Why take a Knee

Thoughts on athletes taking a knee? People act like football players and other athletes don't have opinions on what happens around the world. People think that because they are athletes they should and only care about the sport they play. Athletes like Colin Kaepernick, have a strong fan base that help and can were willing contribute. This is a great way to engage many and many to support his side. But He also had people who were against his thought. We need people like him to stand up, it gives everyone else the feeling of more power. it takes a lot of courage for an athlete to stand up for something like this because of all the hate they will receive during and after. These football can and should keep protesting how ever they want no matter the negatives. Without them having to worry about all the dangers.

LAPD somethings wrong

This event got me so mad that I had no clue where to being. Now I just ask myself one question why did the cops around the four officers hitting Rodney king not do something to stop the excessive force used against him? How is it that you can see that happen and morally not do something about it what thought was going through their minds as this act happened not one cope wrote in their report that excessive force was used all they did was write normal reports saying this was a normal call nothing strange had taken place this makes me so angry to the point where I thought all cops there should be in prison even now they had no right to go up to a jury the video was enough proof to show the corruption in police brutality.

National Anthem

Recently NFL players have been kneeling during the national anthem. There is only two reasons why the athletes knelled, it could be for the same reason Colin Keapernick kneed, but also it could just be because they are standing up to what Donald Trump said about players that knee are son of a bitches and that they should get fired. The reason Keapernick knelled was to protest about police brutality and the injustices in the black community. So over the weekend every football team had players that knelled during national anthem and that really triggered a lot of fans. They were mad because they didn't pay to watch them protest and kneel, and they think its very disrespectful and a lot of the fans are veterans so they are disrespecting them. There were many people that were on their side, for example, other athletes from different organizations were also mad about that Donald Trump said about people who kneel are stupid and son of a bitches. This shows how we are all coming together to stand up to Trumps stupidity. A question I have is, Are the NFL teams going to continue to kneel or was it just a one time thing? Another question is if, All the people knelling are going to do something else than just kneel? For example, Kaepernick donated money to organizations fighting for rights and standing up to whats wrong and he started an organization called "Know your rights.

Taking A Knee

When we were speaking about the NFL and the whole "taking a knee" movement, there was a lot of controversy between the fans and athletes and how quick the NFL supporters turned on them because of an action that was taken during the National Anthem. In my understanding, I believe that those who want to protest should have the right to. There was something that I was quickly noticing from the fans. There were many images on the web of signs that were basically arguing that the NFL is practically wasting their money watching the National Anthem when they are there for the game. Many people are not understanding what the purpose of taking a knee is to the point where many are becoming selfish about how their entertainment should be. The fact that the National Anthem has been around for the longest time is insane because now people are arguing that they are losing their money because they are paying for the game and not seeing the players take a knee. There have been many people that have gone to games and gone through with the National Anthem with NO PROBLEM. So why is it such a big deal now? You are paying to see the full game, if you feel so inclined, you may leave if you are not satisfied.

Taking A Knee

A trend across professional sports has come back in a big way. Professional athletes and now athletes of all ages are taking a knee during the national anthem to protest the unfair treatment of people of color. It started with the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sitting on the bench during the national anthem and later taking a knee. This was extremely controversial and has been spreading quickly across the nation. The debate now is whether it is their right to do so or if they should not be allowed to use their fame for politics and, as some view it, disrespecting veterans and the country. Although my view may be different from some people, especially at this school, I think that kneeling during the national anthem at a sporting event is not the time or place for civil disobedience. I think that it is there job to participate in all pregame rituals. They should all come out on the field together, warm up together, and participate in the national anthem together. I think that their message is extremely important and they are using their fame for a good cause but I think it should be off the field or after the game. Your workplace, even if you’re an athlete, should be a place for work, not protest.

"OJ" Used his fame for his good

OJ was a very smart man when it came to being a businessman. He became a very rich person due to many carriers. He became one of the most popular athlete who was ever know. His football career was the most successful part of him, he tried many other carriers. He was able to make many commercials with the help of white Americans who supported him. His commercials started when he came up with the idea of “Hertz”. Other than football he tried being a Hollywood actor, he was part of many movies but he wasn't so good. Every white person who knew him, viewed him as OJ and not for an African American. He was a “black man with white features”. Many African Americans hated him because he never got involved in the injustice of police brutality and black rights.

Movies...speaking of the power of images.

Ponder.  Perhaps people are easily seduced by entertainment...

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/sd-movies-history-american-made-tom-cruise-20170927-story.html

Race the illusion, part 2

One thing that confused me and got me thinking in the program “Race: The power of an illusion” was when the guy who said he knew that his great-grandma was from Ukraine, found out he had as many similarities with someone from Iceland and the Balkans as well. This in itself was not very confusing, it actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Everyone has a pair of parents, two pairs of grandparents, four pairs of great-grandparents and so on. It doubles every time. This means that if we go back only a few hundred years, there would be more people in Europe than there have ever lived there, which is obviously not the case. Rather, this means that everyone who now lives in Europe or is of European descent (e.g. “white” people) have a common ancestor just a few generations back (so the people saying things like “I’m related to Charlemagne” aren’t really that cool, because pretty much all Europeans are.)

But all of this doesn’t mean that his great-grandma wasn’t from Ukraine, but the way he reacted seemed like he thought so, or that where his great grandmother was from wasn’t as important anymore, which is what confused me (He said “we always thought that my great-grandmother was this farm girl living in the Ukraine”). I think that our family history is important, fascinating and positive, as long as it’s not being used to put other people or groups down.

Race the illusion, part 1

After we viewed the PBS program: “Race: the power of an illusion” in class, I realized how much of a cultural and social construct race really is. The fact that had the biggest impact on me was that there can be more differences between two individuals within a “race” than two individuals of different races. For example, I, as a white person from Sweden, could potentially have more genetic similarities with a black person from Mali than that same person would have with someone from South Africa.

I think the most important thing we all should learn from the program is that race as we think of it is really just a tool for categorization and then oppression, and was invented not that long ago. Humans love to categorize things, and I think race is a manifestation of that. I really think that the whole “colors” thing is pretty ridiculous concept, because, like I said earlier, I as a “white” guy could be very similar to a “black” guy or girl. That being said, race certainly still is one of the largest factors of oppression in America today, and even if we like it or not (we don’t, or shouldn’t) race does matter.

Taking a knee, unamerican or very american.

Taking a knee, unamerican or very american. when asked in class if politics should be mixed in with sports. i had to take a minute to think it over. some say that sports are for entertainment and are used as a way to escape the outside world to watch your favorite team play a sport you enjoy watching, so why bring in politics. The other side to that say that sports have been intertwined with politics forever and that there is no way to separate them. personally i think that politics and other things enter every aspect of our live no matter how hard we try to separate them. protesting could be the most american thing you can do a few examples would be protesting the British imposed taxes, protesting segregation, protesting the Vietnam war, protesting for legalizing gay marriage, etc you get what i mean. the outrage people are feeling is caused by the misunderstanding of the meaning of this protest people believe that they are taking a knee to disrespect the american flag and our military force but the reality is they do not want to admit what the protest is really about. it's about police brutality, racial tensions, and racial and gender inequality. so my question is taking a knee unamerican or very american?

The Convenience of Protests

As the NFL protest finds its way into our national spotlight, a lot of fans find themselves torn between the respect they were taught to have as children for the American flag and respecting the rights of these public figures to express their opinions. Personally, I wholeheartedly support these players because I think it's really important to foster intellectual discord in a democracy. 

Though one could certainly argue that these players should not be protesting because they are paid by fans that came to see a game, it is important to realize that they are not actually disrupting the games and that this is a great example of peaceful protest. Furthermore, it really should be point out that these players do not "owe" it to their fans to suppress their own political beliefs, they exist outside of the game and so do their problems. If you're going to have a field that is dominated by black excellence, expect social activism to make its entrance. We are past the point at which black excellence is suppose to separate the person from being black. 

Additionally, some people have also suggest that the athletes should really be doing this on their own time and not on the fans'; to which I would like to raise the point that social activism, for many, is not "a hobby", but a life work and legacy that aims to inspire change for the generations after. There will never be a "right" time and place to protest because it is meant to be disruptive; it is a tool to bring attention to things that people might not have to think about before. In terms of achieving that goal, peacefully kneeling during the anthem certainly raises a conversation without risking riots or looting or things that actually detrimental to society. If you do not want people to protest on the streets because it can lead to potential violence and the absence of tangible demonstrations can lull people into thinking that there are little to no injustice and you do not want people to quietly protest on a more individual level; can you really say that America give its citizens the right to assemble? 

Was it bad that OJ Simpson "sold out"

OJ Simpson was an outstanding running back that played in a controversial time. His extraordinary talent on the football field led him to be in a bubble shielded away from the civil rights movement. Because life was going his way, he didn't want to get caught up in the movement most likely in fear of losing his opportunities and preserving himself. He wanted to be seen as OJ rather than being seen as African American. Some people believed that he had a responsibility to sticking up for the Black community because he was in a role model position that could have had the ability to highly influence others, and the only reason he was there was that he had doors opened for him by others before him fighting for the civil rights movement. Should someone have to stick up for their community, or should they be able to pursue the life that they want? Was it selfish on OJ for looking out for himself, or was it selfish on the Black community for expecting for someone to risk their career in order to fight for them?

I will take a knee

I won’t be standing with my right hand on my heart for varsity games, I will be taking a knee for what I believe in. A controversial topic has come to my attention, Colin Kaepernick taking a knee because he won't stand for a country who oppresses black people and people of color. I strongly relate with this although many think that a football game is not the place to protest. I decide to peacefully protest and take advantage that I am an athlete a cheerleading captain. The time I get on that field is my opportunity to show what I believe in. I want to model for my teammates that we have freedom and we should take advantage of that freedom to show others what in our eyes is wrong. My coach has a different opinion and for a long time I have wanted to make a difference in my team. As a family we should all be able to accept that we have differences and should be able to support each other. I am a very open person who will share my thoughts with my teammates and I don’t mind if we have different beliefs as long as we can easily try to understand where we are coming from.  Before I mentioned to my coach that I would be taking a knee during the national anthem I was afraid that she would not understand, but after talking to Ms.B I now realize that things mean the most when you put something else on the line for it.

The LA/Rodney King riots of 1992

The LA riots of Rodney King was a landmark in how the US viewed it's police force. The discrimination, racism, and a lack of justice between those in authority and the people causes major tension amidst the community, which when the Rodney King beating tape was released, caused a major uproar in the community that the police didn't want to stop as they were only destroying their own community. This conflict soon evolved into a riot that had 1 billion in damages, killed more than 60 people, injured over 2000 more, and over 3000 shops destroyed by burning during the riots. This was one of the most destructive riots ever caught on television, and was thought as the spark that caused the nation to become aware of the problem through their television's of the poverty, discrimination, and brutality that happens in their nation. This allowed many civil rights groups to gain support over ensuring rights towards all citizens, most notably towards getting rid of police brutality and superiority.

Sources:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/riots-erupt-in-los-angeles

National Athem

The National Anthem is a traditional, musically composed songs which bring together the culture and struggles of many people. It became official in 1931, but was dated and recorded back up until 1814. It becomes most known and outstretches during the time of war when people respected and owed so much to those who were risking their lives to make the world a safer place. During the World Wars 1 and 2, this grew widespread and people began playing the anthem at ball games and started a tradition people will still uphold today until this past year.

#TakeAKnee is a widespread tag that going around the media and spreading across quite far through the nation. It began when a former quarterback from the 49ers, Colin Kaepernick, is outcasted as he is the first to be witness when he knelt down during the National Anthem singing during the beginning of a football game in order to show his opinions on police brutality and his longing for the promise racial justice and equality to come true. When it comes to people saying how football is not a time for politics one could argue that, that is a false statement because it is a time to show and represent how America is a failing and doing enough for all types of people. Even though this could have been seen as awful timing and disrespect to the country when one feels they or their people are being oppressed is it their right to peacefully protest, and that's what he did, showing his opinion and not changing standing up for his values and no being influenced by others. Also, the anthem could also be taken another look at because its reference to its early times of white supremacy which most seem to miss.

It wasn't until our President, Donald Trump put this up to blast with his treat and reference to the word b**** that really put one at ease and reconsidered why Kaepernick made the decision he did. In retaliation and most NFL players, some coaches and other people reacted against the comments of our president and linked arms or kneeled in protest of the words of our Trump. 

#TakeAKnee is for many who want to show their support for the decisions and demonstrations NFL players are putting against the higher authorities, in defiance against Donald Trump, before matches. This has gone and become an inspiring and motivation tag where celebrities brighten and taken upon themselves to spread all through social media to reflect the solidarity they need to build up in order to express what they feel and the flaws in the governing system. Everyone represents each other and everyone unites in the end so why are other isolating people for their freedom of speech and expression. 

https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/colin-kaepernick-stood-justice-kneeling-during-national-anthem

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/sep/25/short-history-national-anthem-and-sports/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/taking-a-knee-national-anthem-nfl-trump-why-meaning-origins-racism-us-colin-kaepernick-a7966961.html

Municipalities and Police Departments

We learned that there are many municipalities in the state of Missouri. Municipalities are cities that have local governments and hold a lot of power, and each city in MO has a police department. This created a problem for the residents in MO, people can be pulled over by police in the many cities for the same minor offense. Offenses that would give you a ticket. These tickets pile up and create debt, leaving people homeless or put people in jail and then be homeless. The police officers are also a problem, we learned that more police officers do not equal more protection, these officers are not trained properly because the standards are lower so more people get accepted. Quantity over quality. We get police officers making poor choices, and they lose trust from the public.

Mass Incarceration of Black People

Between 1980 to 2015 the number of people incarcerated increased from 500,000 people to 2.2 million, according to (NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet). In 2014, African Americans made up 2.3 million or 34% of the total 6.8 million people in correctional facilities. African Americans were are incarcerated 5 times the rate of white men. As for women the imprisonment rate for African American women is twice that of white women. Nationwide, African American children represent 32% for children who are arrested, 42% who are detained, and 52% of those children cases were waived to criminal court. One of the factors is the inner city crime prompted by social and economic isolation. The poverty and social norm of gangs in these areas cause young black Americans to "fall into the wrong crowd." The effects of this is they now have a criminal record which will reduce the likelihood of a call back or job offer by about 50%. This is about twice as large for people of color. In order to change this, in my opinion we need to have clubs and activities for minorities to get help. We need to have a study center where kids can go after school to get help with school work and introduce them to things that they like and want to pursue as a career. We need to minimize the time these young kids are on the street because that leads to them being involved in gangs. Which causes more crime and these young black men becoming a social outcast in society.

The Effects of Getting Pulled Over

In class today we learned about Saint Louis and how its surrounding towns near them. These towns create laws to prohibit minorities from moving in. In the Ferguson documentary, there was a scene where they were interviewing a couple of African-American men and they were complaining how they could be driving about 3 miles and get pulled over about 5 times because they passed through 5 cities with there own police departments. If they had a broken taillight and they were pulled over for it, they will most likely get pulled over again for the same offense in other cities they pass through. These people are hard working men who provide for there family and live pay check to pay check. They are constantly making decisions weather to pay their ticket or feed their family. If they don't have the money to pay for their ticket they will be held in jail. Keep in mind they still have other outstanding tickets in other cities based on the same offense. The only way they leave is if they pay their ticket or the police department decides to release them. The problem with this is that the next day these working men need to be at their jobs and if they don't show up to work they loose their jobs causing their income to depreciate. This then results in poverty and this cycle repeats.

Beware The Slender Man Documentary

A few weeks ago, we watched the documentary about Slender Man who was created by the Creepy Pasta site. After the success of the scary story targeting teens, the character was linked to the stabbing of 12 year old Payton Leutner. The reason for the attack came from two young girls named Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser. They both believed that Slender Man was real and to protect their families they had to kill Payton. Payton was lured into the woods by both Anissa and Morgan. Morgan stabbed Payton 19 times while Anissa was just watching the horrific scene. Payton managed to crawl out of the woods where she was found by a cyclist. When the girls were both being interviewed by police officials, they seemed to be throwing each other under the bus but the person that seemed more suspicious was Morgan who was asking about her friend Payton. During the trial, they only looked at whether she is legally responsible for the crime or not guilty because of mental illness. The parents of the girls seemed to feel a sense of guilt because they could have done something. Morgans father seemed to feel the most guilt because he used to have similar mental problems and didn't know that Morgan could suffer from them as well. While Morgan was sent to a mental institution, although she pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. Anissa was considered mentally ill and not serving prison time. Both girls are 15 years old this year.

Prussian Blue

Prussian Blue was a band nationalist pop group made up of fraternal sisters Lynx Gaede and
Lamb Gaede. They were formed by their mother April Gaede and lamb Lennon Gaede who started the band in 2003. Their songs were those that promoted indirect hate and the group often referred to the Holocaust as being a myth.

So here's a little of their life before and after the band.
The fraternal twins were born on June 30,1992 n Bakersfield California to German American parents. They were homeschooled by their mom, who herself was raised in Nazi ideology by her father, using the very same ideology. They were raised told being that Hitler was an amazing man and denying all nazi wrongdoings. The twins first performed at euro fest 2001, a white nationalist festival where they sang. The following year they learned how to play instruments and in 2003 appeared on a VH1 special hate rock and then on a BBC documentary Louis and the Nazis. The duo released their debut album towards the end of 2004 but after 6 years the twins decided to stop touring altogether. When they decided to stop touring they had a new album coming out that was very different from their first album which spewed hate.When asked about why they stuck with the name Prussian blue they said that it was a nod to their German heritage and later said that it raises the question of the lack of it in the gas chambers which they said should show that the killings within these chambers never happened. In 2011 they publicly said in an interview with The Daily that they no longer were white nationalist and were liberal. Many suspect their change to liberalism was due to the fact that one of the twins started using marijuana to help lower the symptoms of cancer and became active supporters for the legalization of marijuana

http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2005/10/27/the-bittersweet-melody-of-racist-tunes/
https://journalism.nyu.edu/publishing/archives/pressethic/node/594
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/yvba8m/hello-v11n10
http://www.ashford.zone/2015/09/kkkkids-where-are-they-now

Police Brutality

In the past few days we've been watching a film related to racism and how white supremacist treat colored people. I think it's so sad how these people treat colored people and how they think of them they literally treat them like trash like as if they don't mean anything. Also, how police abuse of their power to treat colored people badly by beating them etc. It's sad that this problem hasn't gotten any better since then . I find the interviews with the white supremacist so interesting because of how they think they have this mentality of like just plain hatred towards this race that hasn't done anything to them . Cases related to police brutality really catch my attention for instance like the Trayvon Martin incident or the Oscar Grant case of course there is way more incidents  like this that have happened. It's truly pathetic how they lost their life due to false accusations all because of stereotypes . Hopefully all this police brutality will once end and we will all be treated equally and certain races will not be viewed as less than.

Christian McCaffrey, Robbed of Heisman Trophy?

In the CBS article about Ed McCaffrey speaking on his son and his accomplishments at Stanford, a light is shed on how the white running back has always lived in the shadows of the more traditional black running back. When Christian was asked when the last time a white running back won the Heisman, he had no idea that the last man to win it was John Capaletti...in 1973. The Heisman winner is supposed to be represented by the best all around and most versatile college football player in the nation. Although Christian McCaffrey has the best numbers by far out of all the running backs in CFB, he was still stripped of the Heisman Trophy, and lost to Derrick Henry, a black running back from the University of Alabama. Henry was not nearly as versatile as McCaffrey and did not match the stats he put up in that single-season. Moving into the NFL combine, a series of drills to showcase your skills for NFL scouts, Christian McCaffrey shined as one of the greatest and most well-rounded running backs heading into the draft. However, when the NFL draft came around, he was the second running back selected in the draft, behind Leonard Fournette, a black running back out of Louisiana State University. Although McCaffrey had a way better performance at the combine, Fournette was selected over him. So, I wanted to ask, do you think that the white running backs are living the shadows of the black running backs? Why do you think that is?

SAE Frat allegations

Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded on March 9, 1856, at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Sigma Alpha Epsilon also know as SAE. In the last decade SAE has had quite the reputation for being the bad fraternity or in other words most grimy. In November 2015, in the Yale chapter they would have a party and have a rule of "white girl only". The students not letting in girls of color. 
          Then there is the question can the chapter be punished for their discrimination to peoples race. There is the other side that the fraternity house is private property and can allow the students to discriminate. Is the students first amendment protecting the students right to discriminate and only allow white girls into their party. SAE's national organization took a look into the allegations and found out that the chapter was trying to lt less people in because of recent police complaints. It is still wrong to reject all people of color. As bad as it is the chapter has the right to if the school permit it because the fraternity is a part of the school. So the school needs to take action step up and make sure this fraternity isn't out of hand.

Rodney King Riot and William Parker

Today in class we continued with our topic on Los Angeles riots and how it is a very important part in history. Initially we looked at the Rodney King trial where police beat up Rodney after they claimed "he wasn't complying and resisting arrest." He then later was rushed to the hospital and spent two months recovering from the beating. They moved his trial away from Los Angeles because they knew that the jurors have seen the video of him being beaten. They moved the trial to a conservative community composed of mainly white elderly people who gave the police the benefit of the doubt. During all of this Los Angeles was in a riot for six days, about fifty people died and caused over 1 billion dollars in damage. African-Americans were just tired of constantly being oppressed by the police. One of the key reasons why was because of William Parker, the police chief for LAPD during the time. He recruited racist southern veterans as police officers to LAPD in order to control "these people." He taught military tactics which is not what LAPD is supposed to train their officers. He wanted to separate whites from black people. Since these riots I feel that in America today we have progressed in racial equality, but there are still some incidences with police brutality. These cops who do commit these crimes are not being charged in the legal system. In order for this to change we need to either change who ever is judging these cops or create a separate group of prosecutors used specifically for cases regarding police brutality. If this keeps going and doesn't get put to an end I don't see why not there wont be another riot like there was during Rodney King trail.

Cyberbullying

I recently read this article from Dailymail.co.uk on a website that I, along with many other people used to and still use today, called Ask.fm. This website allows people to ask questions or write statements to people anonymously. "On the site, you can anonymously ask questions of registered users, shrouding your own identity in hopes of getting the most honest answer with the least judgment."¹ This is a quote that I got from Time Magazine when they interviewed the founders of Ask.fm. This shows the intended reason for the website was to get the most honest answer without any bias on who is asking or seeing it. The issue with the website is the anonymity aspect because the immature teenagers who use the website, feel that if they are anonymous, they can say whatever they want, even if it is hurtful, and receive no backlash. About 42% of people who use Ask.fm are under the age of 17 which results in a lot of highschoolers on the website and in those stages, could be very vulnerable to cyber attacks and shaming. The DailyMail article pointed out how 5 teenagers have killed themselves over things that they have received to their account. Many people say that its as easy as just shutting the computer screen or logging off, but those thoughts have already been put into the mind of these teenagers that someone, if not multiple people, are thinking this horrible thing about them. This honestly shows how teenagers can't have nice things and services like this because those few people who like to screw it up and ruin everything. One of the fathers of the teenagers who committed suicide, Dave Smith, has been begging the Prime Minister to ban ask.fm. Just some of the things said to his daughter were to 'drink bleach', 'get cancer' and 'go die'. One thing I would say about this cyberbullying is that it is happening all over the internet with the anonymous trolls and that no place would be safe from this type of torment, especially ones that offer this type of anonymity.

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1 http://time.com/2923146/ask-fm-interview/

Police Brutality

Police Brutality is something that people have really starting to take notice in the past four years. But, this has been going on for over twenty years, we learned in class about various groups such as NWA who have addressed police brutality multiple times in their songs. How the black panther group was created to patrol Oakland ghettos to prevent police brutality. Now everything has shifted to social media, and people are recording their incidences with police and uploading it to the interment for everyone to see. I'm sure everyone has seen a video of a cop abusing his power and take it to the extent where the victim has been killed or severely hurt. For example, there was this incident not long ago where a cop pulled over a driver for a DUI charge and the women was hesitant to bring her hands down to get her phone because she was scared she was going to get shot. The Cobb County police officer later replied and said "remember, we only kill black people. We only kill black people right?" Having a police officer who's job is to protect and serve say: "we only kill black people," doesn't exactly give black people much hope knowing that the legal system is backed up by racists. That is why I don't see an ending to police brutality anytime soon.