NFL bans kneeling during the anthem, teams will be fined for it - Sensationalist Headlines

Exactly, the song represents the nation as a whole. It does not single anyone out or promote one political party over another. It's not pro Trump, pro police, pro racism, pro Republican, etc. You're basically saying Kaepernick does not agree with the current administration in office and the rampant issue of police brutality, racism, etc. and he kneels to protest. How do those issues connect with the representation of the people of the United States? When you're protesting the anthem you're protesting everyone in the country not just Trump, racists or the police. Point the finger where it belongs, not turn an innocent song into "You must love Trump if you like this".

did you miss the entire: or are you legally blind. In context, Its not an innocent song, it is a political grab to force false patriotism into the sport. The song's entire lyrics are about this country becoming its own from a tyrannical government. Which is ironic considering in the current political climate is almost tyrannical towards black injustice. You keep trying to paint the song as it's own thing, when its absolutely not given the context of why its there in the first place and what happened with trump. People didn't give a shit he was protesting till trump said something, then all these would be patriots rolled out of the woodwork to attack him and other players. Any anthem represents the country its bound to, that's the point of a national anthem.

This seems to come up in every subject about Trump on here. Anything he says or thinks you HAVE to disagree with it. Just because some orange asshole says people should stand for the anthem doesn't mean that it is a pro-Trump song now.

My boy; You cannot sit there and think the national anthem doesn't represent the country. If people want to show displeasure with the country, they can protest the song since it represents the country. I strongly disagree that a silly song is somehow more important than personal rights, and if anything its virtue signalling out the ass.

So what is your argument then? You're claiming you're not arguing that protests shouldn't be done if they inconvenience people but then inexplicably make the exception of "unless it involves sportsball". It's easy enough I supposed to tell people they can protest all they want, just not in anything I care about.

Exactly, it represents the whole country. So why protest 325.7 million people for Trump, racism & police brutality? That's like going to a library (the country) and being mad they have books about a topic you don't like (bad things). You don't be angry at the library (country) but rather the source of the book, the author (racists, abusive police, Trump). Just like the country contains bad things, you don't blame the whole country, you blame the individuals responsible. I think there is confusion that the nation anthem represents the government and the garbage that comes with it. It doesn't, it represents what makes a country a country; the people.

Maybe if you read what im posting insread of saying the same paragraph for 4 replies, you would get what me and others are saying.

Was this really your best attempt at producing a questionable literature topic

A radio host I heard said they should kneel on both knees and pray or appear to pray just to find out how it gets spun

I've read your post multiple times now and I am still not understanding your point. It's really this simple: National anthem represents all people of the United States Anthem is just a symbol, has no politics involved Kaepernick has political motive of the current administration, police brutality and racism Kaepernick kneels during anthem when it has nothing to do with the aforementioned issues (now involves politics) Trump whines and supporters outrage Your logic: Now the anthem represents Trump and his supporters. So kneelers are now effectively protesting Trump. The anthem has not and never will represent Trump or any president or political issue. It represents the country and the country is not responsible for those issues, individuals are. I think the core problem of this all is that you are generalizing the whole population of the United States for the actions of the minority. 325.7 million Americans aren't racist, a minority amount of individuals are. 325.7 million Americans are not responsible for police brutality, the abusive cops are. When you protest the anthem you are protesting 325.7 million Americans, not the people responsible.

It’s not the lyrics. The sing itself, as a whole, is a symbol.

Kaepernick has repeatedly said he wasn't protesting the flag or the anthem, he was protesting racial and criminal injustice.

and what does the anthem have to do with any of that?

Not much? It's really just a vehicle for his protest.

Exactly, a bad vehicle that caused more problems than it solved.

The only problems it has caused are from the blow-hards making a big deal out of it

I agree it shouldn't be as big of a deal as it is but it also shouldn't be a big deal that the NFL is doing this as they have every right to.

The 1800s ended a long ass time ago.

They shouldn't have that right

You'll find liberals are just as intolerant in this regard.

I'm as constitutionalist as they get but there needs to be some limits on your rights. Kaepernick is an employee that has a job to do. The workplace should not have to tolerate behavior they don't agree with. It's your decision to have that job. It's funny because the people complaining about this are the people who didn't support that Google employee who got fired for making a "discriminatory and bigoted" memo. Seems like free speech is only OK when it fits their agenda.

Limit the rights of the businesses, not the employees. Fuck the businesses. Businesses shouldn't have rights to begin with.

Business would not be able to operate properly if employees had no limits on what they can do. This seems more of a pissed off "anti-business" statement than a logical one.

That's why he said "champion", because while people of every political leaning will hypocritically defend freedom of expression only when it's politically convenient, it's typically the right who see's themselves as "owning" first amendment rights, so it looks more hypocritical when they are the ones cheering for them being crushed by corporate or state bureaucracy.

Businesses are not living people and have immense power over society as a whole have an amorphous structure and nature. Those are three explicit reason separately to deny them rights. Together its a reason to not only deny them rights but to put intense restrictions on their behavior. They come after the employees under all circumstances because the employees are actual people, not a collection of documents and signatures denoting purpose, branding, and property.

You realize business are private and just actually a group of people with a common goal of making profit. No one's forcing you to work somewhere and there are definitely restrictions business have. You can't have children working in machine shops, work overtime without pay, minimum wage, benefits, etc. Businesses have every right to do what they want within reason that's the beauty of free market capitalism. If you want government control of business with immense regulation that is approaching communism. Is that what you want? Don't like businesses? Fine, just don't work for one then or start your own. You have the freedom.

The highest court in the country should have gone with that, but they didn't. So some americans still support this dictatorship garbage by hiding behind the bullshit "it should not be political" or "it is a private business" excuses. Not speaking about how the political divide found another subject where people can't put politics somewhat behind them. What is this garbage, every medium is political, welcome to human society, if they want to kneel, let them kneel. You don't have to respect their political message, just the fact that they are exercising their freedom of speech and that should be defended. Generally, by enabling the employer of someone speaking out to be able to fire the one exercising for his own political statements, you just moved the responsibility from the government to the private sector, great, you livelihood is on the line if your employer might disagree with you or hell, not tolerates you speaking out, great fucking freedom of speech, but workers rights is a lost cause anyway, must protect those business interests at all times, fucking disgraceful. This horseshit is fucking blood-boiling.

Think about it this way. Say you own a business and one of your employees starts saying extremely racist and sexist stuff to clients. Would you permit that because it is their right to free speech or would you can their ass because it's tainting the business?

So fuck striking, then? Fuck any initiative that aims, for example, to improve working conditions? Employers wouldn't agree with that, after all, so they should just be able to fire anyone who attempts to unionize? Pfff hahaha you couldn't have made a more stupidly stereotypical statement if you tried to. Suggesting that regulation is a slippery slope to communism is ridiculous. Are you some kind of libertarian?

If they are on company time, sure, fire them, but your little conflating example misses two things. 1.) Businesses should be exempt from firing people that speak out in their private, they can use their usual "Persons opinions don't reflect that of the company" for all I care, which was the point I am trying to make. 2.) Nor shoud anyone be forced to make a political statement, standing for the anthem is, staying in the locker-room is just absence, silence, is a good catch-22 either you stand with the country or you stay hidden. Great freedom.