Colin Kaepernick's protest and it's impact on the NFL
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@Texas-Hawk-10 The thugs out “protesting” – you know, burning, looting, assaulting – in Baltimore isn’t the NFL watching/ticket holding demographic. Someone who breaks a business’s window to steal a microwave isn’t buying a ticket. Now, they might rob someone of their Ravens’ jacket, or swipe their NFL hat. There’s a fan for you. But they aren’t buying anything (relatively speaking).
As a note, I’m sitting in my Johnson County home, devoid of constant police patrols – oddly, because (cause and effect) we’re not shooting, killing, robbing, and assaulting one another. A fact Kaepernick and those of his ilk purposefully ignore.
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@HighEliteMajor I just read in yesterday’s paper about a 10th Circuit US Court of Appeals decision allowing a family to sue the Johnson County DA and police department for violating the family’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizures (no probable cause).
The police first decided to target people buying supplies for hydroponic gardening, and then tested 3 batches of wet vegetable matter taken from their trash cans. The police used field tests known to be incorrect as much as 70% of the time, and ignored the test mfr’s recommendation that action should only be taken if a positive result for pot was confirmed by a lab test.
After thoroughly searching the house, scaring the kids to death, the swat search squad left with no evidence of marijuana. The DA had to cancel a major press conference scheduled for that afternoon.
Turns out the mom and dad had a hobby of growing their own organic tomatoes and a special tea (the wet matter found by the cops). The Court blasted the cops, the DA, and the judge who issued a warrant on such flimsy evidence (of entirely legal activity). It has taken them a few years and substantial legal expenses to finally have the chance to seek damages from the police.
Many police are wonderful, and I appreciate their dedication and going into dangerous situations to protect the citizenry. But even there in my old home of JoCo, being innocent is not always enough to avoid incompetence and bad faith.
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@HighEliteMajor Your racism and prejudice is showing.
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Here are some articles with figures that support the contention that Kaepernick had a big effect on NFL viewership.
Link about media admitting the Kaepernick effect.
Here is one from Forbes.
This one is from Yahoo Finance.
Want more?
Kaepernick was arguably the biggest driver for lost NFL viewership. Of course ESPN and its well known liberal agenda will ignore the big elephant in the room and pretend it is something else.
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CK gas every right to express his opinion, the problem is that he did it at his place of work and on company’s time and created a financiL nightmare for his employer.
Laura Ingraham wrote a book called “Shut up and sing” about Hollywood Elites telling people how to think. People go to a concert to hear music not political crap and go to a sports event to watch a sport to get away from politics and not to be lectured or insulted by athletes. Kaepernick could have called a press conference on his own time and express his opinion in that forum, he would have had a huge audience and none or very little of the controversy. This is true for all entertainers regardless of political persuasion.
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@JayHawkFanToo Laura Ingraham has made a career of telling people how to think. This is just a backlash of conservative political correctness: the right can’t stand being challenged by people who say things they don’t agree with, or who make them uncomfortable in how they say it.
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@JayHawkFanToo Your SN link has an extra letter at the beginning. Here it is without it: http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/nfl-tv-ratings-rasmussen-reports-poll-colin-kaepernick-anthem-protest-reaction-effect/95jdoch1ngj103xvbkllcbvk
All of your articles were written in-season, two only 5 to 7 weeks in. The Breitbart article simply recaps the Yahoo Finance article (this is “the media”?).
Later numbers I presented to you previously show the overall effect for the season was less than the initial impact.
A factor, yes. “Killing the NFL”? Not by any measure.
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@dylans I didn’t even realize this thread was not in the political category! I am done.
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I did not say that Kaepernick was “killing” the NFL, I simply stated that he was one of the bigger contributors to the decline in viewership.
People that want to watch sports or movies wants to do just that and not be lectured by entertainment celebrities who got their status by way of their athletic prowess or physical attributes rather than their intellectual acumen. If they want to express their own views, which they are clearly entitled to do, they should do it on their own time.
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mayjay said:
@JayHawkFanToo Laura Ingraham has made a career of telling people how to think. This is just a backlash of conservative political correctness: the right can’t stand being challenged by people who say things they don’t agree with, or who make them uncomfortable in how they say it.
Huge difference…THIS IS HER JOB, she is a political commentator and when you tune in on her show you know what you are going to get. When you watch a sports game you expect to see athletes performing their craft and not lecturing you on their beliefs. Like I said, if they want to do this they should do it on their own time and place and not at their place of work and on company’s time where it affects their employer’s bottom line.
Many athletes have gone to become successful politicians and there is no reason why Kaepernick could no become one, but when he is on the football field, he should stick to football. Most sports watchers appear to agree with me.
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mayjay said:
@JayHawkFanToo Laura Ingraham has made a career of telling people how to think. This is just a backlash of conservative political correctness: the right can’t stand being challenged by people who say things they don’t agree with, or who make them uncomfortable in how they say it.
I appreciate the fact you’ve learned the exact rebuttal given to you by progressives when someone questions the progressive dogma. “Laura Ingraham has made a career of telling people how to think.” So, the implication is Laura is manipulating her audience, and the people that listen to her are mindless idiots that don’t have the ability to think for themselves. The end result is it allows you to feel superior because you can “think for yourself” while you do exactly what you accuse Laura’s listeners of doing : not thinking for yourself. Now, I am not a Laura fan, and i find her boring, not a good interviewer…BUT I have never seen her pull out a flute like the Pied piper, and make people do anything.
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I have just as many gripes with the republican party as I do with the other party, if anyone is curious.
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@KUSTEVE I was only responding to her complaining about liberals telling people how to think. No implication about her listeners intended.
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Yes and no. People are still talking about him but how many people are still talking about what he protested? and how many people now have worse opinion of his cause? I truly believe that if he would have gone about it a different way and not being disrespectful of things people hold dear he would have gathered a lot more sympathy for his cause.
Not all publicity is good publicity, look at this story and tell me if you’d wish on any kid.
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CK protested police brutality.
The president just advocated rougher treatment during arrests. Police departments nationwide disavowed his recommendation. Many of those changed their arrest procedures after police brutality was publicized.
I’m going with CK on this one.
People are still talking about what he protested. But although you may not be paying attention, that doesn’t mean other people aren’t listening.
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@JayHawkFanToo LeMelo isn’t blameless in people disliking him. He has a lot of his dad in him and has shown that in the times he’s been allowed to talk. When he was on WWE a few weeks ago, he crossed a line by saying the n-word multiple times to about a white guy. His actions alongside his dad has brought a lot of it on himself, but that doesn’t fit the ESPN narrative so they won’t mention that.
Kap took a calculated risk in choosing his protest method and it has been very effective in opening the dialog still today which is the 1st step in making real change. Go look throughout history and you will find that sports has often been the catalyst for change when it comes to social issues all around the world, including the US.
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mayjay said:
The president just advocated rougher treatment during arrests.
Way to take out of context what the President said. He was talking specifically about the MS 13 gang and saying you don’t need to be as nice to them particularly after the killed someone and he mentioned only the shielding the head while placing them in a patrol car. How exactly is that a rougher treatment?
Do a little research on the MS 13 gang. I know several people from Central America where the gang originated and the stories they tell and what I have read about them will make you sick. Their preferred method of intimidation is to kill rivals by cutting them up in pieces with machetes while trying to keep the alive as long as possible and while their families watching. Absolute sociopaths withe no redeeming value to society. This has been happening now on a daily basis on many cities in this country, the MSM just does not report it because it goes against their open borders agenda and the narrative that very single alien that comes into the country illegally is nothing but a hard worker looking for a better life; many are and many are not.
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I don’t disagree with his protest or message, my problem is the way he went about it. He could have called a press conference and presented his case without disrespecting the flag and the National Anthem and in the process alienating a large percentage of fans and causing his employer a lot of money and good will. He is enough of a big name that he could have had a huge audience and his message would have been better received. Many athletes have gone into politics and made a difference; there s no reason why, if he really wanted to make a real difference, he could not have followed that path instead.
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@JayHawkFanToo Calling a press conference to say you disagree with how some law enforcement officers have treated minorities doesn’t gain nearly the attention or dialog that protesting during the national anthem does.
MLK didn’t accomplish what he did by preaching in his local church in Montgomery. He got the attention of the nation with big, grand actions like leading boycotts, marches, and other stuff that received national attention and made the country see what was happening to black people in Alabama and across the deep South.
When you make the big statements like Kap made, it’s going to be very polarizing. MLK’s actions were considered very polarizing at the time as well.
So while Kap could’ve expressed his opinion in a way that didn’t alienate a segment of the NFL’s fan base, those methods tend to be very ineffective because people don’t remember that stuff.
People are going to remember Kap kneeling during the national anthem and then see that he was protesting police brutality because it was a memorable statement.
Who’s to say he won’t get involved in politics once his career is over? He can’t run for office while he’s still an active NFL player, so making a statement while he’s an active player is the way he can express his views on a public forum since running for office is out of the question at this point.
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JayHawkFanToo said:
I don’t disagree with his protest or message, my problem is the way he went about it.
It’s really not your problem at all, actually.
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@JayHawkFanToo So all those police depts are wrong? Oh yeah, just a joke. Forgot.
As an engineer, can you tell me how far you can stretch the truth before it loses all characteristics of what truth is?
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Again, I have no problem with his message, my problem is how he went about it at his place of work and on company’s time; I cannot think of any business employee that would be allowed to do this, particularly when it affects the employer’s bottom line. You did not see MLK purposefully antagonizing anyone, did you? CK went out of his way to insult police officers and most (obviously not all) football fans. His message got mostly lost in the way he delivered it. Nowadays, most talk about CK is about his disrespectful ways and next to nothing about his message.
I did not say or even imply that he should go into politics while he is in the NFL; both are full time positions. There are a number of professional athletes that went into politics and achieved great success including a number of congressmen and senators. Jack Kemp was a congressman and presidential candidate, Byron White went all the way to the Supreme Court, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura went on to become Governors, Former Vikings great Alan Page is currently as Associate Justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Dave Bing is the mayor of Detroit and Kevin Johnson is the mayor of Sacramento, former KU great Jim Ryan went on to become a US Congressman like Tom McMillan, Steve Largent and JC Watts juts to name a few. All these people went to much better positions from where to affect real change.
I do respect your opinion and see the points you are making but I just don’t see it the same way.
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@JayHawkFanToo Yes, MLK did antagonize people. He wasn’t violent about it, but he absolutely antagonized people. Kap did hurt the 49ers bottom line and he was released by the 49ers after the season. His actions did cost him his job.
How does Kap going into politics at least several years into the future help the issue of police brutality in 2016 when did his protest? Kap was also hardly the only athlete to protest police brutality. Many NBA players, including LeBron and other top stars were “Don’t choke me” shirts during warm ups and we’re fined for that and caused a lot of controversy at the time.
Spin it however you want, agree or disagree all you want, Kap’s message would not have nearly as effective or received the attention it did had he done it in a way that the 49ers approved of because that would’ve been an ineffective method that people would’ve forgotten about 3 days later.
Kap knew there were risks to what he chose to do, including losing his job, and he still chose to protest his cause and deal with the consequences of his actions.
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@Texas-Hawk-10 In addition, the boycotts organized by MLK and others were devastating to many white business owners and city bus systems, who sometimes were able to get them declared illegal business interference (the charges leveled against MLK and 89 others in Montgomery). Many organizers faced criminal charges for boycotts. Sounds purposely aggravatin’ to me.
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Also, MLK was killed by someone who didn’t approve of his protest methods
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@wissox I’m coming into this a little late- since when did anyone applaud Ray Rice after he sucker punched his wife? Name me one fan…one. The dirty slug will never play another down in the NFL, and should be taken out back, and worked over, imho. I still hate Kaepernick, btw.
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@KUSTEVE Unfortunately, I wasn’t making this up. https://www.si.com/nfl/2014/07/29/baltimore-ravens-fans-ray-rice-standing-ovation
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@wissox Wow. You can’t fix that kind of stupid.
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@KUSTEVE It’s not quite as egregious as that, but after James Worthy got arrested and suspended for being with a prostitute, LA Flakers fans gave him a standing o also. Makes no sense to me except people are so focused on winning that they’ll tolerate anything as long as they got their guy back.
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@wissox Also why fans don’t care about CTE. It’s all about winning.
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Particularly when its not your health and lifestyle at risk.
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Breaking the law is one thing. Disrespecting the American Flay the very Flag so many have died for that gives you the right to burn her is two different things.
You’re trying to compare apples to oranges. Killing someone is one thing. Hitting a woman is one thing. Both should be dealt with. Yet disrespecting a simple flag that represents the very foundation of this country. FREEDOM.
Well then I’m not watching the cat either, and I have no sympathy for him either.
If you want to protest then by all means do so. Yet why? why? disrespect a flag that represents your freedom? Yes our government is corrupt. Yes racism still exists. Yes our courts systems are too corrupt. Yet that flag represents at the end of the day we will do the right thing. That flag represents all colors and races. It represents that in this cruel world a man and woman can get a fair today. Maybe not today or tomorrow. Yet at some point that flags children will demand justice.
Geez so many died for not just that flag but what it represents. To disrespect her is to say you don’t like freedom, and justice.
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@DoubleDD I would simply say that not everyone feels that the flag represents them very well. You counsel patience. It took the US 78 years after the Constitution to get rid of slavery. It only took 12 years after that for the South to start enacting Jim Crow laws, which took nearly a century to overturn, and which have left a legacy of inequality in housing, economic opportunity, justice, health, and education. That would be roughly 12 generations of blacks who have lived under Old Glory in a country ostensibly founded on freedom but offering millions much less for most of that time. I am guessing the “patience” advice seems kind of hollow by now.
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DoubleDD said:
Breaking the law is one thing. Disrespecting the American Flay…
I hate Bobby Flay and I don’t care what you say. Plus, he’s really sort of Irish. Immigrants are BAD.
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@DanR All immigrants. Anywhere, any time. Everyone should have just stayed in Africa 2 million years ago, for crying out loud. And what’s with the Bering Straits bridge in the Ice Age, anyway? Should have had a freakin’ wall. People ruined this hemisphere. The birds and bison would have been very happy being left alone.
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@DoubleDD I believe the flag is a symbol of the freedom we have and it includes the freedom to do things that would offend many.
I agree with @mayjay wholeheartedly. The flag may mean something different to so many. While the situation has improved for many African Americans, many generations of discrimination has led to the multigenerational poverty that afflicts our country.
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wake up dude. White people are poor too. And in another decade the whites will be the minority. Will you be singing the same tune? Will then whites get to tap into the affirmative action? I mean after all they will be the minority. So will the whites be able to scream bloody murder because they didn’t get hired for a job because of the color or their skin? You going to be on board?
If you want the American people no matter skin to respect your cause you don’t disrespect the American flag. You just don’t. It doesn’t matter what skin color you are. You just don’t show disrespect to the American flag.
CK made a choice. He decided to disrespect the American flag. And now he’s paying the price. Don’t know why you’re upset with it. He made a choice and the American people made a choice. He decided to disrespect the American flag and the American people decided not to show him any respect.
It’s as simple as that.
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@DoubleDD That’s an opinion you’ve shared. There’s differing viewpoints on it. I’ll respect yours, your choice whether to respect mine.
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I think you misunderstand the term “minority”. It doesn’t just mean less people. It’s also reflective of power and access.
For instance, in the colonial days, there were far fewer British people in their colonies, but they were by no means the “minority” because they had the money, the power (both political and military) and the access to things that allowed them to control their own destiny, and the destiny of those they had colonized.
Just because there are less of a particular group, that doesn’t make them a “minority”.
Think about it this way - the super rich are, from a pure numbers standpoint, an extreme minority. However, no one would argue that the super rich are a minority, because they have power, both politically and financially, that the rest of us simply do not have (unless you are also super rich, which, in that case, congratulations). They have the ability to manipulate their finances and taxes (and hire lawyers and accounts to do so) in ways that the rest of us simply cannot. There is a reason that while the tax rate for the super rich is higher, they often end up paying less on a percentage basis, than most anyone else.
Second, you assert that some white people are poor, which is absolutely a true statement. But unless and until the people making the hiring decisions (the vast and overwhelming majority of which are white and male) decide that they are no longer going to hire other white people, your statement is entirely absurd on its face.
The law is enforced in a way that is different. If you rob a convenience store of $500, you might get a couple of years in prison. You can steal 1000 times that amount through fraud or embezzlement, and get the same couple of years in prison. Why? Because we assume that violent crime is more damaging to society, even though embezzling half a million dollars may ruin a company and cause it to go bankrupt, costing dozens of people their jobs. But really, it’s because money is power, and being in a position to embezzle money is an indication of power, so we treat it differently. Knocking off a convenience store requires no societal power. Embezzling half a million dollars does.
Minority status isn’t just about numbers (unless those numbers follow dollar signs).
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I respect your opinion. Yet CK made a decision and so did the American people. So what’s the problem?
So are you saying the American people are wrong?
In life there is cause an effect. For instance If I go racing around in my car or truck breaking the speed limit. At some point I will get pulled over for speeding. I make think it’s unfair. Yet I will be paying the fine.
Like go around disrespecting the American Flag there will be a back lash. It’s just that simple. Maybe CK has a great cause? Yet whether you or I agree or not. He’s paying the price.
He made a very bad decision, and now he’s paying for it. You see the cause doesn’t give you the right to be disrespectful. CK made is bed and now he has to sleep in it.
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Well um first off in the colonies they were all British. It was only later after the colonies decided to create their own country because the King of Britain wouldn’t give in to their request for proper representation. That America began the process of slavery and immigration.
You associate being rich with being white skin. When in fact that is far from the truth. When in fact the 1% as you speak of are mostly if not all Muslin or Jewish. Speaking world wide of course.
You will also find that when if comes to America’s wealthiest or Rich. You’ll find that a big majority of them are self made millionaires. Meaning they didn’t inherit the farm sort of speak. They started with little and made much. I’m not sure why this a bad thing? Plus it not just a so called white thing. Oprah started with nothing is now considered one of the richest woman in the world. Jordan farts and he makes money. Whoopi Goldberg started with nothing. Reggie Fowler: Minority Owner, Minnesota Vikings. Kirbyjon Caldwell: Limited Partner, Houston Texans Serena & Venus Williams: Limited Partners, Miami Dolphins. It goes on and on. Success has nothing to do with color. Success and wealth has to do with drive and determination.
You see rigging the system never works. You pound the drum that the system isn’t fair to minorities because you believe they don’t get a fair shake and are poor. Yet you gloss over the real facts. That their are more poor white people in the US than any other race. There are more poor white people in welfare than any other race. These are just facts.
Plus I would add one more thing. You speak as your trying to create equality? Yet when you rig the system in such a way that a person gets a leg up on others because of the color of their skin. Then you my friend are creating racism.
I was once passed over for a nice paying job with great benefits. I was competing against another fellow who was quite nice. My resume of experience was far superior. I didn’t get the job because the company had to hire a minority to make the numbers right, and of course I was white. I didn’t hold it against the man. In fact I became good friends with him. To this day when we are cracking open some brews. He feels bad. You know why? because he didn’t earn it. He got the job because the color of his skin. Well that’s what he tells me.
Special treatment is not what Martin Lurther King wanted or fought for. So many just want to give handouts or make special allowances for the color of one skin. In the end all you do is create ill feelings.
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I tried to find your definition of minority? I couldn’t find it anywhere. This was all I could find.
mi·nor·i·ty [məˈnôrədē]
NOUN the smaller number or part, especially a number that is less than half the whole number: “harsher measures for the minority of really serious offenders” · [more] the number of votes cast for or by the smaller party in a legislative assembly: “a blocking minority of 23 votes” a relatively small group of people, especially one commonly discriminated against in a community, society, or nation, differing from others in race, religion, language, or political persuasion: “representatives of ethnic minorities” · [more] the state or period of being under the age of full legal responsibility.
Maybe you can direct me to a website that has your definition of a minority?
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@DoubleDD Did you miss this part?
“especially one commonly discriminated against in a community, society, or nation”
If the demographic projections are true, whites will still be the largest single racial group for quite some time, some 46%:
"Minorities, classified as those of any race other than non-Hispanic, single-race whites, currently constitute about a third of the U.S. population, according to Census figures. But by 2042, they are projected to become the majority, making up more than half the population. By 2050, 54 percent of the population will be minorities.
"Minority children are projected to reach that milestone even sooner. By 2023, the bureau said, more than half of all children will be minorities…
"The projections are based on Census 2000 results and assumptions about future childbearing, mortality rates and net international migration, the bureau said.
"The group predicted to post the most dramatic gain is the Hispanic population. It is projected to nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million, from 2008 through 2050, the bureau said. Its share of the total U.S. population is expected to double from 15 to 30 percent. “Thus, one in three U.S. residents would be Hispanic,” the Census Bureau said in a news release.
"The African-American population is projected to increase from 41.1 million to 65.7 million by 2050, going from 14 percent of the U.S. population to 15 percent. The Asian-American population is expected to increase from 15.5 million to 40.6 million, or from 5.1 percent to 9.2 percent of the population.
“Among the remaining races, the bureau said, American Indians and Alaska natives are projected to increase from 3.9 million to 8.6 million, going from 1.6 percent to 2 percent of the U.S. population. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders are expected to more than double, increasing from 1.1 to 2.6 million.”
I don’t think you have to worry about being rounded up into camps or anything.
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Why would I need to worry about being rounded up into camps? To many associate the term minority with one’s skin color, and that’s just not the case. One of many points I was making in my ramblings. Also I don’t put a lot of stock in assumptions and projections from our Government. I mean the CBO is like the biggest joke. It’s laughable to see so many tout it like it’s some kind of Holy Bible. Especially when it’s never even been remotely correct on anything.
I’m not trying to stop CK from protesting or standing up for what he believes. Hey this is America. Yet just because you have the right of freedom of speech doesn’t mean there could be a repercussion for what one says, or does. So many forget that aspect. They want to spout off at the mouth and then hide behind the 1st amendment right. For instance if I walk into a bar and pick a fight with the biggest dude in said bar. Well there’s a good chance I’m going to get a reaction that I might not like.
Bottom line CK made a choice to disrespect the American Flag. Whether right or wrong as the debate seems to be. The American people made a choice not to respect CK. That’s just the way it is. CK has nobody to blame but himself.
Cause and effect.
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Look up the term “social minority”.
Here, from Dictionary.com
noun, plural minorities.
- the smaller part or number; a number, part, or amount forming less than half of the whole.
- a smaller party or group opposed to a majority, as in voting or other action.
- a group in society distinguished from, and less dominant than, the more numerous majority: The ethnic minority was disproportionately affected by the reduction in preventative medical services.
- a racial, ethnic, religious, or social subdivision of a society that is subordinate to the dominant group in political, financial, or social power without regard to the size of these groups: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.
- a member of such a group.
- the state or period of being under the legal age of full responsibility. adjective
- of or relating to a minority.
Look at definitions 4 and 5.
- a racial, ethnic, religious, or social subdivision of a society that is subordinate to the dominant group in political, financial, or social power without regard to the size of these groups: legislation aimed at providing equal rights for minorities.
- a member of such a group.
That’s almost verbatim what I was talking about.
Second, I never said that being white equated to being rich, or being non-white equated to not being rich. Certainly, there are rich minorities. Certainly, there are whites that are not rich.
You pointed to welfare, and I am glad that you acknowledge the fact that there are more whites on welfare than any other race. Yet, when you hear people discuss cutting welfare politically, they always talk about “inner city welfare queens taking advantage of the system.” The implication is clear - poor minorities abuse the social safety net system, while poor whites are just hard working people that need some help. Why is that? Why is there the connotation that poor minorities abuse the system while poor whites are just unlucky?
It seems like every time a minority athlete takes a social stand, there’s an outcry that they need to just “shut up and play the game” because “nobody is interested in their opinions”, hearkening back to the days of minstrel shows, where black people specifically were mocked for being lazy, stupid, and comic relief, existing only for the entertainment of whites.
Let me be clear when I say that I am absolutely NOT accusing you or anyone on this board of that type of attitude. I am simply pointing to the history and using it as both a guide and as a warning. Saying that an athlete should keep their opinions to themselves draws on that history - that the black performer is here only for entertainment, not to speak and have an opinion as a human being.
Again, I want to be clear. I do not want anyone here to think I am making an accusation about anyone’s opinions or attitudes. I am just pointing out the historical parallels.
Again, we are talking about biases that are built into society. There are lots of studies that suggest that even a “black” or “hispanic” sounding name is more commonly associated with violence or anger than a “white” sounding name. These are societal biases.
I wrote about implicit bias a few weeks ago. Its the bias that all of us have. It’s the thing that makes us believe that things that are “blue” are cooler, while things that are “red” are warmer. It’s the thing that makes us associate a pink balloon with a girl and a blue balloon with a boy. We don’t even think about these things because they are built into our societal understanding. We associate big with strong and small with weak. We associate physical height with leadership. We associate things higher up on a shelf or list with status, importance and value (that’s why cheap cereal is on the bottom shelves, while the more expensive cereal is on the top).
It’s how we sort through information - we categorize it with implicit bias without even really thinking. Most of the time, its harmless. Sometimes, it can lead to mistakes - you may overvalue something simply because it was placed higher on a shelf or list. Other times, it can lead to misjudging a person or group when the implicit bias leads to judgments based not on fact, but on biases we don’t even realize are at work.
Racism, obviously is an overt expression of hatred related to bias. It’s a decision. I’m more worried about the negative connotations associated with implicit bias that lead to inequality. But of course, the first step is to get everyone to understand that this even exists.
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I guess I just see things a bit differently. When I look across the land scape I see all people suffering. I just don’t see it as a skin color thing.
Now there are things I can and would get on board with. Like the disparity in public school funding. That’s a big pet peeve of mine. Some would say I was unlucky but I got to see both side of the fence growing up in KC. It’s just not right. You see I agree there are things we can and should do.
However if all we are focusing in on is skin color, then we are just spinning our wheels. At the end of the day it’s about equality, not special rights for certain people.
As for CK I have no problem with him trying to use his platform as a football player to voice his opinion or shine a light on something he feels is an injustice. I just disagree with who he did it. My friend so many people have died for the American flag. Not social issues or political parties, but for freedom. That flag has never hurt anybody. That Flag represents the greatest nation the world as ever seen.
No America is not perfect. Yet no country has ever been free like Americans. No country has ever allowed it’s citizens from meager beginnings to become rich like America.
When we set up parameters trying to create a certain mix of races so we can sleep feeling good about ourselves. We’ve created nothing, but racism. We should allow the best and brightest to rise to the top. In the end it’s better for the country and it’s citizens.
Prime example is some of the Ivy schools make it harder for Asian students to attend their prestige schools. Reason being they are too smart, too motivated. The theory is mesh or have a certain balance of skin color. Really?
No I say the biggest thing we can do is to offer all the tools to our youth we can to be successful, and then turn them loose. Don’t look at skin color. Look at the person and their heart.
If we keep focusing on how different we are, we will never see how much the same we are.
I’m blessed in that I’ve walked many paths in my life time. I’ve gotten to see both sides of the tracks if you will. And I’m telling you when you give certain advantages to someone because of their skin color? All you doing is creating more racism.
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@DoubleDD You a frequent visitor to the website at the end of the Mork video?
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Nah, Just like the video.
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More and more coverage of Colin after the Dolphins pass on him and sign Cutler. You know I think his protest to the flag has little to do with his not being signed. I just read post on facebook a couple days ago that he turned down a million dollar for a year offer from Seattle, sounds like he wants big bucks for a back up in most situations. I personally can’t blame Miami because of his comments on Castro, he would be booed for that above nothing else with a lot of Cubans living in that area. If I’m an owner I’m less likely to sign him because of the Castro comments (have no idea how people could defend him based off his comments on a dictator and murder, don’t send your kids to Nevada for college), the pigs socks and anti cops statements and his GF running her mouth constantly on twitter, if he just protested the flag i think he has a job right now.
