Time is your friend. Impulse is your enemy. -John Bogle
We've already had this discussion and your argument does not apply to the stats that have developed since LBJ's great society. 40% of all children are born out of wedlock. Over 70% of blacks are born out of wedlock. This is not caused by marital strife. It's cultural.
You know, it's now gotten to the point I really don't care what they are protesting about, I guess it shouldn't since most of the protesters do not either. These folks are all the same, Actors, professional athletes, circus performers, professional cowboys, Daredevils, etc..., they are paid performers and when people quit paying to see the show, the show will not go on. Money drives it all, if you want to make a real statement, cancel your NFL channel, do no dare put your satellite receiver or cable box on an NFL game, even if you have tickets do not show up to game.
Talk about a trickle down affect, if 30-40% of fans just stopped going and watching, no parking lot fees, no concession profits, no clothing and licensing profits for manufacturers and retailers, no tailgate supplies, no game watching parties, no Sunday bar attendance to watch "the game", no impulse buys on big-screen TV's for the Superbowl, and the list goes on(kinda like this sentence).
That's what you do if you don't like seeing the protestors, as someone said before, capitalism at it's finest.
I hate to disappoint you, but the ratings were down and there were people that stopped watching last year. I haven't watched a game since the first game the NFL did nothing to the first loser. I will not watch again until this is stopped. I guess the best part is, I have never missed it. I think a lot of people will find they don't miss it and not go back. These foolish millionaires will eventually feel it where it hurts, in the wallet.
That is my point. Until we have someone grown up enough/educated enough to put the issue(whatever it is) on the table in an environment where changes can be made all of this is fruitless. The President doesn't have a grievance, obviously others do. It is up to them to take time off of work to meet with people who can at least entertain the desired change. As long as all we have are broken windows, burning couches, dead cops, and kneeling celebrities you won't see anything change.
Generalizing is only making things worse. So much progress has been made regarding race relations, yet now we are being forced to choose a side. Unity is the goal, but division is the result. Obama and Trump are both guilty of dividing.
Does racism exist? Sure. But most people don't judge someone based on the color of their skin, just as most Americans don't live a privileged life or a suppressed life based on skin color. There are so many factors regarding each individual's life path, and to credit or blame one's success or failure to skin color is ...
In most cases, how one conducts and presents himself -aka speech, body language, respectfulness, etc- are what people are judged upon.
Are there examples of racism/oppression? Is it a huge problem? If so, what are some examples and what are some solutions?
Americans are given the same educational opportunities regardless of race and background (private vs public school is no excuse). Scholarships for minorities, grants instead of loans, affirmative action... all examples of opportunity, not suppression. Education and family values should be encouraged within the community, not frowned upon. That would be a start, although it's easier to just place blame outside of one's culture/community/home.
Again, I'm not denying racism exists --there will always be idiots of all races and skin shades-- but if they make up only a very small part of the population, why focus on them? Oh wait, I know... Politics!!
Generalizing and placing blame where it doesn't belong is not fixing anything.
I stopped watching NFL games last year. Primarily due to NFL introducing politics into the sport. Same with ESPN, I will watch College gameday and maybe a few NCAA football games. I dont' watch any other ESPN programming because I watch ESPN as an escape for something I used to enjoy. If I want to watch political commentary, I will watch FOX, CNN, MSNBC etc.
Everyone has a right to their opinion.. I watch TV, movies and sports as a temporary break from day to day life issue, I dont' care what an actor's or athlete's political opinion is..
This particular sequence in history began with a huge bully of a shoplifter blatantly stealing items at a convenience store, physically bulling his way out the door when he was confronted by employees; then, when the police were called, he refused to stop and get on the ground, choosing instead to advance toward the police officer. He ended up being shot, riots followed and BLM was formed. Today, the police are being called on to retreat when a suspect in a crime advances towards them. Because the police, and many Americans, don't agree the police should have to let criminals have free reign on our streets, the BLM protest is growing. Our nation is in a sad state of affairs.
Good old Memorial Gym
Guisslapp is right everyone. It's the reason we are seeing non-white non-Christians fleeing the country in such numbers that Trump wants to build a wall to keep them in. Its the reason black players in the NFL and NBA are making thousands of dollars while their white Christian counterpart are raking in millions. If the players in questions were making money like white Christians they could probably form a more effective protest and actually take action about whatever they are upset about but the oppression is too much and they are left to simply kneel for the anthem.
I have about a dozen members of my family from El Salvador who are all fairly successful. They would tell you that America is the greatest country in the world, but they probably don't know what they are talking about. They moved to the immigrated (legally) to the south which is widely recognized as a bastion of racial tolerance.
The protest has effectively started a conversation. Just not the one they wanted. As Guisslapp pointed out the protest is about lots of different things to lots of different people and that is the problem. It's about police brutality, institutional racism, the KKK, president Trump, racist lyrics in the original star spangled banner, oppression of minorities, etc. There seems to be a lot more unity to the message that millionaires disrespecting the country that made them millionaires is probably not the best way to protest oppression.
Everyone who doesn't love the country is free to leave to find a better one. Maybe the NFL and NBA players could use their money to help the those with the freedom but without the means find a country that will treat them better.
For those that want to stick around, maybe we can find a way to come together and actually address some of the significant problems that are facing the country.