LeBron James' White House Tweet

[tlance]

I disagree. You have a right to disagree with their cause or reason of protest, but not to judge. There isn't one perfect person alive - therefore how can you judge?

My view of the protests is that it has moved somewhat away from police brutality and more toward social equality and directly protesting Trump for how he interacts with people and views race relations.

The beef I have with the police issues is simple. There needs to be attention paid to the issue at hand, but the type of attention it has gotten from the media does not help and in fact has made things worse, IMO.

I work with kids and just today I had to break up a fight between 2 8 year olds. They were playing a game. 1 broke a rule unintentionally, and the other called him a cheater. The "cheater" got mad and yelled back. Seconds later they came to blows. If either one had paused to Deescalate, it would have been super easy to avoid. But, they are 8 and lack the social skills.

This is similar to how many of the police shootings have played out. A completely innocent black man gets stopped on a case of mistaken identify, profiling, etc.. He is pissed, understandably so. Instead of complying with the officer's requests, he becomes defiant and argues with the cop. The onus of deescalating the situation falls on the cop who is already on edge. A well trained officer should be able to handle it correctly, but if it happens on the wrong day at the wrong time, they are human too. The situation could end just like my 2 8 year olds. Except that 1 has a gun.

The way I teach my kids to handle disputes with an authority figure is simple. Listen and comply with what they ask in the Heat of the moment. Once you comply, they are more likely to deescalate because they see you aren't a threat to them. A calm conversation at that time is much more likely to allow you to get your voice heard than a heated one in the moment.

 

[LAD]

Hi LAD! Kobina Smushelle is just getting cuter!

I'm no Trump guy (To say the least) and didn't vote for him but those comments were taken a bit out of context. He was referring to some of the people trying to prevent the statutes from being pulled down in the park that night, not the actual marchers whose march was actually scheduled for the next day.

And for those who believe the Nazis and Klan weren't breaking the law during their little tiki torch march you're wrong. They had a permit for the next day, not that night so when they converged on that park it was an unlawful gathering.

Hey there JC!
She is my little princess!

 

[Cyder]

Hey there JC!
She is my little princess!

That is some smile that little girl has. Keep updating that avatar picture. I can't believe we were chatting on FN long before she was born.

 

[LAD]

That is some smile that little girl has. Keep updating that avatar picture. I can't believe we were chatting on FN long before she was born.

Will do. It is crazy how fast time flies!

 

[Cyder]

Will do. It is crazy how fast time flies!

Yeah, but at least @Mecca is still a mooch so there's always that constant.

 

[tlance]

I have had a few cops who had an attitude when they approached me, but I have always cooperated and answered their questions straight and didn't try to fight them. One thing I have learned by careful observation is when they tell you to stand in one place and don't move - They mean it and if you don't comply - they are going to assume the worst about you and bad things are going to happen. I have also learned how to diffuse their attitude and calm them down which is something I had not learned when I was 21 years old. It is all in how you play the game.

This. Great post.

 

[bksballer89]

Also, you can include NBA players in this list as well.

Only thing I'll say about nba players is that some of them always supported kaep but they stayed out of it for the most part. The nfl players (excluding those who were protesting before this week) are a joke

 

[Heatles84]

For the record, @Mecca @bksballer89 @tlance (assuming you're black) and others. I hope you don't misconstrued my comments as me being a racist or that I'm completely rejecting the idea that you at various points have come across some type of discriminatory situation. From my perspective, this entire movement is starting to stray away from police brutality, which I still stand by the idea that protesting during the National Anthem is probably not the best move IMO, and going along the lines of oppression and equality. The last part is what I'm having trouble grasping at. Because I don't know how things could be more equal by race than it is now. This isn't exactly the 1960's where blacks had police dogs after them, or water hoses turned on them, where they couldn't go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains. In fact, being a minority allows you certain opportunities that a white person couldn't have such as scholarship opportunities.

I completely agree that something needs to be done by the actions of the few policemen that ruin it for the good majority that exists.

On another note, this is probably about as nice as I can get. Don't expect it to get any better. Especially for you, @Mecca because I know you heard the safe word.

 

[bksballer89]

For the record, @Mecca @bksballer89 @tlance (assuming you're black) and others. I hope you don't misconstrued my comments as me being a racist or that I'm completely rejecting the idea that you at various points have come across some type of discriminatory situation. From my perspective, this entire movement is starting to stray away from police brutality, which I still stand by the idea that protesting during the National Anthem is probably not the best move IMO, and going along the lines of oppression and equality. The last part is what I'm having trouble grasping at. Because I don't know how things could be more equal by race than it is now. This isn't exactly the 1960's where blacks had police dogs after them, or water hoses turned on them, where they couldn't go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains. In fact, being a minority allows you certain opportunities that a white person couldn't have such as scholarship opportunities.

I completely agree that something needs to be done by the actions of the few policemen that ruin it for the good majority that exists.

On another note, this is probably about as nice as I can get. Don't expect it to get any better. Especially for you, @Mecca because I know you heard the safe word.

I never thought you were but do think 45 is. And nothing will convince me otherwise

 

[Heatles84]

I never thought you were but do think 45 is. And nothing will convince me otherwise

That's air. I knew with him that he wasn't that much better (if at all) than Clinton.

 

[tlance]

For the record, @Mecca @bksballer89 @tlance (assuming you're black) and others. I hope you don't misconstrued my comments as me being a racist or that I'm completely rejecting the idea that you at various points have come across some type of discriminatory situation. From my perspective, this entire movement is starting to stray away from police brutality, which I still stand by the idea that protesting during the National Anthem is probably not the best move IMO, and going along the lines of oppression and equality. The last part is what I'm having trouble grasping at. Because I don't know how things could be more equal by race than it is now. This isn't exactly the 1960's where blacks had police dogs after them, or water hoses turned on them, where they couldn't go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains. In fact, being a minority allows you certain opportunities that a white person couldn't have such as scholarship opportunities.

I completely agree that something needs to be done by the actions of the few policemen that ruin it for the good majority that exists.

On another note, this is probably about as nice as I can get. Don't expect it to get any better. Especially for you, @Mecca because I know you heard the safe word.

I am not black, but I take it as a compliment that you thought I might be. I am an educator in a very liberal town and try to stay as open minded as possible (at least in terms of social issues, maybe not basketball LOL).

Of course, everyone has biases. It takes a very wise person to recognize theirs and work on them.

 

[LAD]

My view of the protests is that it has moved somewhat away from police brutality and more toward social equality and directly protesting Trump for how he interacts with people and views race relations.

The beef I have with the police issues is simple. There needs to be attention paid to the issue at hand, but the type of attention it has gotten from the media does not help and in fact has made things worse, IMO.

I work with kids and just today I had to break up a fight between 2 8 year olds. They were playing a game. 1 broke a rule unintentionally, and the other called him a cheater. The "cheater" got mad and yelled back. Seconds later they came to blows. If either one had paused to Deescalate, it would have been super easy to avoid. But, they are 8 and lack the social skills.

This is similar to how many of the police shootings have played out. A completely innocent black man gets stopped on a case of mistaken identify, profiling, etc.. He is pissed, understandably so. Instead of complying with the officer's requests, he becomes defiant and argues with the cop. The onus of deescalating the situation falls on the cop who is already on edge. A well trained officer should be able to handle it correctly, but if it happens on the wrong day at the wrong time, they are human too. The situation could end just like my 2 8 year olds. Except that 1 has a gun.

The way I teach my kids to handle disputes with an authority figure is simple. Listen and comply with what they ask in the Heat of the moment. Once you comply, they are more likely to deescalate because they see you aren't a threat to them. A calm conversation at that time is much more likely to allow you to get your voice heard than a heated one in the moment.

I think your lesson to your students is on point.

IMO it takes a special person to police our society. It takes a mild mannered, open minded person IMO. Unfortunately in the cases we've seen things have gone terribly wrong even when a person is being cooperative. For example, the cop in South Carolina who shot a guy who was reaching for his driver license. The cop asked for identification, then shoots him. Now, I understand he might have been afraid - but this is an example of someone who probably shouldn't be on the job if he has that much fear.

What about Eric Garner? He was the man who died after being put in a chokehold by police for 15-19 seconds, even though the chokehold is prohibited and he repeatedly told them he couldn't breathe (11 times I believe was the correct number). There are plenty more but these are just a couple of examples of a situation that went too far.

 

[tlance]

I think your lesson to your students is on point.

IMO it takes a special person to police our society. It takes a mild mannered, open minded person IMO. Unfortunately in the cases we've seen things have gone terribly wrong even when a person is being cooperative. For example, the cop in South Carolina who shot a guy who was reaching for his driver license. The cop asked for identification, then shoots him. Now, I understand he might have been afraid - but this is an example of someone who probably shouldn't be on the job if he has that much fear.

What about Eric Garner? He was the man who died after being put in a chokehold by police for 15-19 seconds, even though the chokehold is prohibited and he repeatedly told them he couldn't breathe (11 times I believe was the correct number). There are plenty more but these are just a couple of examples of a situation that went too far.

I agree with you for sure.

Not saying that every situation could have been avoided by the victims. Clearly that isn't true. Many could be though, and that just makes me sad. Completely unnecessary.

 

[LAD]

For the record, @Mecca @bksballer89 @tlance (assuming you're black) and others. I hope you don't misconstrued my comments as me being a racist or that I'm completely rejecting the idea that you at various points have come across some type of discriminatory situation. From my perspective, this entire movement is starting to stray away from police brutality, which I still stand by the idea that protesting during the National Anthem is probably not the best move IMO, and going along the lines of oppression and equality. The last part is what I'm having trouble grasping at. Because I don't know how things could be more equal by race than it is now. This isn't exactly the 1960's where blacks had police dogs after them, or water hoses turned on them, where they couldn't go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains. In fact, being a minority allows you certain opportunities that a white person couldn't have such as scholarship opportunities.

I completely agree that something needs to be done by the actions of the few policemen that ruin it for the good majority that exists.

On another note, this is probably about as nice as I can get. Don't expect it to get any better. Especially for you, @Mecca because I know you heard the safe word.

I don't think you're a racist.

I also don't think racism will ever go away in this country. I work in corp America where there's a HUGE focus on diversity. There are even stiff penalties if certain processes aren't followed that allows diversity in the search for and selection process of job candidates. The fact that this is going on leads me to believe that there are still many people among us that have to be spoon fed the idea that we should not be judged based on our nationality or religion.

 

[True Lakers Fan]

For the record, @Mecca @bksballer89 @tlance (assuming you're black) and others. I hope you don't misconstrued my comments as me being a racist or that I'm completely rejecting the idea that you at various points have come across some type of discriminatory situation. From my perspective, this entire movement is starting to stray away from police brutality, which I still stand by the idea that protesting during the National Anthem is probably not the best move IMO, and going along the lines of oppression and equality. The last part is what I'm having trouble grasping at. Because I don't know how things could be more equal by race than it is now. This isn't exactly the 1960's where blacks had police dogs after them, or water hoses turned on them, where they couldn't go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains. In fact, being a minority allows you certain opportunities that a white person couldn't have such as scholarship opportunities.

I completely agree that something needs to be done by the actions of the few policemen that ruin it for the good majority that exists.

On another note, this is probably about as nice as I can get. Don't expect it to get any better. Especially for you, @Mecca because I know you heard the safe word.

The reason that I disagree with Colin and the NFL on this matter is several reasons:

1. Like the NASCAR people - this country got us here and being here is the result of men and women who died for our freedom.

2. Our flag does not stand for the racism, bigotry, oppression, or discrimination of any kind. Our flag was created to represent the ideals of equality and freedom for everyone both black and white. Just because the founders of our country did not practice the ideals they created does not mean that the flag stood for their practices. It is unfortunate that after 200 years, we are still having to discuss this, but our flag still stands for those ideals and I will stand for the National Anthem every time because I have always stood and practiced those ideals

I understand there are still social wrongs and inequality -I go to a black church and have been hearing them all of my life, but with all due respect - the black communities down in the ghettos, could do more for themselves by policing themselves and stopping their own from crime. To quote a scripture from the bible - We are workers together - that means both sides need to work together. That has not been happening like it should

 

[trojanfan12]

Solid point.

It's almost like some people think....

" If we don't talk about it, maybe it will go away ".

It won't. Things will just get worse.

" Maybe if I clean the house, don't upset him, my husband will stop beating me ".

He won't because it's not about the house being clean. It's about him being a violent sack of shit.

" It's not worth my time to explain something you can never comprehend ".

I can't comprehend it because you won't explain it.

It's a defeatist attitude. But, one that's all too familiar when you feel marginalized, frustrated or powerless.

It's not an excuse nor justification for what he said to Heatles.

But, it is a reason.

With that being said, we can't keep chanting for equality if we constantly set ourselves apart from everyone else based on our skin color.

Many cultures have suffered atrocities throughout time. I'm pretty sure some in Native American Communities in this Country roll their fucking eyes every time they see us sobbing about being disenfranchised.

Couldn't agree more. We have to be able to discuss things that are hard to talk about or things will never change.

 

[trojanfan12]

No he didn't bash athletes before hand, but he certainly bashed the contestants in his beauty pageants, and fondled other random women.

So did Bill Clinton.

 

[PEOPLESCHICKEN]

Hi LAD! Kobina Smushelle is just getting cuter!

I'm no Trump guy (To say the least) and didn't vote for him but those comments were taken a bit out of context. He was referring to some of the people trying to prevent the statutes from being pulled down in the park that night, not the actual marchers whose march was actually scheduled for the next day.

And for those who believe the Nazis and Klan weren't breaking the law during their little tiki torch march you're wrong. They had a permit for the next day, not that night so when they converged on that park it was an unlawful gathering.

were any of these nazies yutes??

 

[PEOPLESCHICKEN]

I am not black, but I take it as a compliment that you thought I might be. I am an educator in a very liberal town and try to stay as open minded as possible (at least in terms of social issues, maybe not basketball LOL).

Of course, everyone has biases. It takes a very wise person to recognize theirs and work on them.

Liberal town? Milwaukee???

 

[trojanfan12]

And to this day people have their own interpretation of why he did it, & have run with it. Trump included.

People have their own interpretation because it was poorly conceived "protest" and when he was finally asked about it, it was clear that it wasn't well thought out.

I mean, if you're going to protest something...it's probably a good idea to let folks know what you're protesting and why.