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Kaepernick and the National Anthem


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Kaepernick was downright dreadful in Friday night's preseason game, looking entirely uncomfortable in new coach Chip Kelly's offense. If the 49ers aren't going to start Kaepernick, they have three options -- trade him, pay him $12 million not to play, or grant Kaepernick his release. If the 49ers opt to keep Kap around, that $12 million figure will be an awfully large bullet to bite.
2/6 for 14 yards
I think he just wants out of SF and the Chipper

 

 

 

Aaaaaaaannnnnnndddddd now he can claim racism. I didn't get what this was all about when I first heard, but now I understand. He is in his 4th/5th/6th year or whatever and now is the time? I respect his right to do whatever, but you'll have a hard time convincing me something he does is about anyone other than him.

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nothing says freedom more than being forced to worship the same god, speak the same language.... basically told to live a certain way in all aspects of our lives.th

that is not even remotely my point. Now youre just being contrarian.

 

Because freedom allows us to be this different, we need a shared sense of patriotism to keep us from tearing ourselves apart.

 

As long as we can all stand together to celebrate our shared sense of unity from time to time, we'll be OK. When that ends ... buy gold.

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True Story from the Life of Hopeful.

 

When our baby was just shy of 9 months old and baby/mom more or less recovered from various complications, the Hopeful family made a decision to finally have a date night, sans baby, to celebrate my birthday. We went all out: reservations to a trendy restaurant for dinner; excellent tickets to see STOMP!, the familiar caregiver from her excellent daycare as a very well-paid babysitter.

 

That was September 11, 2000.

 

After discussion and some phone calls to the restaurant and the venue, we decided to proceed with the planned evening. We figured what the terrorists are after is getting in everyone's head and disrupting normal life, so if we stay home, they win that small victory. So off we went. The restaurant was out of flown-in stuff, like fresh fish, but otherwise good.

 

I don't know if STOMP always starts that way, but just before the starting time, the venue went pitch black, even the small aisle lights. Into the darkness came the sound of a lone bugle, playing our National Anthem. At the crescendo, three spotlights lit up our flag. I guarantee there wasn't a dry eye in the house that night.

 

That's how I "get" our flag and our national anthem - as an enduring symbol that our nation, flaws and warts and stumbles and tragedies, is fundamentally strong and good and will continue and evolve.

 

Good story.

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that is not even remotely my point. Now youre just being contrarian.

 

Because freedom allows us to be this different, we need a shared sense of patriotism to keep us from tearing ourselves apart.

 

As long as we can all stand together to celebrate our shared sense of unity from time to time, we'll be OK. When that ends ... buy gold.

I get your point, the problem is that we can't even agree on patriotism or on what freedom really means. Just look at this thread. Someone speaks his mind on an unpopular , controversial topic, some tell him it's ok to speak, others say shut up, others say leave the country. And nobody ever really changes their minds anymore. Hard to get in agreement on anything.

Real simple, pack your bags and leave.

If you don't like him exercising his first amendment rights, maybe you should leave the country.

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that is not even remotely my point. Now youre just being contrarian.

 

Because freedom allows us to be this different, we need a shared sense of patriotism to keep us from tearing ourselves apart.

 

As long as we can all stand together to celebrate our shared sense of unity from time to time, we'll be OK. When that ends ... buy gold.

 

Great, great, great way of putting it

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The whole national anthem/flag/military honor guard/military jet flyover thing that is now associated with sports in this country is flat out bizarre and really has nothing to do with watching sports.

 

Some of it is flat out paid for by the military as a marketing ploy.

 

Get rid of all of it.

Ya think maybe it has something to do with honoring the men and women that have served in the military, sacrificed so much to protect our freedoms and those that lost their lives? It's apparent you never served a day in the military and would have done everything to avoid going into the military if called upon.

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I get your point, the problem is that we can't even agree on patriotism or on what freedom really means. Just look at this thread. Someone speaks his mind on an unpopular , controversial topic, some tell him it's ok to speak, others say shut up, others say leave the country. And nobody ever really changes their minds anymore. Hard to get in agreement on anything.

 

Too true, and very troubling.

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Ya think maybe it has something to do with honoring the men and women that have served in the military, sacrificed so much to protect our freedoms and those that lost their lives? It's apparent you never served a day in the military and would have done everything to avoid going into the military if called upon.

That's quite a stretch.

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I get your point, the problem is that we can't even agree on patriotism or on what freedom really means. Just look at this thread. Someone speaks his mind on an unpopular , controversial topic, some tell him it's ok to speak, others say shut up, others say leave the country. And nobody ever really changes their minds anymore. Hard to get in agreement on anything.

If you don't like him exercising his first amendment rights, maybe you should leave the country.

 

People are changing their minds in this country like never before.

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I helped defend this country by serving eight years in the Marines. I find not standing for the national anthem to be very disrespectful.

 

What have you done for our country besides run your mouth?

Did you defend peoples first amendment rights or just the right to say and do what you want them to.

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I'd only add that no symbol is worth more than the very thing it represents.

 

I've seen some unsavory groups wrap themselves in that symbol over the years and it made me cringe every time. Until I remembered what that symbol represented. And then I thought, "Lucky bastards."

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I fought for this country side by side with blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, etc. People of all colors have died wearing the American uniform. When Kap refuses to honor the flag, he refuses to honor them. And that pisses me off.

 

I respect Kap for caring about injustice. I respect him for taking a stand. But I don't respect him for taking this stand. In my mind, he's disrespecting the folks I fought alongside in the Gulf War. The soldiers (minority/white/whatever) I served with are more impressive to me than Kap will ever be.

 

There are guys out there today in foreign lands risking their lives for the ideals of this country. There are activists in the streets foregoing wealth to work for social equality, medical access, and so on to make this country better. And while there are some bad cops out there, there are also plenty of good LEOs who lay it on the line for their communities every day. Kap, on the other hand, is living a life of luxury and at the same time complaining about injustice.

 

Instead of acting like a petulant child, why doesn't he man up and do something? If truly wants to make a difference, why doesn't he join a police force and become a force for equal treatment? Or donate his millions and his efforts to bring about social equality and justice?

 

And if that's too much for him, why can't he at least honor the people who do work to make America great by putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem?

Edited by hondo in seattle
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I helped defend this country by serving eight years in the Marines. I find not standing for the national anthem to be very disrespectful.

 

What have you done for our country besides run your mouth?

Time for you to step back.

That's your opinion

Of course it is.

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I helped defend this country by serving eight years in the Marines. I find not standing for the national anthem to be very disrespectful.

 

What have you done for our country besides run your mouth?

Thank you for your service. I appreciate the passion, but this country was founded on the idea of individual freedom. That's what you fought to defend. You should appreciate the fact that he's actually utilizing the freedom that you so generously devoted such a significant portion of your life to defend.

 

Although, I do think it's ironic that he choses to make this little stand of his just feet from a field upon which men of color get paid millions of dollars to play a game.

Edited by sodbuster
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OK, folks...y'all know the rules. I can't babysit this 24/7 so here it is...

 

If you're going to discuss this issue here on the main board do it with respect. Finger pointing, blanket statements etc. don't work. Either be thoughtful in your response or not. If you can't do that then keep your thoughts to yourself or take it to PPP. Any nonsense will be handled when I return. That goes for original statements and responses to those statements. Because I'm being very clear here you can assume that if any cleaning is needed in this thread will be coupled with a lengthy time with your posting privileges removed.

 

Everyone here is smart enough to understand this, so...carry on.

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Thank you for your service. I appreciate the passion, but this country was founded on the idea of individual freedom. That's what you fought to defend. You should appreciate the fact that he's actually utilizing the freedom that you so generously devoted such a significant portion of your life to defend. By suggesting that somebody expressing his point of view should leave the country, you might even be contributing to the destruction of the fabric of the country.

 

I don't get this. Why is okay for Kap to have an opinion but not Jerry Jabber?

 

Just because Kap has the right to express himself doesn't mean he should. Personally, I don't like hate speech, do you? Kap isn't spouting hate speech but he is disrespectful. He's the one "contributing to the destruction of the fabric of the country," not Jerry who served his country.

Edited by hondo in seattle
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I don't get this. Why is okay for Kap to have an opinion but not sodbuster?

 

Just because Kap has the right to express himself doesn't mean he should. Personally, I don't like hate speech, do you? Kap isn't spouting hate speech but he is disrespectful. He's the one "contributing to the destruction of the fabric of the country."

 

How so?

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I fought for this country side by side with blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, etc. People of all colors have died wearing the American uniform. When Kap refuses to honor the flag, he refuses to honor them. And that pisses me off.

 

I respect Kap for caring about injustice. I respect him for taking a stand. But I don't respect him for taking this stand. In my mind, he's disrespecting the folks I fought alongside in the Gulf War. The soldiers (minority/white/whatever) I served with are more impressive to me than Kap will ever be.

 

There are guys out there today in foreign lands risking their lives for the ideals of this country. There are activists in the streets foregoing wealth to work for social equality, medical access, and so on to make this country better. And while there are some bad cops out there, there are also plenty of good LEOs who lay it on the line for their communities every day. Kap, on the other hand, is living a life of luxury and at the same time complaining about injustice.

 

Instead of acting like a petulant child, why doesn't he man up and do something? If truly wants to make a difference, why doesn't he join a police force and become a force for equal treatment? Or donate his millions and his efforts to bring about social equality and justice?

 

And if that's too much for him, why can't he at least honor the people who do work to make America great by putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem?

 

Not sure what else needs to be said. Just an awesome post. Kap's actions are misguided at best. And Hondo, thank you sincerely for your service.

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The whole national anthem/flag/military honor guard/military jet flyover thing that is now associated with sports in this country is flat out bizarre and really has nothing to do with watching sports.

 

Some of it is flat out paid for by the military as a marketing ploy.

 

Get rid of all of it.

Like "In God We Trust" on our money. It was added in the 50's as a reaction to Communism. Ditto for "One nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Added long after the fact.

I really don't remember hearing of any Irish or Polish slaves in the US. If I'm wrong, I'd be very interested in learning the truth.

Not sure about Poles but the Irish were treated like sub-humans for years.

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Like "In God We Trust" on our money. It was added in the 50's as a reaction to Communism. Ditto for "One nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Added long after the fact.

Not sure about Poles but the Irish were treated like sub-humans for years.

 

Irish immigrants were definitely discriminated against for a long time in this country, but were never enslaved.

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Patriotism has nothing to do with a flag or a song. It's defined by one's actions. It is about defending what makes country special and that includes someone's right to free speach or freedom of expression. Whether we agree with them or not.

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Patriotism has nothing to do with a flag or a song. It's defined by one's actions. It is about defending what makes country special and that includes someone's right to free speach or freedom of expression. Whether we agree with them or not.

 

Good post.

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You can express your views In other ways...I'm all about expressing views..I don't care.....disrespecting your country is not cool.

 

Neither is BEING disrespected by what's supposed to be 'your' country too. That's the flip side of it. Granted you do have a point, but so does he.

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Like "In God We Trust" on our money. It was added in the 50's as a reaction to Communism. Ditto for "One nation under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Added long after the fact.

Not sure about Poles but the Irish were treated like sub-humans for years.

The Irish slave trade was a very real thing. Tens of thousands were sold to settlers in the West Indies.

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