Capco

This was an absolute clown show. The audience made everything worse. I feel sorry for Ben and Bill having to maintain some semblance of sanity. I expected a hell of lot more from Malcolm.

1. Mahomes 2. Donald 3. Rodgers 4. Adams 5. Allen 6. Brady 7. Henry 8. Kelce 9. Hopkins 10. Watt

Only took 14 replies. Ertz guys are slacking!

Beat me to it

Isn't Aaron Donald considered by some to be THE best overall football player in the game today?

I'd volunteer to help with compulsory vaccination services.

You try to pin the "weakest link" moniker on Levi IN THE SAME POST that you also identify the actual weakest link on the defense: the pass rush.

Is... is that real? I'm assuming this is JaMarcus Russell?

A very expensive bottle of bourbon.

Hell yes! GO BILLS!

Racism is learned. It's not something that is intrinsic in humans to my knowledge. If it's not taught in schools (and afaik it most certainly is not), then it can only be learned from others within a person's immediate circle: i.e., their family, as @Chef Jim astutely pointed out. And that's probably where the drive for CRT comes from. There IS a battle to be fought against racism to this day, despite how far we have come. But we can rectify that without embracing critiques of liberalism, legal equality, and the meritocracy that defines our modern society.

In 6th grade we had a project where we got to form our own country. Obviously at that age the project was pretty basic, but we got to choose our form of government after learning about several forms of government in history, including America's. So of course everyone picks democracy because you know, that was essentially the point of the whole exercise. It was basically a rubber stamp for learning the idea that "democracy good / everything else bad." However, my partner and I, ever the class contrarians, decided to pick a dictatorship (a benevolent one, of course!). And while we put in as much effort as the other students, when it was our turn to present we got GRILLED by the teacher. She was asking questions that college freshmen would have a difficult time answering, let alone a couple 12 year-old kids. But it was still a good experience that always stuck with me and taught me a few things (I know that this seems a little off-track from CRT, but trust me there is a point). Generally, I learned that taking the path least traveled is riddled with challenges, including some challenges that are wholly unfair. Specifically, I learned that there were many flaws in dictatorial allocations of power. And finally, in terms of the discussion of CRT, I realize now that I would not have learned those lessons had my teacher/school/education system not been open enough to allow me to choose "dictatorship" and then learn the hard way why those governments can be really, really bad and get made to look like a fool in front of my peers. What if my only choice was democracy (the sheer irony of that aside) and I haphazardly put together my project knowing that my hand was forced? Would I have learned as much as I did? Would I have resented the lack of choice? Likewise, if you want people to learn that racism is bad, forcing people into that line of thinking is not as effective as letting them choose for themselves and learning through error how bad racism is. As the saying goes and Cold War experience shows, you simply cannot force people to be free; they have to want it themselves; it must come from within. Sometimes the only/best way you learn that the fence can shock you is by grabbing hold of it and receiving the shock, as opposed to insulating your hand from all forms of uncertainty in the world.

On point 2, you cannot separate structures from individuals. It is individuals who create them and give them meaning, after all. On point 3, everything I've read about CRT with regards to race consciousness points in the exact opposite direction as is stated in the tweet's rebuttal. CRT involves a race-conscious approach to equality, it critiques the ideas of color blindness and affirmative action, and considers black nationalism and segregation as potential "answers."

Honestly the bolded is exemplary of Allen's savviness, on or off the field.

Someone needs to throw New England a bone...

Here are the relevant snippets for those who don't/can't click the link: Gregory Rousseau, DE, Rd 1, Pick 30, Bills. “To me, he’s totally a measurables guy. I don’t know how you can look at the film and see a top-30 pick. You’d see times where he’d wind up with a sack because someone ran right into him. There wasn’t a sense that his opponents were worried about him.” Carlos Basham, DL, Rd 2, Pick 29, Bills. “I’m going to have some people mad at me, huh? I’m not picking on Buffalo. Actually, I’m not picking on anyone; I want them all to be successful. But I have to say that Basham might be the ultimate boom or bust project in the whole draft. He’s strong. He’s quick. Then you turn on the film and say, ‘What’s going on? You’re too big and strong to be blocked by some of the guys who are blocking you.’ The film doesn’t say that he’s a great player. But Buffalo has good coaches. Maybe they’ll figure out a way to use him that I can’t see.”

I find it interesting that roughly the same policy could have been delivered (and hence received) in a much better way. For example: "Homelessness is a huge problem in California and we need to come together to find a solution. As governor, I would propose setting up designated facilities where the homeless can not only have access to basic necessities, but where employers can also find potential labor. I believe such a program would revitalize areas like Venice Beach and help local small businesses thrive. The tax revenue from increased tourism and commerce will help offset the initial costs of the project, and hopefully the career services provided will make an additional impact on the bottom line by decreasing the resources required and enlarging the tax base."

... International diplomacy is far more delicate and nuanced than an all-or-nothing approach.

Someone else with inside information?

Let me just focus on one specific part then. Why does an accurate, thorough accounting of history require examining it through a lens that challenges and critiques concepts like legal equality, colorblindness, role modeling, and the merit principle? I ask because that is (part of) CRT.

@Over 29 years of fanhood This one is particularly pertinent to the discussion we are having in this thread about CRT:

Tbh, I don't really listen too much to the talking heads. I used to be a big watcher of the Sunday morning news shows but I usually prefer sleeping in lol. While he isn't really on the same level/does the same line of work, one commentator I enjoy listening to is Bill Maher as well as the people he interviews on his show. I don't have HBO, but he provides clips of key commentary on his YouTube page (and probably other social media as well). If you can get past his a-hole-ish demeanor, the reason why I like him is because he is a liberal and he generally doesn't ignore common sense. He ends his New Rule segment with a monologue and these clips are where you will often see him call out the left when he sees something as unreasonable. Here's a recent one that's a pretty decent example:

Ben is a smart cookie and I have agreed with him before. But overall, I think he has a gross misconception of reality. However, in this case, unless I can be provided with a rational argument otherwise, I have to agree with him (on most points with regards to CRT). But as you said, the bottom line is: When someone has something rational to say, LISTEN. That doesn't mean take it as ***** GOSPEL. Ben is smart, but he's just one commentator in a world of sound bites. And that's what I'm trying to offer here my friends. Just another bit of commentary with a rational basis. Talk to each other. LISTEN to each other. STOP the ***** Twitter posting. TRUST the acumen of your business/academic/scientific institutions! Like FFS I am trying my best guys. Please. Be civil. Be kind. Love America and every American. I'm so, so tired of this nonsense. I will keep trying... but I can only do so much. I want us all to succeed and we can make that happen as one! That is what America means, does it not?

... Oh hey look. Another 2 pages of Rah-Rah shouting (I'm too tired to go into specifics rn but I have been watching this thread). ... @Tiberius I tried to give you a quick run-down of what I objectively thought were serious flaws in the structure of Critical Race Theory (CRT) while avoiding a full-flung description of the entire thing (since idk, you seem to be on a major time crunch maybe?). Considering that we are typically on the same side of things, I figured that you would give me the benefit of the doubt when it came to the parts of CRT that I did not comment on (i.e., the parts that are worthy of merit). But that is specifically why I quoted you at the very beginning of my statement, after you said you didn't know anything about CRT. I was trying to loosely educate you (within the realm of what I myself know), while also challenging your rational thought. Like, I'm begging for someone to actually provide a rational response to my post earlier. I want to learn more. So far, the best, most well-written commentary provided after my post was provided by Ben ***** Shapiro. Do you have any idea what that makes me feel like as someone who is routinely called a communist?