Poll. 3 questions regarding Trump & NFL anthem controversy

[ProudModerate2]

VOTE 3 TIMES.
The topic of the questions are regarding Trump and the NFL anthem controversy.

[Santander]

BBB

[publicunofficial]

I actually think Trump brought people together on this issue. Horrible rich assholes like Dan Snyder, Roger Goodell, and Jerry Jones were forced to be on Kaepernick's side.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

BBB

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

It's okay for Trump to tell employers whatever he wants to tell them, but they can ignore him.

[Reaganfan]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

[Santander]

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

I used to think like this (to the extent I cared about pro football), but the more I think about it, and the more I observe the increasingly angry reactions from my (cherished) white working class friends, which I'm sure you also have plenty of, the more supportive I become of players who take a knee during the anthem. What is so disrespectful about taking a knee? They're not kneeling on top of the flag, they're not making rude gestures, inflammatory remarks (e.g. "God damn America"), or heckling the anthem. They're using their platform to draw attention to something they care about, but they're doing it in a way that does not interfere with the ceremonies around them. If you get triggered by someone making a silent expression in a public place, you're not getting angry about their "disrespect" - there is something else going on. I'm not going to say the word, because it's thrown around too much, but there could be some of that.

I still vote BBB, because putting this on Trump is ridiculous. Also, while I have no problems with players kneeling, they also have to realize that they are entertainers representing a private business (their team/the NFL), so their actions may affect their career prospects, like it did with Kaepernick. I think most players realize this, though.

[MasterJedi]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

Translated to "those negroes better mind their place and sit down", just like 1950s and 1960s people said about the protests then for civil rights.

[BoAtlantis]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

If that's the case, why is it that after Trump's remarks, NFL teams and owners, some of which even include Trump supporters, were kneeling in record numbers?

[JA]

I actually think Trump brought people together on this issue. Horrible rich assholes like Dan Snyder, Roger Goodell, and Jerry Jones were forced to be on Kaepernick's side.

Too bad all they did was for PR and marketing purposes. Have any signed Kaepernick?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I actually think Trump brought people together on this issue. Horrible rich assholes like Dan Snyder, Roger Goodell, and Jerry Jones were forced to be on Kaepernick's side.

Too bad all they did was for PR and marketing purposes. Have any signed Kaepernick?

He doesn't have any clean socks

(see signature)

[Reaganfan]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

If that's the case, why is it that after Trump's remarks, NFL teams and owners, some of which even include Trump supporters, were kneeling in record numbers?

In all honesty? I don't know. I think it's an awful business decision. Maybe they feel white people will get over it while if they don't stand with their players then the players may walk.

[Inmate Trump]

BBB

So you advocate government getting involved in the employment decisions of private companies/organizations?

Since one of the supposed main goals of the GOP is to have less government interference in our lives, and assuming you both want less government interference in our lives too, I’m curious to know how you balance the two differing views on this issue.

And since you both think it presidential for him to call citizens SOBs, would you feel the same were it Obama? I know you’ll answer yes, but everyone knows that would be a lie.

[twenty42]

i voted BBB because this whole thing is making people angry with the SJW movement. The American public is going nuts over this, despite what the MSM is saying. Disapprovals for the anthem protest are blowing up social media left and right, and TV ratings for the NFL were terrible this past weekend.

All in all, I think the whole movement is firing up the right moreso than the left, which is bad news for anti-Trumpers. If I were a Democrat, I'd rather have the media talking about Russia than the anthem protests.

[publicunofficial]

I actually think Trump brought people together on this issue. Horrible rich assholes like Dan Snyder, Roger Goodell, and Jerry Jones were forced to be on Kaepernick's side.

Too bad all they did was for PR and marketing purposes. Have any signed Kaepernick?

No, and now people are taking the kneel-down and saying it they're using it to protest Trump, which is in effect completely obscuring Kaepernick's original purpose of protesting systemic racism and white supremacy in America, primarily the police.

I encourage you to watch today's viral clip of Shannon Sharpe on speaking on this issue if you haven't already. He called out people like Ray Lewis, who had previously said Kaepernick's kneel-down was disrespectful, for jumping on the bandwagon when it became an anti-Trump thing.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

AAA

[ProudModerate2]

i voted BBB because this whole thing is making people angry with the SJW movement. The American public is going nuts over this, despite what the MSM is saying. Disapprovals for the anthem protest are blowing up social media left and right, and TV ratings for the NFL were terrible this past weekend.

All in all, I think the whole movement is firing up the right moreso than the left, which is bad news for anti-Trumpers. If I were a Democrat, I'd rather have the media talking about Russia than the anthem protests.

The NFL and people loving to watch the games is going nowhere.
This entire nonsense that there is a "massive" ratings decline is all in your head.
Stop believing and parroting everything the New Fuhrer says, or else you will look just a foolish is he is.
And don't worry .... there will be many months/years ahead of us regarding "Russia" related matters to discuss.

[BoAtlantis]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

If that's the case, why is it that after Trump's remarks, NFL teams and owners, some of which even include Trump supporters, were kneeling in record numbers?

In all honesty? I don't know. I think it's an awful business decision. Maybe they feel white people will get over it while if they don't stand with their players then the players may walk.

Trump has the freedom to speak his mind about it but it's also perfectly within appropriate range for NFL players to show their reaction after being called SOB that should be fired. Whether you believe that's presidential is up to you but most would agree that a leader would try to understand both sides, or at least should not resort to insult.

Does it not speak volumes that the NFL is willing to sacrifice their short-term bottom line to be united against Trump? If NFL condones Trump, more bright NFL prospects perhaps will play less football in the future. NFL is declining in ratings, but it was happening even before kneeling started. It may be just a generational difference in entertainment. Many young people I know are more into watching competitive gaming, Netflix or don't even watch much sports.

While it's probably true that NFL is dragging its business down even further above and beyond the aforementioned, NFL is not going to fail anytime soon.

[pbrower2a]

A, A, A. It is not a question of the President's right to call for the firing of people who fail to show deference of him. He can say "Create some jobs for Republicans -- fire some Democrats!" if he so wishes.  It is a question of wisdom.

He is polarizing America not so much for what he is (as was the case for President Obama) but for what he does and says.  By calling people sons of bitches for showing contempt for his ideology and agenda, he does what earlier Presidents have never gotten away with in the past. 

Can a potential employer refuse to hire someone for a Bernie or Hillary bumper sticker? Sure. Or a bumper sticker saying "Sherrod Brown for the US Senate 2018"? Sure.

Political beliefs are generally not a BFOQ, but I would generally not accept any partisan activity by any employee on company time or property -- which includes a company car.   

[Fuzzy Says: "Abolish NPR!"]

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

I don't think it's OK for Trump to call folks SOB's.  And I don't think, on balance, that Trump should call for folks to be fired.  I don't think he's wrong to call people out on conduct, but those aspects of it, I have concluded, are way over the top.  Mike Pence would have responded to these gestures by saying "That's what freedom looks like and sounds like!", and he's right about that.

But, no, I don't believe Trump is dividing people further.  The divisions on display today have been there a long time, and I do believe that it's the BLM crowd and the leftists that are the most provocative.  Trump is someone who brings out these divisions, but he didn't cause them, and the folks on the left who have a vested interest in these divisions remaining don't want these divisions to disappear.  Trump has only shone light on this.

Having said that, it's a fair to question if Trump's illumination of existing divisions is a good thing.  I loathe "counterdemonstrators"; had they just stayed away in Charlottesville (along with the media), the alt-right would have gone back in their holes.  Those folks WANTED heated confrontation with the alt-right; in doing so, they made the alt-right look bigger than it is because they were now being compared to the size of the counterdemonstrator crowd, and not the size of the consensus of America who think they can go rot.  But Trump's actions have now put the BLM crowd on display, and given legitimacy to folks who, IMO, are showing contempt for America when they kneel for the flag.  Those folks, too, should probably ignored; they'd eventually go away and the issue left to serous folks and not attention junkies.  It's probably too late for that course of action now.

[TheSaint250]

1. Not doing either

2. He can say what he wants, and there not going to listen to him

3. Unpresidential

[Green Line]

BBB

Same^

And also, these questions are very biased.  The POINT is, respect the troops.  I don't hate the troops.

[HisGrace]

Voted A on the first two, no opinion on him calling people SOBs.

I get aggravated when people like LeBron James say Trump is "dividing" America due to his opinions on the national anthem protests.

The people taking a knee during the anthem are the ones beginning the divisions. They started it. That's the divide. Trump saying what millions of others agree with isn't dividing us.

Fake outrage over things that make no sense. That's why the Democratic Party isn't in positions of power.

"They started it" doesn't absolve Trump of responsibility for the effect of his own statements. The issue was created by players kneeling, but Trump's over the top reaction to it made the issue even more polarizing. It's not like only one person can be divisive at a time.

[Fuzzy Says: "Abolish NPR!"]

BBB

Same^

And also, these questions are very biased.  The POINT is, respect the troops.  I don't hate the troops.

The kindest thing I'll say about the kneelers is that they have some legitimate grievances, but they're taking it out on the wrong folks by kneeling.

[ProudModerate2]

BBB

Same^
And also, these questions are very biased.  The POINT is, respect the troops.  I don't hate the troops.

No one "hates the troops." Kapi never said he hates the troops. The new players, owners, coaches, anthem singers who have recently kneeled, have never said they hate the troops.

The POINT has nothing to do with "troops." It's just that the New Fuhrer wants the "mis-informed" segment of our society, to think it's about "disrespecting/hating troops," and you have fallen for it.
Why ?