“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong” is one of the young Muhammad Ali’s signature lines. It helped to define him, his opposition to the war in Vietnam, his support for civil rights, and, really, the entire decade of the 1960s. It is arguably one of the most powerful sentences ever spoken by an athlete.


He's a coward who dodged the draft.

The conversation we're having is a good one, it's the one they need to be having at the national level, but aren't.

I don't see the actual issue as cops shooting innocent Afro-Americans, that's a byproduct of the problem. Violence begats violence on the front line. You're sending cops into zones of violence where they don't who the badguys are. They should not be villanized by it.

100% truth.

I see the issue as vicious cycle of oppression that needs to be broken. Afro-Americans in inner-cities are caught in depressing cycle that just keeps repeating itself. Single mothers raising kids in an environment where there is no hope of a good education or a future to get them out. Black males that either have to join a gang or die (which is why they fail at being the fathers their kids need.) Something like 80% of those families are single parent. That's devestating.

There are all kinds of resources available to be successful in the school system. I think the NFL players should get out into the communities and get involved in the schools. Getting a quality education starts at the individual level. Students/kids need to take responsibilty for their own actions and be proactive. SImple gestures like throwing your trash in the trash at school can and will work wonders for the culture at the school. The problem is a lot of the poor schools have students that are so quick to catch an attitude if told to do something whether it's work or failure to have id on them. I work in the school system so I see first hand.

Then our justice system (our government) oppresses them with mandatory minimums (crack use is heavily punished vs other drugs.)

The fact of the matter here is don't do crack. Don't break the laws.

To solve the problem IMO, Afro-Americans need to go back into the community and change it at the grass roots to break the vicious circle. They need leaders those communties will respect and follow. And the goverment needs to get rid of opressive sentencing like Mandatory Minimums.

Yes it needs to start in the ground level.

Sadly though, this issue is lost, I think, because the media and the president are at war with each and the NFL players aren't speaking up on it. It's a missed opportunity because you don't often get the national spotlight.

The players kneeling isn't going to solve one problem. Between them and the president, it's causing more and more problems.

Then as a teacher I'm sure you'd agree kids with two parents are generally more successful than a child with a single mother working two jobs to feed them.



Addiction is a mental health issue. We don't punish people for having cancer or catching colds. Is it better for the country to send people to jail for a few years for having an ounce of crack or marijuana on them or get them help? Logically it's only better if the corporations running prisons make money off of it that comes from us as the taxpayers.

There are enough murders, thiefs and other common criminals we can show how tough we are on crime.



Apparently the White House Press Secretary has the answer:


http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/09/25/sarah_huckabee_sanders_urges_nfl_players_to_protest_police_officers.html

I think the message has been received by the owners. Several teams have announced they will be 100% standing this Sunday. As I thought, in the end the color green is all that would matter.

You guys both bring up good points. It starts at home and addressing the little details. Kids hear what their parent(s) say and begin developing beliefs off those remarks. Sometimes it also comes from educators who weave their opinions into their teachings.

I don't think you can solve this issue because humans are imperfect. There are going to be good and bad in every profession.

I believe addiction causes mental illness by altering your brain's chemistry. I'm not a doctor though and it's still a choice to do drugs and/or crime. Again, individual decisions that pave your road. Yes, students with 2 parents are more successful overall.

And Zatrex, you have excellent points as well.

As do you as well, Makchell. Jammer, too. I think it's been a good discussion with reasonable people.
maybe we gave some other people things to think about.

That one idiot got more attention than the radical muslim terrorists who murdered dozens of children at a pop concert. Hating on the white man is the flavor of the year. Liberalism in 2017 is a mental disorder. You are living in the #@&% twilight zone.

_________________

One idiot?

I think all the stores in a 20 mile radius sold out on tiki touches.

You seem to be lagging on a couple facts.

#@&% Nazi's should be shot right along with every islamic terrorist..Not sure where all this Nazi sympathy comes from. Pretty sad.

It's not a German.Its a Nazi.