Well, yeah. You know where you are right?

The Taking a Knee Divide and Conquer Distraction

TIL that the ongoing police brutality in America as well as using the private prison complex as a way to continue with state-sponsored slavery through the punishment clause of the 13th Amendment are things that are "stupid and pointless news stories" ...

The real distraction is framing the conversation around it in the light of respecting the flag or whatever. The players are doing it to get people to talk about inequality in the justice system, but those invested in the inequality want to keep the conversation at bay

exactly! The man took a knee as a statement and rather than focus on the statement itself, MSM and TPTB are focused on the actions being "unpatriotic" to divert attention away from why he was doing it in the first place.

The real distraction is framing the conversation around it in the light of respecting the flag or whatever.

Absolutely. It became even more blatantly obvious when Trump stated as much himself, it's a conversation he is incapable of having, so he panders to his ever-shrinking base of supporters by dumbing it down to buzzwords like "unpatriotic" and "disrespectful".

The rubes have been conditioned to go apeshit if a football player disrespects the flag, while not giving a fuck when politicians in D.C. are shitting on and destroying the Constitution.

Useful idiots. They don't realize we're all the same to tptb

Or when waving the fucking Confederate flag. And it's not the media, it's our God damn President that hasn't shut up about the NFL for the past four days

Confederate side was fighting for state's rights, something you despise.

States rights to own people as property. I have looked up, you're the one ignorant of the cause of secession. Go read the declarations of secessions of the states. They state they declared secession from the union for slavery.

Real talk. The 'states rights' shit was cooked up almost 50 years later as part of historical revision of the 'great lost cause' of the Civil War.

Trade was part of it, but it was mostly that the aristocratic class didn't want to lose their cheap labor or valuable property (this property being other people).

Most retarded thing I've read all day

Civil war was mostly about trade deals disagreement, NOT slavery.

Complete bullshit, read the Cornerstone speech or secession documents. They clearly call out slavery as the reason.

not according to the declaration of secession by south carolina

Go read the actual primary documents for Christ's sake. I'll even make it easy for you and provide one: A pamphlet declaring “the causes which impel the state of Texas to secede from the federal union,” 1861.

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sources/775

For being mostly not about slavery they sure started talking about slavery pretty quickly!

Completely debunked horse shit.

Apparently you need to look it up, because slavery, "radical" abolitionists, laws like the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, slaveocracy fears, etc. all significantly contributed to heightened tensions between Northern and Southern states.

The outbreak of the Civil War was the result of a culmination of events and laws. It turns out many of these events and laws were related to SLAVERY.

Saying that states seceding from the Union had nothing to do with preserving the institution of slavery is incredibly dishonest.

We in Trumps base know exactly what he is doing, yet the left continue to underestimate him. It's glorious to witness.

Lol people like bill belichek and Jerry Jones went on to the fucking field to take a knee and you think your winning? Lmao. Hey how'd that election In Alabama go?

This is Bread and Circuses on steroids.

Excellent summation. Well done. Now all we need is some transgender cheerleaders.

not realizing there is a culture war

Someone needs to make this a meme.

Seriously. Football and Hillary are the only topics of interest on conservative subreddits. You wouldn't even know their God Emperor was President!

Partisans, by definition, don't think for themselves.

I am always wary when someone of authority says someone isn't patriotic enough. We heard it ad nauseum in 9/11 when the narrative was questioned.

It should be an American right to forgo being patriotic. It isn't like the guys are burning and shitting on flags, they are opting to not salute.

I dislike forced patriotism.

It should be an American ideal to constantly inspect one's system of government, periodically doing away with the bits that seek to exert undue influence or control. Rather, we drifted into the exact system from which we originally declared independence.

It should be. We've been told 'national security' secrecy for so long, departments of the government can't see other departments.

That is bad.

Apart from the secrecy angle, this is harmful because it allows for the establishment of parallel functions in those departments and agencies, which will inevitably lead to arguments over jurisdiction, and who is allowed to perform what roles.

It's called fascism

I don't readily throw out that word like some people these days.

Cool that doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't note similarities when you see them. If you wait until you see people getting loaded into boxcars to speak up then nobody's going to pat you on the back for being so prudent with the word.

Such emotional payload in that reply. Who hurt you?

Mussolini's fascists weren't loading Jews into rail cars, he had Jews in the party you ignoramous Maximus ...ppl don't know the difference between nazism and fascism, u let against authoritarianism totally natural just get ur facts straight

Absolutely. However, in this instance, you have the head of a government attempting to eliminate people's livelihoods over not standing during a nationalist loyalty pledge.

That's definitely something you would see in a fascist state.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

You know that, I know that. Average Joe doesn't. They are the ones that question nothing, and thank anyone in a soldier suit for their service.

I'm a fan of calling it "blind nationalism." If they knew what we know, they would know this country is nothing to be proud of anymore.

Not necessarily a distraction; it could be meant to further divide & conquer and prepare future cognitive dissonance.

The result of this propaganda is that now people might think you must either be 1) in favor of police brutality or 2) a statist who loves the panem et circenses idea of athletes competing in the name of a fake collective.

Same thing with Black Lives Matte during Obama: you either support the police state, or the violent/racist BLM thugs. Typical hegelian dialectic.

If it wasn't meant to divide and conquer that's sure what its doing anyways

I think it's just a ruse to try and bolster failing ratings. The younger generations give less and less shits about organized sports. They are distractions for the sheeple. The information age is ruining the paradigm of sports teams and the hardcore fan into the ground.

To be fair, Trump lit the fuse on this powder keg by stating those who exercise their rights to non violently protest are sons of bitches who should be fired, which was stronger condemnation than anything he said for the neo nazis and white supremacists at charlottesville.

So rather than what's the media covering up, the question that should be asked is what's Trump trying to deflect?

Healthcare fiasco? No commitment to Puerto Rico? Manafort indictment? North Korea threatening an above ground hydrogen bomb test? Iran defying the US and testing missiles?

Yeah, the reason this is such a huge story is because of Trump's comment. The kneeling has been going on for what, a year now? It's mostly just been a background story that gets talked about occasionally but never really a huge deal. But now that the president weighed in on it, everyone suddenly needs to pick a side and argue about it constantly. He even managed to drag other sports franchises into this stupid debate that they originally had no part of. And what is the end result? More needless division.

I honestly can't believe that there only two comments here acknowledging that Trump is heavily contributing to this.

Just look at the front page of T_D. They're absolutely obsessing over this issue.

I voted for Trump and even bought a MAGA hat but I made a post negative to Trump on T_D. It was downvoted instantly and I was given a temp ban. I thought maybe that sub could have grown into a positive movement but they see Trump as their God and he can do no wrong. They are blindly doing his bidding like the Emperor's Storm Troopers. Its honestly quite frightening.

/r/conservative is exactly the same. They've been screaming about football and pretty much ban any mention of Trump. They're both in love with him and trying to distance themselves from him. It's so bizzare.

r/republican does the same thing, they don't even try to be moderate.

And you helped it!

You're right. I'm sure Hillary would have created a utopian society here by now and we'd all be singing kumbaya.

The ol' but Hillary defense. Never fails

I'm not happy with Trump right now, nor am I defending him. The answer we are looking for was not available at the ballots in November. Maybe Rand Paul, but he had no chance.

I think it's a classic tactic from his WWE days. Trump and Goodell have boosted the NFL ratings phenomenally with very little effort.

KISS. The media is owned by the establishment. The establishment is losing the culture war to President Trump. So ofc the establishment owned media goes on the attack.

It's really that simple.

Trump waded into this one all on his own.

Lol no, Trump is just trying to distract from his dumpster fire of an administration. He's getting humiliated my NK and the GOP Congressional leaders are tripping over their own feet failing to pass anything meaningful.

You have chosen N Korea over America. You deserve what's coming to you.

wat?

"He's getting humiliated by N Korea"

You are siding with N Korea over a US President. This is how loyal you are to the establishment. Everyone in the world can see you for who you are. Yet you persist. The best part about it is you defeated yourselves, it just took one man to expose you for who you are. And he's your president for the next 7 years.

It's almost like a game. What is the media hiding from us this time

What's the prize of this 'game'?

A bigger headache

This. Anyone getting worked up about this issue is getting distracted by dumb normie shit. Multi-millionaires whining about unfair treatment and a country that they have profited off of more than 95% of us ever will? Trump said something mean? Someone get me the world's smallest violin.

Football was "invented" by a bonesman, Walter Camp.

Typical bootlicker response: "if you can't respect the flag and anthem then move out of the country"

And it's like yeah I would fcking love to move, but--

1. Id still be a US citizen even if I moved for which I could still vote thus negating the whole point of me moving.

2. Fuck you I'm an American citizen, I don't have to do shit.

Real Americans respect their flag and their country. ~public patriot

Real Americans respect the freedom to stand or sit or solute or turn their back or take their hat off or put on more hats when its time to sing the national anthem. ~real patriot.

I'm okay with their small minded protest. Go ahead and be an oppressed multimillionaire.
When the entire stadium boo's your ass, don't ever come back and say you're there for the fans.
When the viewership is down 25% so far this year, don't cry when you can't get a contract and the sponsors start walking and you lose money.
hey though, the one player that stood tall, now that number 1 jersey sales in the NFL.
The real patriots are speaking. You can't say "fuck America" and not face concequences.

Which team doesn't Kaepernick play for? Oh wait, he doesn't...

hey though, the one player that stood tall, now that number 1 jersey sales in the NFL.

'“Unfortunately, I threw my teammates under the bus, unintentionally,” Alejandro Villanueva, an Army veteran, said at a press conference on Monday, according to CBS Pittsburgh. “Every single time I see that picture of me, standing by myself, I feel embarrassed."'

Lmao yall will still be watching come Sunday, but sure go ahead and #boycottNFL on a Tuesday.

Nah, I've lost interest in watching oppressed millionaires chasing a ball around.

Is it really so impossible to understand that just maybe "millionaire athletes" aren't protesting their own oppression but on behalf of others who do not have as large of a platform athletes have to spread awareness?

I mean seriously is it really that hard to understand that? Not trying to be rude or confrontational, it's just so obvious to me. Curious why it's not for you.

I'm looking at it like this. If they want to carry signs, havr oress interviews, make thier case during half time, take out full page ads, all good with me.

They are staging it during the national anthem. Key word being national. If your protest targets a thing specifically, you have to understand what that thibg is.

Police aren't mentioned once. What part of the national anthem do they have a problem with?

That's mu question on all this. Why the national anthem?

Well that's easy, they already protested in other forms and nothing changed. In fact people and police were critical of players in almost the exact same way. Which is what makes me realize it's not about the anthem at all.

It's about a refusal to even acknowledge that there is an issue.

Do you not remember black athletes wore shirts that were critical of police shootings. What happened there? They were called cop haters, ridiculed in basically the same way they are now. Only difference is now it's under the guise of faux patriotism. Or I should really say nationalism.

it's not about the anthem at all.

Yes it is. They aren't taking a knee for the coin toss, not halftime, not during pre or post game shows, they are taking a knee during the National Anthem, when the US flag gets raised.
How can you possibly say it not about the anthem at all?

I can say that it's not about the anthem because we saw the the same exact faux outrage towards blacks and black athletes when they tried other forms of protest.

I said this exact thing in my post, but you only pull the one small quote.

See, this right here is the problem.

What the hell does this have to do with race or "faux"?

When you lose on logic, why do you default to racism and personal attacks?

I'm sorry I'm not sure what you're saying. I didn't do any personal attacks. I've spelled this out for you multiple times, I'll try again--->

I'm saying the outrage is a fake(faux) outrage about the anthem.

The conservative media expressed the same outrage when black athletes wore SHIRTS that addressed police brutality. Called them cop haters, etc.

So after awhile athletes started protesting by kneeling during the anthem. Now all the outrage is about kneeling during the anthem.

What I'm saying is the outrage changes every time while the issue(police brutality) is never addressed.

Which that is the point of the faux outrage, to distract from anyone talking about the actual issue.

So, what you're saying is that it has nothing to do with the National Anthem (even though that's the target time), it's just to piss people off?

Man so close, it's actually not to piss people off, even though it's understood that it may in fact piss some people off.

The issue of police brutality was so important to someone that they were actually willing to take a knee during an event that we all would traditionally stand for out of respect. Just to bring awareness to the issue.

I completely understand it's upsetting to watch someone take a knee during a time you may consider to be really sacred. But that's the point, this issue of police brutality is so important that people are willing to upset some because primarily blacks are being murdered by cops and they're getting away with it at an alarming rate.

The cause is worthy but the actions are counter productive.
It makes it difficult for me (and millions of other people) to support a cause by making me hate the activists.

This is a perfect example. Police brutality is not the topic of discussion, the players are.

Dude I am telling you why it's the national anthem right now, I am NOT dodging the question in any sense.

The national anthem was chosen because of its significance. Not to say fck America or directly disrespect our Veterans, but because other avenues had already been attempted and the issue was ignored.

And I suspect the same thing will happen with this National Anthem protesting just like last time. Everyone on the right is going to call the athletes unpatriotic, ridicule them, label as cop haters, etc just like they did w/ the shirts.

Then the right will never actually discuss the issue of police brutality, and by then another innocent black man has already been shot/killed for no reason.

Unless we try to understand both sides of the issue and not just your own, the issues we face today will remain well into the future.

but because other avenues had already been attempted and the issue was ignored.

I don't accept the premise. I don't see it ignored at all. I'll go one step further and say this is hurting the cause.
50 people trying to get home from a long day of work, freeway shut down by black lives matter. Help or hurt the cause?
Choosing to disrespect the American Flag and the National Anthem, help or hurt the cause?
I don't see how pissing people off "brings attention", any positive attention anyway.

Then the right will never actually discuss the issue of police brutality,

But the conversation isn't about police brutality is it? It's about the national anthem and the players.
Nobody is now "more aware", net result is just a bunch of pissed of people.

Everything you mention is a problem created by the right wing. Not the protestors.

Do I wish I had some perfect fucking answer where I'm like hey black athletes go protest here and everyone will listen and be respectful and we'll all talk about it afterwards with solutions?!?

Of fucking course, but that's not reality. So if, at the very minimum, protesting is going to piss some people off just to at least make the issue relevant, then I say fuckin do it.

The only reason why the conversation isn't primarily about police brutality is again because of the right wing changing the narrative calling them unpatriotic, cop haters, etc. which admittedly works really well too. That's why we're here rn.

I also want to say on a side note, that I really appreciate you sharing your opinion of all this with me. I don't think you're mean or evil for having a particular opinion on this stuff.

I hope everyone can feel that way, and if that's corny whatever lol but ya know just tryna do my part to make the world a better place. Hopefully we can get it all figured out at some point.

Yeah, I don't think we're going to come together on this one but it was a good conversation. Cheers!

Real Americans don't wear the flag as an article of clothing etc etc. Bullshit they all ignore when trying to condemn those who don't stand for a song that praises a country they aren't proud of.

In Sweden the flag is seen as a racist symbol, do we really want to slip down that slope of retardation? I don't , that's why I vehemently defend the flag, it's their right not to stand and it's other people's right to have a reaction whether it be in favor/against

Oooo I like your point too. And that's what is soo frustrating about all this.

I think everyone just needs to be more empathetic to someone else's viewpoint. And since Trump can be so divisive, it becomes difficult for people to actually talk about the actual issue.

Typical bootlicker response:

Fuck you I'm an American citizen, I don't have to do shit.

That went right over your head didn't it?

Sports themselves are a distraction, let alone now in the post-modern world where organizations like the NFL are spinning off more and more content to cover the same things 100 times. We get 24/7 coverage of Football now with more people giving their two cents on every issue in the game big or small. This is all a distraction, everyone loves how much we consume this garbage, especially advertisers and those trying to hide the real atrocities from us.

If every weekend we had the amount of people who pile into NFL stadiums make their way to local houses of government or demanding better pay from their employers this whole country would be turned upside down in no time.

So glad someone else has posted about this, it's driving me insane. Everyone is taking a left vs right, stand vs kneel point-of-view in this elite-orchestrated attempt to further divide the country. Unreal how blind the large majority of the pop is.

Many different psyops are happening with this NFL thing.

Overall, ratings ARE down, the game IS softer, and penalties do make the games unwatchable at times.

All major social institutions are beginning to wobble at the knees. Silicon Valley with the "diversity" blowback, finance with the massive bubble, Washington with the Awan scandal, Hollywood box office way down, etc. We're 2-3 years away from many institutions collapsing. Currently everything is in decline. All foundations will give out at the same time when the entire structure collapses (sound familiar?).

I see this as the beginning of the end for the power of sports in the USA. It is also the beginning of the end for the brainwashing of the flag on the US public. It's an attack on patriotism, and it's about damn time.

Don't forget "The NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, and the WWE are all registered as entertainment groups with the right to determine who wins a game or a match."

And they receive tax dollars to "advertise" the military during their events: https://www.sbnation.com/2015/11/4/9670302/nfl-paid-patriotism-troops-mcain-flake-report-million

OP, why are you omitting that our President won't stop talking about it?

If he won't stop talking about it, maybe its because it is just as much in interests as anyone else's that you/us are distracted from, you-know.... something.
.
Do you want to know what it might be??

I actually would like to know what it might be.

Me too!. My guess is: TPTB don't want domestic audience paying too much attention to what is happening in Syria.
The years-long western action(s) aimed at toppling Assad are FAILing, bigtime.
There could be multiple revelations of horribly sordid, awful things the world is going to discover about those 'actions'. Could be very damaging to our national reputation.
But, Oh look! Shiny!!!

What is this NFL you speak of?

This "controversy" is merely a vehicle to get 'sympathy' for the NFL, whose only other news is concussions, empty seats, and felony arrests. Trump is willingly playing the villain to help juice the publicity.

I think a reality TV star said it best back 2013

President should not be telling the Washington Redskins to change their name-our country has far bigger problems! FOCUS on them,not nonsense

I love /r/trumpcriticizingtrump

I can't stand this, man. I don't even watch the news and I still have to deal with this stupid situation. Immediately, when I saw this, I just thought "what a distraction," I mean, It's obviously right out of the divide and conquer handbook. TPTB pick a sensitive subject, present a narrative, and then you either agree with it and are "supporting basic freedoms and rights," or you disagree and are a "fascist, nazi, or suppressor of freedom." Can't I just believe something without having repercussions anymore? People are so ready to support something without even knowing what they are supporting. This is 100% a ploy to keep us separated and a majority of us are falling for it. BTW, don't mention that to anyone because then, you're not a Nazi, it's worse, you're a conspiracy theorist. Shakin' my head, boys.

Some part of me thinks this is all a big ad for football after all the bad press it has had in the past, with all the brain damage stories. I also think it's just awaking some people to truth that these athletes are sold and bought.

Big part of that NFL audience is rednecks who haven't figured out that watching a bunch of victim-complex ridden black millionaires chase a ball around, with every game a virtual re-run of all the others except minor changes in the score and the uniforms, ain't all that entertaining.

Especially those rednecks in Boston and NYC.

Football fans tend conservative, wherever. Liberal feminists aren't known to adore all-male steroidal aggression fests.

I feel like the circus surrounding this may have something to do with the Somali immigrant who shot up a white church that the media is doing backflips to avoid talking about.

Honestly do people really care so much about this? Anyway to me kneeling seems more respectful than standing

These NFL players...

Every one of them is university educated and yet instead of thinking of solutions to the issues they're upset about and leveraging their fame to push these solutions to local and national politicians...

All they can think to do is disrespect the National Anthem. Like that's going to lead to anything getting fixed. But hey, at least it's a quick easy way to signal virtue to the other thoughtless people coming out of our 'educational' system.

Seriously guys.

I think they used the antifa slash neo Nazi to cover up the DNC eletion fraud that was going on same time

The real distraction is framing the conversation around it in the light of respecting the flag or whatever. The players are doing it to get people to talk about inequality in the justice system, but those invested in the inequality want to keep the conversation at bay

Such emotional payload in that reply. Who hurt you?

Confederate side was fighting for state's rights, something you despise.

Mussolini's fascists weren't loading Jews into rail cars, he had Jews in the party you ignoramous Maximus ...ppl don't know the difference between nazism and fascism, u let against authoritarianism totally natural just get ur facts straight

Oooo I like your point too. And that's what is soo frustrating about all this.

I think everyone just needs to be more empathetic to someone else's viewpoint. And since Trump can be so divisive, it becomes difficult for people to actually talk about the actual issue.

We in Trumps base know exactly what he is doing, yet the left continue to underestimate him. It's glorious to witness.

So, what you're saying is that it has nothing to do with the National Anthem (even though that's the target time), it's just to piss people off?