Rob's House

But they would be amazing. You would love them. Believe me.

If he owned the team the Bills would already be great again.

Don't be so sure. Once people tune out they're slow to tune back in. Look at baseball.

I cancelled. Not because I'm outraged or offended by the lack of patriotism, but as a message that I don't want politics in my football anymore than I want onions with my ice cream. FWIW, the second thread should have been a stand alone. The topic is completely different from the first several pages and thus requires a bit of effort to pick up on the new discussion.

If you tell them you want to cancel over the anthem protest. https://www.wsj.com/articles/directv-allows-some-nfl-refunds-after-anthem-controversy-1506453159

This is beneath you. I know taking statements out of context to misrepresent someone as racist is the new national pastime, but I'm surprised to see this from you.

An indictment of all white people really. This confirms the theory that America is a racist country that oppresses black people.

I doubt the players could either.

I'll let you have the last word. It was a good discussion.

Jerry Hughes for one, smart guy.

That's exactly what happened. Jim Kelly exercised his free speech on his social media on his own time and he was told to !@#$ off by the same people who are steadfast in protecting the free speech of the players on company time and in uniform. You didn't even refute it. You just made an excuse for why it was ok to condemn his free speech and not theirs.

How do you know? We've come a long way. We're at a point in time where all people have been given equal rights under the law, and culturally we view racism [towards minorities] as the greatest sin imaginable. How do we know we're not already there?

So if we ever do get to the point where it is no longer a national emergency, how will we know?

It means the method you've chosen to quantify it is wholly unreliable. I'm sure there is some racial injustice visited upon minorities (and non-minorities for that matter), but we shouldn't we be able to quantify it before declaring it a national emergency?

I already explained the flaw in this. Let me share some anecdotes to ILLUSTRATE the point: When I was in 4th grade my friend was holding the door for a black girl. He slipped and the door almost bumped the girl. Her mother got out of the car and excoriated my friend for being racist. She probably told all her friends about how the white kids treated her black daughter. When I used to work at a pizza place we didn't go to certain neighborhoods because they were high crime areas that weren't safe. Black guys didn't want to go there either. The ownership would send drivers anywhere if they thought they could make more money. But several people accused us of denying them service because they were black. I'm sure they told their friends about the racist pizza place. When I was in college a black kid got a C on a test and filed a complaint that his grade was due to racism. The school had another teacher review the test without the benefit of knowing the race of the student and graded it a D. I'm sure that student told his friends and family about the racism he suffered. When I worked in the fraud department of a bank the spending patterns would trigger fraud holds. No human made a judgment call. Yet I had multiple people claim that we cut their card off because of race. I'm sure the told their friends about the bank's racist practices. I've had untold people tell me their car was searched because they were black. I know countless white people whose cars were searched under the same circumstances in the same jurisdictions. I'm sure they told their friends and family about the racist treatment they received by the police. I knew a black kid who shoved his teacher, punched another student, and grabbed a teacher's arm to prevent her from calling the principle, in addition to many other minor offenses. The school police officer wanted to put him through a diversion program. When his parents declined they charged him. His father was convinced that his son was being singled out because he was black. 40% of the school was black and not being singled out. Any kid would receive the same treatment for that behavior. But the father has no doubt whatsoever that his son was singled out due to racism. I'm sure he told anyone who would listen about the racist teachers and cops. The list goes on and on. I'm barely scratching the surface, and I've illustrated multiple examples of how people have experienced racism or know someone who did where no racism occurred. The psychological phenomenon I'm discussing is widely accepted in the field. If you're looking for racism you will see it everywhere. Pointing to anecdotal evidence from people who have been trained to see racism anywhere and who often see it where it does not exist is a poor method for drawing a hard conclusion. Also, this isn't just about media planting these seeds, although the media does play a very significant role in this. It also comes from a world view being passed down within the family and community from a time when these things were far more prevalent than they are today. I could see if you saw that as a cause for skepticism or as a reason to do further research, but it's a pretty flimsy basis for a belief.

Funny how people are quick to protect the players' "free speech" on the field and in uniform, and then in the next breath declare Kelly needs to shut up and go away for exercising his "free speech" on his personal social media account on his own time.

It's still an extremely flawed method. For example, people always think that crime is going up when the truth is it's going down for decades. By utilizing your method one would conclude that crime is through the roof. The conclusion would be patently false, but the belief of millions of people would suggest otherwise.

Personally, I don't care one iota if my friends are racist. If I used that criteria I'd have to write off almost all my black friends. I don't judge people by what they think, I judge them by how they treat others.

You're right that Republicans behave too much like Democrats. That doesn't change the fact that corporate welfare is part of leftist ideology and is counter to laissez-faire conservative economics.

I wouldn't say that exactly, but I'd say it's overblown to the point that complete denial is closer to the reality than the leftist narrative. I think it's less accurate to say it's all made up than to say the perception was born out of historical problems that have been remedied for the most part in most places. Or put another way, the perception has persisted beyond the problem. I also think it's more accurate to say there is some racism in some counties than to say it's a nationwide epidemic. Thanks for sharing.

That's not accurate. I'm asking for any empirical evidence supporting this narrative and getting nothing. I have seen plenty of solid evidence that argues the contrary. You're suggesting that the anecdotal evidence is more reliable than empirical evidence. That's a poor method for finding truth but a great one for supporting a false narrative. Where confirmation bias comes in is where black kids are taught from a young age that cops (and white people generally) are out to get them (see "the talk"). Whenever they have a negative interaction with a person from the oppressor group they attribute it to racism even when racism is not in play. I've seen very few acts of genuine racial discrimination but I've seen countless baseless accusations where the accuser was convinced beyond doubt that he was right. You brush off media influence out of hand, but look how this got started. Not organically by an oppressed people rising up, but in response to a few high profile news stories, most of which proved baseless, but not until after the masses were stirred up. And psychological studies show us that once a belief has formed it will subsist even after the foundation upon which it was formed is proven false. I also think the burden falls upon the people demanding action be taken to make the case that their cause is legitimate.

From Steve Kerr I honestly think this is pathetic. They're protesting a strawman and doing so in an idiotic way. They haven't studied the issue or researched the facts. Kaepernick said he's doing this because America is a racist country that oppresses black people. That is the foundation of this movement. My question is, compared to where? Where are these countries that treat minorities as well as in America and the west? Black Americans are the wealthiest and most privileged black people in the world. Do they still have grievances? Maybe. I think you can argue it either way. But the idea that America is what Kaepernick says it is is offensive. Not because it's unpatriotic (which it is) and not because it's racist (which it also is), but because it is an affront to truth. It's also the difference between saying "I don't like your behavior" and saying "I don't like you." I have no respect for any of these people. They insult me and expect me to support them and their cause in turn. Show me legitimate evidence of real injustice and I'll stand and fight with you. Pout on the sideline because you have unsubstantiated feelings of injustice and I mock you.

So the problem is due process? Is there any empirical evidence that suggests this is a big problem? Does this happen often and in instances where it clearly should not? And if so, what can or should be done about it?

Why do leftists always bring up corporate welfare? That's a left-wing policy. That's like Philip Morris selling alcohol and then saying "before you go bashing alcohol producers you should take a look at the ass holes selling cigarettes. In fairness, his statement was pretty stupid. His dad's fate is unfortunate but I don't see how it's related.

Stop projecting on us. We're ridiculing them for being idiots and pussies, not for hurting our feelings. Crying about feelings is what you guys do.