US team

[Unregistered]

It communicates recognition of the problem, which has been ignored in this country for YEARS, decades. Granted when Kaperneck started a few years ago there was less acknowledgement of it than there is now post-George Floyd. It's also not just bad cops but all the racist Karen and Kens out there as well. Kneeling doesn't just acknowledging but it helps keep the issue at the forefront so that changes can be made. Decades of problems won't go away overnight.

Serious question - what changes are you proposing?

[Unregistered]

How does kneeling during the National Anthem help black people feel like the police are there to protect them? If that is the goal then why not volunteer for an outreach program?
Kneeling during the National Anthem while playing on the National team does nothing but divide the country further. The message is lost

Kneeling during the National Anthem draws attention to the problem so that our government, our law enforcement and our people overall become aware that there is a problem at a scale that an "outreach program" cannot achieve. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem. Once recognized, then we can start exploring ways to solve the problem.

I'm sure that a proportion of those who kneel also volunteer their time and contribute in other ways to addressing the problem. Not sure why it has to be either-or.

[Unregistered]

Serious question - what changes are you proposing?

More investment in economically-distressed communities, rethinking how policing and criminal justice is done, better standards and training for our law enforcement, equitable enforcement of laws across ethnicities, stuff like that.

[Unregistered]

Kneeling during the National Anthem draws attention to the problem so that our government, our law enforcement and our people overall become aware that there is a problem at a scale that an "outreach program" cannot achieve. The first step in solving a problem is recognizing that there is a problem. Once recognized, then we can start exploring ways to solve the problem.

I'm sure that a proportion of those who kneel also volunteer their time and contribute in other ways to addressing the problem. Not sure why it has to be either-or.

When you kneel for the anthem you lose your audience. If you want to reach people then do something that unites people!

[Unregistered]

When you kneel for the anthem you lose your audience. If you want to reach people then do something that unites people!

What would you suggest?

[Unregistered]

The National anthem is there to unite us with pride for our country and to think about the possibilities. I believe in our hearts everyone loves our country and what the founding fathers wanted this country to represent. That being said no matter what we say there will be at least 50% of the country you will lose by taking a knee not because they disagree with your protest but rather your disrespecting the flag and what it stands for. I, am in full support of BLM but put into the context of taking a knee during the playing of our national anthem is an affront to the bigger picture of what the symbolism means to brave citizens and military who have died for the meaning of our flag and anthem. There is nothing you could say that will change the minds of the vast majority of American citizens.

If you are going to lose 50 percent of the country by simply taking a knee over the pain that the black community has experienced than you never had them in the first place. If you turn your back on any community in pain simply because they are trying to peacefully make you aware of it then you were the problem in the first place.

[Unregistered]

When you kneel for the anthem you lose your audience. If you want to reach people then do something that unites people!

It easier for people to ignore the issue and deny that it doesn’t exist when it doesn’t affect them. Change comes when the majority feels so uncomfortable they are forced into action. The civil rights movement began by making the white majority uncomfortable. You don’t have to do big heroic things to affect change. Each of us can recognize the conditions and do little things to affect change. The way I see it you can concentrate on your own righteous indignation of the man kneeling in front of you and let that cloud and prevent from acknowledging that their is a problem in this country or you can recognize the pain that has caused the kneeling and simply say I don’t like the kneeling but it’s his right to do so. There is a problem in this country. Which one will you choose?

[Unregistered]

More investment in economically-distressed communities, rethinking how policing and criminal justice is done, better standards and training for our law enforcement, equitable enforcement of laws across ethnicities, stuff like that.

Ok - who decides how much more investment is "enough" and how much rethinking of criminal justice is adequate?

Stuff like that is all subjective and there is a reason for that. Open ended protests are just one tactic used to create and sustain division. A protest is only as good as the ability for the "majority" to satisfy a real request. Otherwise there will always be people on the protest side saying they haven gotten enough and people on the majority side who feel they've given more than they should.

Instead, we have "we want something, which we can't define and wont all agree on what it is or how much we wanted but we will keep protesting until we get it...or longer."

[Unregistered]

More investment in economically-distressed communities, rethinking how policing and criminal justice is done, better standards and training for our law enforcement, equitable enforcement of laws across ethnicities, stuff like that.

Same person who asked what you’d do

Absolutely agree about equitable application and enforcement of laws. And I think policing, criminal justice, standards, training all stem from that.

Agree also that more investment is necessary. Problem is that a lot of investment has been done in the past 50 years and there seems to be minimal results. Quick example is Mark Zuckerberg giving Newark $100 million. It went somewhere but it didn’t improve Newark schools. And that $100 million is just a drop in the total amount of money that has been spent in the name of investment over time.

I see the legal and policing issues as things that need to be fixed and money is part of the solution but they are all symptoms of a greater problem that needs to be addressed to make any of the solutions effective. I don’t know what the greater issue is, race is certainly involved but not the sole answer. I don’t think this can be solved at the national level. It will take good local leaders to implement these changes and then be held accountable for the results.

[Unregistered]

Ok - who decides how much more investment is "enough" and how much rethinking of criminal justice is adequate?

Stuff like that is all subjective and there is a reason for that. Open ended protests are just one tactic used to create and sustain division. A protest is only as good as the ability for the "majority" to satisfy a real request. Otherwise there will always be people on the protest side saying they haven gotten enough and people on the majority side who feel they've given more than they should.

Instead, we have "we want something, which we can't define and wont all agree on what it is or how much we wanted but we will keep protesting until we get it...or longer."

Do you think black people want "sustained division" at the expense of their community's security?

Don't know what the solution is, but I acknowledge there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Will leave it to people with more knowledge of the specifics of the problems to propose solutions and then will vote to see them implemented. That's how our country is supposed to work.

[Unregistered]

Agree also that more investment is necessary. Problem is that a lot of investment has been done in the past 50 years and there seems to be minimal results. Quick example is Mark Zuckerberg giving Newark $100 million. It went somewhere but it didn’t improve Newark schools. And that $100 million is just a drop in the total amount of money that has been spent in the name of investment over time.

It's stuff like that that adds to the the distrust of our government. Someone donates $100M to Newark and the money disappears without any visible evidence that it was spent on stuff that it was supposed to help improve (in this case, I believe it was for the school system, right?). No accountability in our government, everything is status-quo, and for black communities like in Newark, this means nothing is changing regarding how police treat them.

[Unregistered]

Ok - who decides how much more investment is "enough" and how much rethinking of criminal justice is adequate?

Stuff like that is all subjective and there is a reason for that. Open ended protests are just one tactic used to create and sustain division. A protest is only as good as the ability for the "majority" to satisfy a real request. Otherwise there will always be people on the protest side saying they haven gotten enough and people on the majority side who feel they've given more than they should.

Instead, we have "we want something, which we can't define and wont all agree on what it is or how much we wanted but we will keep protesting until we get it...or longer."

It sounds like you are creating obstacles to rational not moving forward. By any objective measure ,we haven't come far enough. So why don't "we cross that bridge when we get there.

Don't let intellectual 'what ifs" get in the way of progress.

Further , i am not sure what you mean by "majority side given enough" You say this as if it is there's to give. This is the very issue. It belongs to all who are citizens of this country and one group has co-opted the halls of power and wealth for itself, while systemically denying equal opportunity to people of color.

[Unregistered]

Do you think black people want "sustained division" at the expense of their community's security?

i dont think its black people at all - i think (tinfoil hat time!) that other forces take advantage of situations and push us into these situations.

[Unregistered]

i dont think its black people at all - i think (tinfoil hat time!) that other forces take advantage of situations and push us into these situations.

Yes you are right!.......Tin Foil time indeed.

[Unregistered]

It's stuff like that that adds to the the distrust of our government. Someone donates $100M to Newark and the money disappears without any visible evidence that it was spent on stuff that it was supposed to help improve (in this case, I believe it was for the school system, right?). No accountability in our government, everything is status-quo, and for black communities like in Newark, this means nothing is changing regarding how police treat them.

Why do you think it was miss spent,

Mark seems to think that it was a success

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...uccess-n458906

You are effectively giving out misinformation to support your rational.

You become part of the problem