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The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest [W:256]

haymarket said:
Where do you get this idea that when they are working and performing their job function they suddenly give up "their own time". Everybody I am aware of does things on "company time" that are solely their own thing and not a job function. Why should this be any different.



I see nothing wrong with a rather minor and extremely brief expression of protest that does not interfere with the job one is paid to do.
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They were on nfl team time. It was the intro to the game.

Wonder if your supervisor or company president would agree with you.
 
rocket88 said:
Given that Ferguson is in the United States, I would posit that the United States was the home of Michael Brown. It is also the home of rocket88, and if I'm not mistaken, the home of tres borrachos.
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So you're saying the players were wrong for having their hands up when they should have been carrying an American flag?

Sorry, I'm just not sure what relevance any of this has.
 
tres borrachos said:
The St. Louis Rams’ ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’ Protest - The Daily Fix - WSJ

<snip>

Professional sports are rarely a province for civil unrest. Take it from a young Michael Jordan, upon being asked to donate to a political campaign, apocryphally responding with “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” But there’s certainly opportunity to players to speak out, and on Sunday, several players for the St. Louis Rams made their voices heard.

As they came out of the tunnel during introductions before their game against the Oakland Raiders, Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Chris Givens, Stedman Bailey, and Kenny Britt raised their hands in reference to the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” protest—a sign that became ubiquitous during the recent protests in Ferguson, Mo., over the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson. Following the subsequent investigation, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson. Protesters across the country have voiced their displeasure with the decision—a number of them were stationed outside the Edward James Dome, where the Rams play. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed, even as the players, all of whom are black, tried to be diplomatic. Britt was quoted as saying, “Taking sides? We wanted to show that we were there for a cause that something positive comes out of it.”

As far as dialogue between opposing sides, much of which has exposed fractious fault lines within attitudes toward race and state, this passes for downright tranquil. And yet, the players were immediately criticized by the St. Louis Police Officers Association, which released a fiery statement criticizing the players and demanding an appropriate response—reprimand from the team, or the league


I don't blame the St. Louis PD. WTF? It was proven that Brown was not shot with his hands up in surrender contrary to what his little sidekick in the convenience store robbery claimed - and which people have clung on to as if it were true.

I'll bet these guys would call the St. Louis PD in a second if there big fancy houses were being robbed.

The PD's statement is here, and it is indeed "fiery"

SLPOA condemns Rams display

Protest is great. Support your cause. I'd love to see the Rams support some causes that are important to me and lots of others too, like animal abuse and elder abuse. But if they did do it where the protest could be seen, I would hope they would be honest about what happened and not feed into the rhetoric and propaganda as they did on Sunday.
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"Although I may not agree with what a person says, I shall fight to my death his right to say it."

All protests go awry no matter how well intended. There is a need to begin addressing the growing divide and increasing militancy of both sides. However like the Uhuryu, the clenched fist of Africa was a sign of unity became the fearful symbol of the Black Panthers, here too the gesture has become a symbol of division.
 
tres borrachos said:
We also don't live in the United States of Tres Borrachos, which is why nobody carries signs with my name on them at sporting events and I don't recall anyone saluting my image either.
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Which doesn't make it any less your home than it was Michael Brown's. You said
This isn't the home of Michael Brown.
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It most certainly was.
 
I think it is more an issue of not just the Ferguson issue but the case that unarmed black men are shot by police on more than just this one occasion.

But I do think that sport matches are not the appropriate venue for such a statement by athletes.
 
Texmex said:
She only defends the freedom she personally agrees with. Typical right-winger.

These players did nothing wrong. I wish this coming Sunday every player in the league would follow suit.
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I wish they'd play some football. That's why I bother to watch. I really don't give a rat's ass about the politics of the players because I'm watching them to see them play football. It's fundamentally a simple proposition. Do you tune in to Rachael Ray for political discussion?
 
Slyfox696 said:
So you're saying the players were wrong for having their hands up when they should have been carrying an American flag?

Sorry, I'm just not sure what relevance any of this has.
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I'm saying that people make political statements all the time. The difference here is that many conservatives disagree with the statement made by Rams players. Which doesn't make them wrong for making it.
 
humbolt said:
I wish they'd play some football. That's why I bother to watch. I really don't give a rat's ass about the politics of the players because I'm watching them to see them play football. It's fundamentally a simple proposition. Do you tune in to Rachael Ray for political discussion?
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After their brief statement they did play football. Seeing as how the Rams won that game 52-0, it seems that they played football much better than the other team did.

Rachael Ray should have every freedom to make a political statement if she chooses to.
 
ernst barkmann said:
i first started watching football in 1968 and loved the game, until the early 1990's

its no wonder i came to hate football in today's sense.....with social media and politics becoming involved in it now.

what i would not give to to see the old days of George Blanda, and Joe Kapp.
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Ah, George Blanda. There was a man with class and prowess.
 
rocket88 said:
Which is their statement, and they have the right to make it.

Every year on Jackie Robinson Day, every player in Major League Baseball wears the number 42. That's a statement. It may be different because it's sanctioned by MLB, but it is a statement.
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is that because actually did wear the number 42 whereas Brown did not have his hands up?

Following along with a protest based on a known lie, just shows the intelligence level of the protesters, in this case being football players.
 
humbolt said:
I wish they'd play some football. That's why I bother to watch. I really don't give a rat's ass about the politics of the players because I'm watching them to see them play football. It's fundamentally a simple proposition. Do you tune in to Rachael Ray for political discussion?
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How long did this take, two seconds. I watched three games yesterday and this incident didn't cost me any time.
 
rocket88 said:
It's not the same kind of statement, but it is a political statement.
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No, it isn't, which is why the American flag is present at every game. There is no statement being made, simply a nod to the fact that we live in America and these teams are based in America. It isn't a statement - it's a fact. No politics involved.
 
ReverendHellh0und said:
What is this "hands up" ****? mikey brown didn't have his hands up.
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Never let the facts get in the way of a good cause and slogan...

Wasnt it Al Sharpton that said "sure...OK...fine...Tawana Brawley lied, but the FACT is that this kind of thing happens for REAL every day and thats why it is important we use her case to protest!"
?
 
haymarket said:
Of course it does. Simply compare the demographics of black males in society with the incarceration rate. There are only two possible explanations:

1- far too many black males are inherently deviates coming from an inferior race and culture which disproportionately manifests itself in low intelligence and violent criminal behavior placing them closer to predatory animals than humans, or
2- centuries of slavery and Jim Crow have wreaked untold damage upon African Americans as a collective group in the USA causing all manner of sociological malfunctions impacting them at a greater rate than other groups in our nation and despite some efforts, we still have a very long way to go to actual equality in all phases of our society.

I pick the second.
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You are saying in number 2 that they are not smart enough to be law abiding citizens? What is their defect that they cannot follow the law?
 
rocket88 said:
Which doesn't make it any less your home than it was Michael Brown's. You said

It most certainly was.
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And the American flag isn't a statement on Michael Brown or the official symbol of Michael Brown, is it?
 
mike2810 said:
Wonder why the NFL Rams players did nothing for this

White teen Gilbert Collar killed by black cop Trevis Austin in Alabama mirrors Ferguson - Washington Times
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If you think that was wrong, maybe you should get out and protest it.

There's also the fact that Alabama is not a suburb of St. Louis. Would you be offended by them making a statement about this?

I can't help but think that if they made a gesture supporting the officer, people here would have a different opinion.
 
Mason66 said:
is that because actually did wear the number 42 whereas Brown did not have his hands up?

Following along with a protest based on a known lie, just shows the intelligence level of the protesters, in this case being football players.
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If that's how you feel, laugh at these players, I disagree.
 
All I know is some cop shot and killed a teenager.

I have NO IDEA who was at fault. My guess is probably both, to at least some extent.

And I do believe - More or less - in the legal system of America.

So, if a Grand Jury (with some 'black' people on it) says the officer should not be charged, then until I see evidence to the contrary, that is good enough for me.
 
You could add the SAT scores of those idiots together and still not get into your local county community college.

I'm not even sure how Kenny Britt manages to keep getting back into the league with his past.

This only hurts was lingering sympathy for Brown remains.
 
rocket88 said:
After their brief statement they did play football. Seeing as how the Rams won that game 52-0, it seems that they played football much better than the other team did.
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As I said, I tune in to watch football. If they want to make a political statement, I can't stop them. I can refuse to watch though.

Rachael Ray should have every freedom to make a political statement if she chooses to.
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See above.
 
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