Why I oppose the national anthem protests

[Alolan_Apples]

Yes, I know that I said that I’m out of political discussions, but since the football season is over, I would like to voice my opinions on why I opposed national anthem protests. I might write a political blog entry once in a while, since I rarely do so. But I’m not going to participate in political discussions on the forums (despite that recent mess-up on a thread about changes that we could hardly adapt to).

So here’s what happened in the Super Bowl. The Eagles beat the Patriots 41 to 33. I’m glad that they won. Why? Ever since Tom Brady (or someone else on the Patriots) deflated footballs before a game with the Colts in the play-offs, I could not forgive them. Not only I liked the Colts, but this is just the worst way to cheat in football. Of course, they bypassed karma with this. The Patriots won the Super Bowl in the year they deflated footballs, Tom Brady appealed to his suspension and won, and even if he got suspended the year after, the Patriots still won the Super Bowl that same year. I don’t think they deserve to win, even if the other teams (or the fans of the other teams) get crazy. But if they did win, I wouldn’t be surprised, considering how tough of a player Tom Brady is. I’m also not surprised that the players protested the national anthem at the beginning of the game.

Yes, the national anthem protests, something that has been going on all season with football teams. Ever since Colin Kaepernick protested the national anthem last season and was not drafted to any football team this past season, other players have been doing this as well. Heck, even basketball players don’t do this. There must be something going wrong with football players. Although I don’t have a problem with those who don’t stand for the anthem, the reasoning behind this is why it’s such a big deal. Yes, I am against protesting the national anthem, and I do not like the players that do this, but what’s even worse than the football players that protest the national anthem are the many people that get angry that oppose protesting the national anthem, at least the people on the internet that do.

To be fair, I think Kaepernick did this primarily because he wanted to get attention rather than to show hatred towards America. He doesn’t do too well in playing football, and I think he wants attention since he is bad at sports. He was even denied by all football teams, not because of what he did, but because he is not very useful in competition. But whatever he did opened Pandora’s Box, cause now others are doing it. Plus, it’s not the kneeling that he did. It’s what he said that bothers me. Not gonna quote him here, but what he’s basically saying is that he wants police officers to stop shooting African-Americans, regardless of the situation. I’m not going to follow this. I know Martin Luther King did the same during the Civil Rights Era, but the difference is, America was racist back then, King opposed violence, and he did it in a church. The other guy, supported Black Lives Matter, which is an anti-cop organization that is linked to some of the violent protests.

Here are the four reasons why I oppose the national anthem protests:

#1 - I do not agree with their message:

Don’t get me wrong. I am against police brutality and racial profiling. I don’t see anything good about either of those. But like I said above, Kaepernick is basically asking police officers to stop shooting non-whites, even if neither police brutality or racial profiling exists in the case. First of all, cops are trained to shoot people that resist an arrest. It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white. If you get into a fight with a police officer or run away, you are basically being a rebel. I agree that the Philando Castile case was unjust, but if there’s any case I could cite for this reason, it would be the Michael Brown case, someone that broke the law and started a fight with a cop. Yes, I do believe Brown grabbed for Wilson’s gun and didn’t put his hands up. No, I do not believe racial profiling or police brutality existed in this case.

They could also be protesting the national anthem because we elected Donald Trump as president or that Colin Kaepernick didn’t get admitted on any team. But that doesn’t make it any better.

#2 - It is disrespectful to our country and our soldiers:

Let me tell you one thing about the national anthem. If you are living in America, you need to stand for the national anthem. It doesn’t matter if you’re a viewer or a player. By not standing for the national anthem, you’re basically proving that you are not American or that you hate America. I know there are a couple people that are not proud of being American or hate America because we elected Trump. If they don’t like America, would they mind leaving the United States? I wouldn’t be opposed to their protests towards police brutality or the election of Trump, but they shouldn’t do this during the national anthem.

#3 - If you are part of a team, you represent the team you’re part of:

You may do what you want on your free time, but once you’re in a team uniform, you don’t represent yourself. You represent the team or organization you are part of. That means, if you do something wrong while in that uniform, the team as a whole would be responsible. People would view the entire team like this.

#4 - It’s spilling politics into football:

This is the biggest reason why I oppose the national anthem protests. First, social media has gotten more political. Then we hear more about it in award shows. If you don’t like discussions of politics, then don’t watch anything with politics in it. But there’s pretty much nothing else. Award shows are talking about it, movies are talking about it, celebrities are getting involved, even in football they’re getting involved.

Not to mention, but the issue they are protesting in the NFL is a very touchy and sensitive subject. BLM related issues and SJW related issues are much more controversial than abortion has ever gotten. You may go ahead and protest all you want, but if you’re in a football game, you need to stay out of politics.

Conclusion:

So you see why I am against the national anthem protests. Just letting you know, I do not support racial discrimination, prejudice, violence, racial profiling, police brutality, or racial stereotypes. But I also oppose BLM, support police, and want people to remain respectful. If you want to know why I don’t like those who support or defend the national anthem protests, it’s because I had a bad experience with a few people on the internet that supported or defended the national anthem protests. It’s not because they support the national anthem protests.

Anyway, the NFL had lost a lot of viewership over time. I was already done with football because the Patriots won Super Bowl LI, but it’s still surprising that the national anthem protests are continuing. The NFL needs to step it up or they will continue struggling with ratings decline.

 

[Imbri]

I don't agree with your stand on the national anthem protests, but you're entitled to your opinion.

I do wonder why you are tying the protests to the Patriots. The deflated football brewha was several years ago; it has nothing to do with players taking a knee (which is something they are entitled to, under the Constitution, but yeah). Additionally, if it had been any other team but the Patriots, the entire country would have said that the NFL was being unfair, but since it was the Pats, well, the only way they could win is to cheat, right? Everyone hates the winners. Ask the Cowboys how it felt back in the 90s.

I would suggest that much of the decline in viewership has to do with the fact that the market has become saturated and people are just over it. It's supposed to be a fall/winter sport, but they manage to keep coverage of minute things going all year long. People get sick of that.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I wasn't trying to associate the national anthem kneel-ins with deflating footballs. I was mentioning that I was done with football mainly because of deflategate. But it wasn't the deflategate that angered me most about it. Tom Brady appealed to his suspension when he was clearly guilty. That's like someone robbing a bank, then crying because he's getting arrested. The fact that he cheated, appealed to his suspension and got away with it, and the fact that the Patriots won in the year they cheated, are why I don't want the Patriots winning again. Plus, the last Super Bowl they won, was in Houston, the city my favorite football team and baseball team came from. And it was the first overtime Super Bowl. But then again, not everybody that achieves a particular title is a good person, even if they are the first one to achieve it.

 

[Alienfish]

#2 and #3 is just bull**** in my opinion. You are not your uniform, and if something is wrong you have the right to voice your opinion.

Also 99% of all sports are politics one way or another, do not deny it.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

#2 and #3 is just bull**** in my opinion. You are not your uniform, and if something is wrong you have the right to voice your opinion.

Also 99% of all sports are politics one way or another, do not deny it.

Normally, when someone disagrees with me, they do make good points on some of the points they don’t agree with me. But for reasons 2 and 3, I kinda feel that it’s more objective. It’s like the whole gender debate, on whether there are two or more genders (I still think there are two). But we are entitled to our opinions. You may think it’s okay to protest the national anthem. I do not think it’s okay. But as long we can get along regardless of our stand on this opinion, that’s great.

I plan on writing an entry on the whole gay wedding cake controversy and how I take sides with both viewpoints, but I don’t plan on writing it until June.

 

[N e s s]

Idk why you post these here and and not in like tumblr or something

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I just read on why the other players are protesting. It's not just on police brutality. It's on how black people are being treated in general. Even though we abolished slavery, ended legal racial segregation, passed the Civil Rights Act, and gave every citizen above the age of 18 the right to vote (except for felons and mentally incompetent people), they still remain to be behind the rest of society. I agree there are some laws and actions that still disproportionately hurting minorities (like partisan gerrymandering), but at the same time, I do believe that these same laws and actions are targeting everybody, not just African Americans or Hispanic Americans. It's just that our history has put certain groups behind.

The reason why it's hard to get behind Black Lives Matter is because I would never take sides with people that hate law enforcement. Not only that, but I haven't seen BLM benefit African Americans, there are a couple violent protesters, most of them support Marxist Socialism (which is a horrible idea), and they don't seem to care about other people as much. And of course, whether or not someone is being a bigot, under no exceptions is violence acceptable.

 

[Trundle]

What you might not be understanding here, Apples, is that while there ARE laws to promote equality, people are not acting them out in day to day lives. I am sure you have seen statistics showing how much more minorities (and specifically people with black skin) are shot/incarcerated than white people. Yes, in some cases there are valid reasons for a cop to shoot someone. But no, the problem is not 100% solved (or anywhere close to it). That is why these people are protesting. People are being murdered.

 

[SensaiGallade]

Can you please stop.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

Can you please stop.

What do you mean?

 

[duckykate]

they mean, stop spewing your political bs on this forum. no one is here for it.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

As this is my blog, I am free to post whatever I want. I don’t expect people to read my blog. I just want to share my opinions on certain issues. As long as I’m not posting anything classified as “prohibited content” or attacking other members, I am free to say whatever I want. Granted, controversial entries aren’t as suitable, but if there’s a subject I find interesting to talk about, I can talk about it here.

By the way, I deleted one of your comments that was created by the lag. I’m getting tired of the site’s technical issues.

 

[moonford]

I plan on writing an entry on the whole gay wedding cake controversy and how I take sides with both viewpoints, but I don’t plan on writing it until June.

Apple, please do not write about that. It happened a good while ago, it's a sensitive subject which will get negative feedback and I'm assuming you're not gay so it's best for you to leave it alone especially when it doesn't effect you in any way.

It's like you are asking for a bad reaction but I know you aren't and I also know that "taking sides with both viewpoints" is definitely not a good thing when it comes to this controversy due to the obvious backlash that you will get.

Just some advice, take it or leave it.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

Apple, please do not write about that. It happened a good while ago, it's a sensitive subject which will get negative feedback and I'm assuming you're not gay so it's best for you to leave it alone especially when it doesn't effect you in any way.

It's like you are asking for a bad reaction but I know you aren't and I also know that "taking sides with both viewpoints" is definitely not a good thing when it comes to this controversy due to the obvious backlash that you will get.

Just some advice, take it or leave it.

Thanks for giving me a helpful suggestion. Although there are some issues that I can be really biased, even taking a neutral and unbiased viewpoint on most issues may cause some people to get really angry. Of course, that could be because they are overly passionate, but since they resort to attacking too many times while the rules aren't gonna stop them, the best thing to do is to stay out of the debate. So yep, not gonna cover the wedding cake ruling in the future.

Since I have no plans on making political blog entries other than what you told me to not talk about, I'm pretty much done with political entries on my blog.

 

[moonford]

Thanks for giving me a helpful suggestion. Although there are some issues that I can be really biased, even taking a neutral and unbiased viewpoint on most issues may cause some people to get really angry. Of course, that could be because they are overly passionate, but since they resort to attacking too many times while the rules aren't gonna stop them, the best thing to do is to stay out of the debate. So yep, not gonna cover the wedding cake ruling in the future.

Since I have no plans on making political blog entries other than what you told me to not talk about, I'm pretty much done with political entries on my blog.

I appreciate that you listen to suggestions and I also appreciate that you're slowly but surely removing yourself from politics on TBT, politics is just full of negativity.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I appreciate that you listen to suggestions and I also appreciate that you're solely but surely removing yourself from politics on TBT, politics is just full of negativity.

Since I don't plan on writing about the wedding cake thing, you'll never know my opinion on the ruling when it happens. But I can say this much. I believe the Supreme Court was right on the Hobby Lobby ruling. If the left-wing does not want the government caring about what women do to their bodies and to not impose any regulations on it, they should stay out completely. This means, no restrictions on abortions, and no abortion coverage mandates (which includes taxpayer-funded abortions). Especially if it has nothing to do with your job. People need to compromise. In addition, I wouldn't support giving exemptions to some groups or using religion to discriminate against certain groups of people, but there's no need for employers to provide anything to their workers except for money, vacations, safety, and security.

That's all I have to say.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I got news. The NFL has changed their policy on the National Anthem Protests. They are required to stand for the national anthem on field. But they aren't forbidden from protesting on the job. If they want to protest, they can go to the locker room and do it. I honestly don't think this is a pretty solution, but it's right. They can still protest, while fans don't have to see politics in football.

In addition, it doesn't matter if you choose to stand to the flag or not. If you support groups that oppose law enforcement, you're still a villain in my eyes. But in defense of Kaepernick, I think he protested the national anthem just to get attention since he was bad at football. It wasn't solely because he opposes law enforcement. I also don't think the national anthem protests are the worst protests. If there's any protest I think is worse than national anthem protests, it would be election protests like the barbaric Trump protests after the 2016 election. I would rather see people kneel or sit down during the national anthem than see people protest the election of a presidential candidate.

 

[Hanzoisbae]

Although I do disagree with some of your statements I don't understand why people are telling you to stop expressing your opinons it's not like you're forcing them to click on this blog or anything.

All I'm wondering is about the "white privilege doesn't exist" aspect of the blog which seems like a case of conformation bias. Just because you haven't seen it or experienced it firsthand doesn't mean it isn't real. Black people have been beat up by police officers in the Netherlands just because they were protesting "black pete" a christmas traditon in Amsterdam were people dress up in blackface and put on afros while going on parade. All the protest consisted of was people wearing "black pete is racist" shirts but they still got beat up and some arrested. wouldn't that be considered as at least one form of so-called "white privilege".

 

[Alolan_Apples]

Although I do disagree with some of your statements I don't understand why people are telling you to stop expressing your opinons it's not like you're forcing them to click on this blog or anything.

All I'm wondering is about the "white privilege doesn't exist" aspect of the blog which seems like a case of conformation bias. Just because you haven't seen it or experienced it firsthand doesn't mean it isn't real. Black people have been beat up by police officers in the Netherlands just because they were protesting "black pete" a christmas traditon in Amsterdam were people dress up in blackface and put on afros while going on parade. All the protest consisted of was people wearing "black pete is racist" shirts but they still got beat up and some arrested. wouldn't that be considered as at least one form of so-called "white privilege".

They aren't trying to silence me. They're trying to warn me that by voicing controversial opinions, I could get a backlash, and they want me to stop. But at least TBT's community today is better than TBT's community three years ago. Back then, there were some members that obsessively hate me with a passion to the point where they'll harass me, and share quotes on another site and make me look like an idiot for it. Not because I'm a conservative, but because I wanted to become a moderator.

 

[Hanzoisbae]

Wouldn't forcing football players to stand for the national anthem also be someone pushing political views on people who disagree with it? It's not like they are getting paid more or less to stand during the anthem and it doesn't affect the way the game is played. So why is it necessary?