

I'm not blaming anybody here & it was the right move for the NFL not to punish these players & from a personal perspective I am proud of how these players voiced their objections to the unnecessary death in Missouri.

 

I do have relatives who happen to be black & yes unfortunately they often get monitored in department stores. What I'm getting at here is this: I am never followed out of a misguided bias belief that I might shoplift an item without purchasing it outright &  when I get pulled over for speeding I am never concerned about getting shot by a cop who perceives me as a threat. I can appreciate how difficult it is to always feel like a person feels like they are being unfairly watched by authority figures in a community & even though I know how lucky I am to never experience this reality, I do stick up for my african american friends & family if I feel they are being unfairly harassed or targeted just based on their appearance. It's gotten me into hot water more than once, but I don't give a darn because loyalty, fairness, & respect for others means everything to me. I have their back & they have mine. 

 

I also feel compelled to mention that most law enforcement officials are good people who have no interest in violating someone's civil & 1st amendment rights. If I sense that an authority figure is stepping over the line, I'm never afraid to speak up regardless of my surroundings.

 

Roger Goddell was absolutely right to issue no sanctions & steer clear of this land mine IMO. 

[Synthetic]

I thought it was sickening especially since the Rams were hosting several of the completely innocent business owners whose lives were destroyed by the thuggish mob.  I thought it was very cowardly of the league to not crack down on this especially since they crack down on organized touchdown celebrations.  Which is worse?  Celebrating a touchdown or celebrating a bunch of criminals burning the city down?

 

Not even 3 posts down and I already found what I love reading on these boards so much.

 

This looks like a job for Super man to come in, or any other mod and close this topic before it gets out of control.

[HtownColt]

??

I'm talking about the policeman who said the statement about the Rams players

[crazycolt1]

First of all, I thought the peaceful protest prior to the game was actually fine. It did not represent any St. Louis business specifically or reflect  poorly on the Rams organization at all. A few athletes on the team were voicing their objection to this incident & a lack of a grand jury indictment in this case that's all. 

 

I don't like the tone of this statement from PAC56's article by Mr. Jeff Roorda "Well I've got news for people who think that way, cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours."

 

Wait a minute, it's 1 thing to say that you felt uncomfortable with a player's actions on Sunday, but did that display of awareness promote violence of any kind or accelerate a riot or property damage in any way? No.

 

I'm not blaming anybody here & it was the right move for the NFL not to punish these players & from a personal perspective I am proud of how these players voiced their objections to the unnecessary death in Missouri.

 

I do have relatives who happen to be black & yes unfortunately they often get monitored in department stores. What I'm getting at here is this: I am never followed out of a misguided bias belief that I might shoplift an item without purchasing it outright &  when I get pulled over for speeding I am never concerned about getting shot by a cop who perceives me as a threat. I can appreciate how difficult it is to always feel like a person feels like they are being unfairly watched by authority figures in a community & even though I know how lucky I am to never experience this reality, I do stick up for my african american friends & family if I feel they are being unfairly harassed or targeted just based on their appearance. It's gotten me into hot water more than once, but I don't give a darn because loyalty, fairness, & respect for others means everything to me. I have their back & they have mine. 

 

I also feel compelled to mention that most law enforcement officials are good people who have no interest in violating someone's civil & 1st amendment rights. If I sense that an authority figure is stepping over the line, I'm never afraid to speak up regardless of my surroundings.

 

Roger Goddell was absolutely right to issue no sanctions & steer clear of this land mine IMO. 

I think you are correct when saying Goodell is more than likely going to leave this alone. He is still smarting from the other issues on his plate. I don't care who wants to show or voice their opinions in a civil way. That is why we seen a lot of changes in the late 60s and into the 70s. Right or wrong I still think this country is based on being able to say what you think without backlash. That is where the problem lies right now. The political correctness has all but taken that away. Sorry, it's getting to close to a political agenda so I best let it go.

[southwest1]

Oh, then you'll love this tirade....grab a beer or a cup of coffee....

 

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/01/i-cant-take-it-anymore-joe-scarborough-gives-passionate-defense-of-police-over-b-s-being-spewed-in-michael-brown-saga/

Thank you for including this link PAC56. Joe Scarborough is usually level headed, but using a "hands up" gesture speaks more to a pattern of african american deaths vs white deaths for the exact same offenses being committed meaning that justice is supposed to be blind or applied equally. If a white guy had acted the same way that Mr. Brown did, would he still be alive today? It's a rhetorical question meaning we all know what the answer would be. Enough said. 

 

To me, the Rams players who participated in this silent protest weren't speaking to just 1 incident, but a disturbing trend: Not all life is considered equal in certain circles or geographic community locations.

 

I won't say anymore because I have no desire to get this thread locked down & I will apologize personally to PAC56 if SW1's passionate response does in fact accidentally achieve that which was not my original intent. 

[Blue Horseshoe]

Thank you for including this link PAC56. Joe Scarborough is usually level headed, but using a "hands up" gesture speaks more to a pattern of african american deaths vs white deaths for the exact same offenses being committed meaning that justice is supposed to be blind or applied equally. If a white guy had acted the same way that Mr. Brown did, would he still be alive today? It's a rhetorical question meaning we all know what the answer would be. Enough said. 

 

To me, the Rams players who participated in this silent protest weren't speaking to just 1 incident, but a disturbing trend: Not all life is considered equal in certain circles or geographic community locations.

 

I won't say anymore because I have no desire to get this thread locked down & I will apologize personally to PAC56 if SW1's passionate response does in fact accidentally achieve that which was not my original intent. 

 

If anyone attacked a police officer and attempted to take his gun while screaming obscenities they would most likely not be alive today. 

 

Unfortunately, while the town was burned down in support of a criminal like Michael Brown almost nothing is said about the fate of DeAndre Joshua, an innocent 20 year old with a good job and with no history of drug use or illicit behavior.  He was murdered by the riotous mob simply because he provided eyewitness testimony which corroborated officer Wilson's account of the encounter with Brown.  Where is the "peaceful protest" in support of DeAndre Joshua, someone who actually deserves one?

[RockThatBlue]

This was about as dumb as the Miami Heat wearing hoodies for Trayvon or whatever it was.

Keep that nonsense out of sports

[pacolts56]

Thank you for including this link PAC56. Joe Scarborough is usually level headed, but using a "hands up" gesture speaks more to a pattern of african american deaths vs white deaths for the exact same offenses being committed meaning that justice is supposed to be blind or applied equally. If a white guy had acted the same way that Mr. Brown did, would he still be alive today? It's a rhetorical question meaning we all know what the answer would be. Enough said. 

 

To me, the Rams players who participated in this silent protest weren't speaking to just 1 incident, but a disturbing trend: Not all life is considered equal in certain circles or geographic community locations.

 

I won't say anymore because I have no desire to get this thread locked down & I will apologize personally to PAC56 if SW1's passionate response does in fact accidentally achieve that which was not my original intent. 

I hear ya SW1.

 

And I thought Wes Moore, who was also part of the Morning Joe discussion, broadened out the points you make very well.

 

I hesitated to start this thread for fear of having it morph into politics....but there are instances, and this became one of them yesterday, where NFL football and civil/social/political realms mesh. I must admit....did find it a little amusing that Kenny Britt was quoted with the player's point of view.

 

The NFL wisely punted, and hopefully...despite a wide range of Forum opinions....we can keep it all good with the mods. 

[Superman]

From the article:

 

The players explained the decision to reporters after the game, saying it was meant as a sign of support for the community, not an indictment of Wilson.

 

"We wanted to show that we are organized for a great cause and something positive comes out of it," Britt told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "That's what we hope we can make happen. That's our community. We wanted to let the community know that we support the community."

 

I don't see the problem. I also think it's pretty inappropriate that a police association would lobby for NFL players to be punished by the league for a non violent demonstration of support.

[B~Town]

If anyone attacked a police officer and attempted to take his gun while screaming obscenities they would most likely not be alive today. 

 

Unfortunately, while the town was burned down in support of a criminal like Michael Brown almost nothing is said about the fate of DeAndre Joshua, an innocent 20 year old with a good job and with no history of drug use or illicit behavior.  He was murdered by the riotous mob simply because he provided eyewitness testimony which corroborated officer Wilson's account of the encounter with Brown.  Where is the "peaceful protest" in support of DeAndre Joshua, someone who actually deserves one?

That is just sad I had not heard a word about it .

[DougDew]

From the article:

The players explained the decision to reporters after the game, saying it was meant as a sign of support for the community, not an indictment of Wilson.

"We wanted to show that we are organized for a great cause and something positive comes out of it," Britt told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "That's what we hope we can make happen. That's our community. We wanted to let the community know that we support the community."

 

I don't see the problem. I also think it's pretty inappropriate that a police association would lobby for NFL players to be punished by the league for a non violent demonstration of support.

"explained to reporters after the game" Therein lies a problem. The visual gesture is one that the community is using to represent that some sort of race-based injustice occurred, which has pretty much been disproven, and is also triggering for nonpeaceful demonstration.

Its not readily apparent to anyone that the gesture means anything else.

It would be like the 1968 Olympians doing the black-power salute on the medal podium, then saying they meant it also as a symbol for the disenfranchised white folks in Appalachia. Or...somebody giving the Nazi heil hitler arm extension and saying later that they were "just stretching."

Unless you were directly told that it meant something else, anybody would interpret the gesture as something not exactly supportive of law enforcement. I think that if the NFL can champion issues involving domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, and child abuse, it can verbally criticize players that use a gesture that represents nonpeaceful demonstrations triggered by lies about a police incident.

But I'm all for the NFL staying out of stuff like this.

[Superman]

"explained to reporters after the game" Therein lies a problem. The visual gesture is one that the community is using to represent that some sort of race-based injustice occurred, which has pretty much been disproven, and is also triggering for nonpeaceful demonstration.

Its not readily apparent to anyone that the gesture means anything else.

It would be like the 1968 Olympians doing the black-power salute on the medal podium, then saying they meant it also as a symbol for the disenfranchised white folks in Appalachia. Or...somebody giving the Nazi heil hitler arm extension and saying later that they were "just stretching."

Unless you were directly told that it meant something else, anybody would interpret the gesture as something not exactly supportive of law enforcement. I think that if the NFL can champion issues involving domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, and child abuse, it can verbally criticize players that use a gesture that represents nonpeaceful demonstrations triggered by lies about a police incident.

But I'm all for the NFL staying out of stuff like this.

 

So many assumptions in this post, most of which I think are wrong, at the very least, that I'm not even going to try to respond to them. I'll just say that I don't think there's anything wrong with players displaying support for their community, and I don't see why a police association would try to insert itself into league-player relations. 

 

Edit: It's also not cool to misquote the article like you did. It doesn't say "explained to reporters after the game..." It says "The players explained the decision to reporters after the game..." Words have meaning.

[Blackhawk4]

I thought it was sickening especially since the Rams were hosting several of the completely innocent business owners whose lives were destroyed by the thuggish mob.  I thought it was very cowardly of the league to not crack down on this especially since they crack down on organized touchdown celebrations.  Which is worse?  Celebrating a touchdown or celebrating a bunch of criminals burning the city down?

 

Good valid points....the fallout from the grand jury decision was an irrational self-destructive mob action and many business owners from their very community are the ones who suffered. 

 

But I'm guessing that these days the NFL is walking on eggshells with every new hot potato issue that gets lobbed their way....and another can of worms like this was something they wanted to steer clear of.

 

Maybe someday we'll just have boring old NFL football again. <<<<game show buzzer>>>>

 

If you honestly believe that is what they were celebrating then you completely missed the point. 

 

 

"explained to reporters after the game" Therein lies a problem. The visual gesture is one that the community is using to represent that some sort of race-based injustice occurred, which has pretty much been disproven, and is also triggering for nonpeaceful demonstration.

Its not readily apparent to anyone that the gesture means anything else.

It would be like the 1968 Olympians doing the black-power salute on the medal podium, then saying they meant it also as a symbol for the disenfranchised white folks in Appalachia. Or...somebody giving the Nazi heil hitler arm extension and saying later that they were "just stretching."

Unless you were directly told that it meant something else, anybody would interpret the gesture as something not exactly supportive of law enforcement. I think that if the NFL can champion issues involving domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, and child abuse, it can verbally criticize players that use a gesture that represents nonpeaceful demonstrations triggered by lies about a police incident.

But I'm all for the NFL staying out of stuff like this.

*eyes roll so far into the back of head I can see my eye socket* 

 

Come on now. If we're going to be making ridiculous statements like this then a lot of people viewing this thread might start believing ridiculous things about this situation that just are not true. 

[pacolts56]

If you honestly believe that is what they were celebrating then you completely missed the point.

Where did I say the Rams players were celebrating businesses being torched?

I concurred with the senselessness of an out of control mob torching it's own community.

[teganslaw]

I'm glad the NFL stayed out of this. It would have been a bit much for them to get fined just because of this gesture since it had no bearing on the team. Well, maybe it did. After all, the Rams went on to win 52-0. Could have been a curse on Oakland? Oh, I forgot that team can't get any cursed than it already it... 

[Blue Horseshoe]

Where did I say the Rams players were celebrating businesses being torched?

I concurred with the senselessness of an out of control mob torching it's own community.

 

The comments were directed at me not you and I simply chose to ignore them and let it be.

I could have wasted all kinds of time arguing the situation and showing how little the hands up gesture actually has to do with the events of that day but I thought better of it having said my piece that the display was sickening and an insult to those completely innocent business owners, whose lives were ruined by the thugs and who were in attendance at that ball game as guests of the franchise.

[Thewholefnshow28]

From the article:

 

The players explained the decision to reporters after the game, saying it was meant as a sign of support for the community, not an indictment of Wilson.

 

"We wanted to show that we are organized for a great cause and something positive comes out of it," Britt told ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "That's what we hope we can make happen. That's our community. We wanted to let the community know that we support the community."

 

I don't see the problem. I also think it's pretty inappropriate that a police association would lobby for NFL players to be punished by the league for a non violent demonstration of support.

 

People are all for free speech and public demonstration when they agree with it.  It was sickening to hear a police association calling for the league to punish them for doing a non violent demonstration.  You may not agree with why they did it or what they say, but they have that right and that is what makes America great.  The police association was not calling for them to be punished because it violated some rule the NFL has in place.  They wanted their view squashed as they did not agree with it.

[Superman]

People are all for free speech and public demonstration when they agree with it. It was sickening to hear a police association calling for the league to punish them for doing a non violent demonstration. You may not agree with why they did it or what they say, but they have that right and that is what makes America great. The police association was not calling for them to be punished because it violated some rule the NFL has in place. They wanted their view squashed as they did not agree with it.

Exactly.

[DougDew]

So many assumptions in this post, most of which I think are wrong, at the very least, that I'm not even going to try to respond to them. I'll just say that I don't think there's anything wrong with players displaying support for their community, and I don't see why a police association would try to insert itself into league-player relations. 

 

Edit: It's also not cool to misquote the article like you did. It doesn't say "explained to reporters after the game..." It says "The players explained the decision to reporters after the game..." Words have meaning.

 

The gesture symbolizes a big jolly video game youth eager to start his first day of college standing with his arms in the air saying "don't shoot" while lowering himself into a non confrontational position, then being shot by a racist cop.

 

It is a racially based gesture.  It was created by street youths either lying about what happened, or telling what they saw after their minds receiving years of brainwashing about how to describe what they see.   The store that captured evidence that he was a robber, has been targeted.  Apparently, a witness that helps to prove the falsehood of the street dogma has been murdered.

 

If facts get in the way of the dogma, then the messenger has to be punished.

 

The basis of the gesture been disproven.  Intelligent people should stop making the gesture.  It perpetuates racial divisiveness.

 

When NFL players, wearing NFL uniforms, in an NFL stadium, on NFL game day make a racially based gesture....IT REPRESENTS THE NFL...and tarnishes the shield.

 

It represents the NFL much more than does Jim Irsay driving by himself on a Sunday night, Ray Rice quarrelling with his wife on their own time, and even Pat McAfee jumping into a canal.  And look at all of the punishment they got from the twisted logic that those persons represent the NFL. 

 

Hiding behind the concept of free speech is nonsense.  If people have the right to display racially divisive symbols in NFL stadiums, then waving a confederate flag should be protected too.

[Qwiz]

The gesture symbolizes a big jolly video game youth eager to start his first day of college standing with his arms in the air saying "don't shoot" while lowering himself into a non confrontational position, then being shot by a racist cop.

 

It is a racially based gesture.  It was created by street youths either lying about what happened, or telling what they saw after their minds receiving years of brainwashing about how to describe what they see.   The store that captured evidence that he was a robber, has been targeted.  Apparently, a witness that helps to prove the falsehood of the street dogma has been murdered.

 

If facts get in the way of the dogma, then the messenger has to be punished.

 

The basis of the gesture been disproven.  Intelligent people should stop making the gesture.  It perpetuates racial divisiveness.

 

When NFL players, wearing NFL uniforms, in an NFL stadium, on NFL game day make a racially based gesture....IT REPRESENTS THE NFL...and tarnishes the shield.

 

It represents the NFL much more than does Jim Irsay driving by himself on a Sunday night, Ray Rice quarrelling with his wife on their own time, and even Pat McAfee jumping into a canal.  And look at all of the punishment they got from the twisted logic that those persons represent the NFL. 

 

Hiding behind the concept of free speech is nonsense.  If people have the right to display racially divisive symbols in NFL stadiums, then waving a confederate flag should be protected too.

Driving while intoxicated and beating your wife is more tolerable to you than someone using a gesture? What does it matter if it gets caught on camera or not (which is what I think you might be getting at here)? The public finds out about this stuff either way.

[Coffeedrinker]

People are all for free speech and public demonstration when they agree with it.  It was sickening to hear a police association calling for the league to punish them for doing a non violent demonstration.  You may not agree with why they did it or what they say, but they have that right and that is what makes America great.  The police association was not calling for them to be punished because it violated some rule the NFL has in place.  They wanted their view squashed as they did not agree with it.

Free speech is a right guaranteed by the US Constitution (and every state Constitution) and means that a person will not be arrested for their speech.  It does not, however, guarantee that your employer will not punish you for your speech or that the community (local or nationally) has to support that speech.

 

I do agree the players have the right to do it.  But since the idea that Brown had his hands up and was saying "Don't Shoot" was proven to be a lie in the most transparent case in US history, it does show how ignorant football players can be.  I wonder if Holder et al will spend near the money and resources to find out who killed and burned DeAndre Joshua (a key witness that disputed the Hands up Don't shoot stance latched onto by the media).

[Superman]

The gesture symbolizes a big jolly video game youth eager to start his first day of college standing with his arms in the air saying "don't shoot" while lowering himself into a non confrontational position, then being shot by a racist cop.

It is a racially based gesture. It was created by street youths either lying about what happened, or telling what they saw after their minds receiving years of brainwashing about how to describe what they see. The store that captured evidence that he was a robber, has been targeted. Apparently, a witness that helps to prove the falsehood of the street dogma has been murdered.

If facts get in the way of the dogma, then the messenger has to be punished.

The basis of the gesture been disproven. Intelligent people should stop making the gesture. It perpetuates racial divisiveness.

When NFL players, wearing NFL uniforms, in an NFL stadium, on NFL game day make a racially based gesture....IT REPRESENTS THE NFL...and tarnishes the shield.

It represents the NFL much more than does Jim Irsay driving by himself on a Sunday night, Ray Rice quarrelling with his wife on their own time, and even Pat McAfee jumping into a canal. And look at all of the punishment they got from the twisted logic that those persons represent the NFL.

Hiding behind the concept of free speech is nonsense. If people have the right to display racially divisive symbols in NFL stadiums, then waving a confederate flag should be protected too.

What is a "street youth"?

Again, I disagree. I don't want to have this conversation. But I disagree, on several points.

And it doesn't matter. If the NFL has a problem with the players making a gesture on the field and they choose to reprimand them in any way, fine. I think it would be bogus in this case, but that's between the players and the NFL. For a completely non-related entity of any kind to butt in is not appropriate, whether it's PETA or the National Realtors Association. It's especially inappropriate for a police association, which exists solely to protect the individual rights of citizens, to lobby against the expressions of those citizens.

It's ironic how a person will argue against the NFL sanctioning actions of employees, up until they dislike some specific actions. The NFL shouldn't suspend Peterson or Rice or Irsay for breaking the law, but they should fine/suspend these players for a nonviolent gesture? That's interesting...

[Dustin]

What is a "street youth"?

 

 

I think we all know what he's trying to say.

[southwest1]

If anyone attacked a police officer and attempted to take his gun while screaming obscenities they would most likely not be alive today. 

 

Unfortunately, while the town was burned down in support of a criminal like Michael Brown almost nothing is said about the fate of DeAndre Joshua, an innocent 20 year old with a good job and with no history of drug use or illicit behavior.  He was murdered by the riotous mob simply because he provided eyewitness testimony which corroborated officer Wilson's account of the encounter with Brown.  Where is the "peaceful protest" in support of DeAndre Joshua, someone who actually deserves one?

I am troubled by this idea that all people acting irrationally would not be alive today in the exact same situation. I am here to tell you from personal family circumstances they are not. So, I respectfully disagree with your 1st sentence. I wish that was true, but tragically it is not. What I'm getting at here is this: How do I say this delicately without getting too political in scope? Some individuals are given more patience & time to cool off in the middle of tense situation than other individuals are customarily afforded. I've seen this not 1st hand but second hand personally. 

 

Also, a comparison between which person deserves a peaceful protest & which one doesn't is not really the issue here in my opinion but treating all citizens with respect regardless of their ethnicity or background even if the initial interaction is a tense & uncomfortable one. 

 

Again, I respect law enforcement & I'm not trying to portray one side as good & the other as bad. I better not say anything more here so this thread can remain open. 

[DougDew]

I think we all know what he's trying to say.

Of course...its obvious....I'm trying to describe the kind of youths that spend an abnormal amount of time grouped together on the street, walking and shouting and trying to act intimidating.  You know...the kind of youths that look for an excuse to protest something  in order to create a diversion for their cousins to loot stores.    

 

But becareful about your incinuations.  Labeling someone a racist, before you objectively analyze the facts, is actually racist behavior itself, which is why the fair skinned blue eyed cop was erroneously accused of wrongdoing in the first place.  

 

But the point is.....the NFL seems to not care about what personal statement their employees make when wearing a uniform, but instead gets all ruffled up about how they conduct their personal lives on their personal time.  The NFL has held very weird, illogical, positions over the past year.

 

Its as if the NFL, a private company, believes its mission is not to provide entertainment, but, because its rich and powerful and visible, it believes it has a dual purpose of influencing social policy.  Like I said...it a really weird position....for capitalists anyway.

 

Or maybe, because they are rich and powerful and visible, they're just scared of being targeted for a shake down.

 

But enough of this thread for me...I assume everybody gets a bit tired of NFL nonfootball issues.

[Superman]

Of course...its obvious....I'm trying to describe the kind of youths that spend an abnormal amount of time grouped together on the street, walking and shouting and trying to act intimidating. You know...the kind of youths that look for an excuse to protest something in order to create a diversion for their cousins to loot stores.

But becareful about your incinuations. Labeling someone a racist, before you objectively analyze the facts, is actually racist behavior itself, which is why the fair skinned blue eyed cop was erroneously accused of wrongdoing in the first place.

But the point is.....the NFL seems to not care about what personal statement their employees make when wearing a uniform, but instead gets all ruffled up about how they conduct their personal lives on their personal time. The NFL has held very weird, illogical, positions over the past year.

Its as if the NFL, a private company, believes its mission is not to provide entertainment, but, because its rich and powerful and visible, it believes it has a dual purpose of influencing social policy. Like I said...it a really weird position....for capitalists anyway.

Or maybe, because they are rich and powerful and visible, they're just scared of being targeted for a shake down.

But enough of this thread for me...I assume everybody gets a bit tired of NFL nonfootball issues.

Good heavens...

[Nadine]

I think everyone has had a chance to say what they thought on this subject........which is a borderline NFL discussion.

Closing