This Candidate Beto Gave One Helluva Historical Context About Kaepernick's and NFL Players' Rights To Protest, To An All-White Constituency In Texas. #BlackLivesMatter
It's not perfect. But for a guy running for office, in a traditionally conservative RW state, in a racially contentious time, this off-the-cuff answer deserves some credit.
It's worth watching, and is less than 5 minutes. But for those who like transcripts (as I do) here's the pertinent stuff:
...Reasonable people can disagree on this issue. Let's begin there and it makes them no less American to come down on a different conclusion on this issue.
...But I'm reminded, somebody mentioned reading the Taylor Branch book, "Parting The Waters," in the King years.
And when you read that book and find out what Dr. King and this nonviolent, peaceful movement - to secure better because they didn't get full civil rights for their fellow Americans. The challenges that they faced; those who died in Philadelphia, Mississippi for the crime of trying to be a man, trying to be a woman in this country, the young girls who died in the church bombing; those who were beaten within an inch of their life crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama with John Lewis; those who were punched in the face, spat upon, dragged out by their collar at the Woolworth lunch counter for sitting with white people at the same lunch counter, in the same country where their fathers may have bled the same blood on the battlefields of Omaha Beach or Okinawa or anywhere that anyone ever served this country. The freedoms that we have were purchased not just by those in uniform, and they definitely were, but also by those who took their lives into their hands riding those Greyhound buses, the Freedom Riders in the deep south in the 1960's, who knew well that they would be arrested; and they were serving time in the Mississippi State Penitentiary, Rosa Parks getting from the back of the bus to the front of the bus, peaceful nonviolent protests, including taking a knee at a football game to point out that black men unarmed black teenagers
unarmed and black children unarmed are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice.And this problem, as grave as it is, is not going to fix itself. They're frustrated, frankly, with people like me, and those in positions of public trust and power who have been unable to resolve this or bring justice for what has been done, and to stop it from continuing to happen in this country.
And so non-violently, peacefully, while the eyes of this country are watching these games, they take a knee to bring our attention and our focus to this problem, to ensure that we fix it - that is why they are doing it.
And I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee, for or your rights, anytime, any place.
(Apologies for the jagged transcription, which is often the case when copying and editing from YouTube)
He deserves credit for reminding folks that Blacks were still treated like second class citizens, during and when they came home from the Second World War (Harry Belafonte speaks very clearly about this, from his personal experience). There's so much more there, including the official red-lining home-buying policies to keep communities segregated and the obvious voting rights brutality and all-encompassing Jim Crow oppression in every aspect of life.
But it's also obvious he feels compelled to give the sickening obligatory, knee jerk praise to our military for our "freedoms" (though thankfully stops short of calling them "heroes"). The rest was more than I've heard in a long while from a high-profile candidate, so I'm willing to let it slide because the most all of it was delivered so well, and genuine and dignified.
While I'm thinking of the great Harry Belafonte I'd thought I'd include this too. He makes a lot of the points and more that Beto is making, and makes minced meat out of Hillary and Obama for their roles in abandoning the work of the people and allowing institutional racism to be overlooked as representatives of the feckless Democratic Party. He does this to their faces. I've watched this a few times and it never fails to satisfy.
(for some idea about its power, check out the first comment on this YouTube link: "THIS is why I love the internet! A 67 year old white man laying restless in bed at two in the morning, randomly surfing to pass the time, and here I lay with tears on my cheeks wondering why in Hell have I never heard this speech before. A passionate, caring human being speaking truth from the heart, laying his pain, his compassion and his anger out for all to hear. Thank you for posting this.")
Today's Guardian, "Hundreds dead, no one charged: the uphill battle against Los Angeles police killings."
Police in America kill more people in days than other countries do in years, and Los Angeles law enforcement has repeatedly led the US with its body count, according to The Counted, a Guardian US project that tracked deaths at the hands of law enforcement.
From 2010 to 2014, police in LA county shot 375 people, about one person every five days. Black residents make up 9% of the population, but represented 24% of deaths.
Across the US, the odds are stacked against families who look to courts for justice. Charges are extremely rare and convictions even rarer, with the law widely protecting officers who claim they feared for their lives. In LA, the odds of prosecution are effectively zero.
Since 2000, there have been no charges for the more than 1,500 shootings by police in the county. Since the district attorney Jackie Lacey was elected in 2012, roughly 400 people have been killed by on-duty officers or died in custody, according to Black Lives Matter LA. Lacey even declined to file charges when the chief of the LA police department (LAPD) called for the prosecution of one of his own officers.
I think the NFL protests sparked by #Kap could really potential be a game changer (no pun intended) in terms of America being forced to have a reckoning with institutional racism, police brutality and economic injustice. If the players unify in solidarity and consider striking, the way the Mizzou college football team did to successfully oust their university president for being unresponsive to legitimate concerns of campus racism, we could be in for a thrilling ride that combines workers rights, police accountability and racial economic injustice.
This is exactly the kind of conversation that needs to happen. That it comes from a candidate on the campaign trail is encouraging.
Comments
Not paying much attention to electoral pols. But this compelled
me to share.
Greetings all. I'm not long for the night. Another week in the annals of being the middle-aged, full-time stay-at-home Dad. And I'm spent.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Toddlers will tear you up!
I watch my neice's kids
from time to time, and after an hour or two
I'm about done for the day. Ready for rehab.
My mom raised seven of us.
I truly have no idea how she did that.
Certainly among the toughest jobs in the world! Bar none.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Wow! He’s got my vote (I wish!).
FIRST JUST let me say that my Dad was in the Navy, my brother John was in the Air Force, my brother Bobby was in the Army, and Tommy was in the Marines. My ex fiancé & 1st husband, as well as an ex boyfriend Alan Larsen, who came back in a body bag from Vietnam. we’re also in the Army. Those three were drafted and sent someplace they never wanted to go. Oh! and the person I loved more than anyone else in my life, my Great-Grandfather, fought in the trenches in WWI.
Back to Beto. That was an amazing speech. And the crowd thought so too. He had facts and logic and compassion all at his fingertips. I REALLY like that guy.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
I slowly get to know you and wished I had earlier on
I remember other comments that were personal to you. They make me want to express my sadness for what your family has gone through in their service in Europe and Vietnam. Just saying, it took a long time to put your comments and essays in context and I am thankful you gave me the opportunity to do so now.
Thank you.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
Potential prez candidate
down the road. Maybe 2028
or '32, later. But, a "back burner" that has a Lot of upside!
I see few on the horizon with more than this guy's got!
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
He certainly does have a genuineness and charisma.
Found myself thinking the exact same thing, that there was something eminently likable about him. Almost like a Mr. Smith Goes To Washington kind of way.
Then I caught myself, and I shuddered for a moment. It was the same feeling I had when first seeing Obama. And we all know what happened there...
At this point he's making observations that need making, with the kind of profile to get people talking, and he's doing a fine job at it.
For me the most important thing lately is Changing The Narrative to things that really matter. Anybody who does that is potentially an ally, insofar as that person's commitment to helping change that status quo by exposing truths, in this case framing historical ones that rarely get talked about in public.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Incredible speech
It's long past time for us to have a talk about cops getting away with murder and people giving them cover for it by blaming the people who get killed by them. I'm sure that most of you have heard what they say after each murder.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Like the way he began by implying that the longer we don't
address and grapple with these kinds of things the more it gets marred by misunderstanding, malfeasance and lies.
I am fiercely of the mind that we need a very serious national conversation about the role of cops in society. I think there's ample evidence to either diminish or abolish their place (I like to throw the radical out there for some folks to chew on, because the movement to Abolish The Police is worthwhile to hear and not as extreme as it may sound). Check out professor Alex Vitale's writing on it.
I also think there's a very big opportunity right now for the NFL players to spearhead a long overdue entre into opening up a conversation dealing with how widespread and deep racial profiling and police brutality are, by getting on camera to tell their personal stories of being afflicted by this ugly racism (and every single one of them has at least a handful of them).
If you haven't checked out that Concerned Citizen 1950 film about the Mizzou protest that ousted the university president, you have to watch it. It's riveting and so powerful; the potential there is enormous. Been meaning to write it up as an essay tied in with the NFL's potential power but haven't gotten back to it.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
What a great idea to have football players who are
taking the knee to make a short video to describe why they are doing it and to tell people what happened to them or their friends and family.
As to this:
This is another great point. Cops have been killing blacks for years, but it seemed to explode during Obama's tenure and how often did he address it? The only two things I remember him doing is when the cop arrested a black professor who was at his house Obama invited them to the White House for a "conversation." And then when Trayvon Martin was killed he said that he could have been his son.
I'd think that Tamar Rice could have been his son too. The Cleveland police had been investigated 10 years prior to his death, but they never cleaned up their act. Obama should have sent his attorney general Holder who was black into Cleveland and made them do it while Obama addressed the nation about his death.
Obama stayed silent on the other killings too, but where he failed the black community the most was when the Ferguson police created the riots because of the way they ramped up the violence against the protesters who had just cause to protest Michael Brown's murder. But no. The first black American president did nothing to address what was happening during his tenure.
I'll look for the movie and see if it's available. Great comment and essay, Mark.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Agree, great to see, just wish he had voted against the
latest defense contractor giveaway.
A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.
Beto O'Rourke
Beto reminds me a little of Bobby Kennedy with his gestures and passion about civil rights. I hope he beats the insufferable Ted Cruz.
Damn, he really does. And that's what had me hesitating too.
I know nothing about the polls. But it would seem he should roll a clown like Cruz easily.
I'll bet this guy has legions of volunteers (provided his platforms are similar to the Democratic Socialists that have been trouncing Neoliberal Dems and would fascist NeoCons alike) who will get out and blanket areas with canvassers (our own Marilyn Hagle is a volunteer). How many people will drag themselves out in the hot Texan sun to canvass for a bizzaro humano like Cruz?
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Going to an organizing rally at 3:30
Today. Hope to meet some good folks.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
I've been following this race since it started
on another blog. Beto O'Rourke will win. Being a Floridian Futurist, I wish we had a choice like this one. Always good to read you, MfQ. Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Good to see you too.
I've been peaking in on The Progressive Wing a little lately on my rounds around the TOP expatriate sites. But haven't read the Beto stuff much.
Feel free to fill us in.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Right except here's what the audience really thinks:
1) I don't understand why they're doing this, therefore they're "inappropriate."
2) Football is (here's the word they don't want to use, but they mean it) sacred and therefore a football game is neither the time nor the place to be conducting protests.
I know this because I have students in an English class I'm "teaching" whose topics for the longer paper are about why Colin Kaepernick's protests were inappropriate.
"there's something so especially sadistic about waving the flag of a country that you're actively destroying" -- Aaron Mate
Not Beto's audiences
His audiences are Dems. One of my high school friends is a fan. Now, the more conservative, football worshipers around this state who have no problem passing a bond referendum for a $37 million high school football stadium (that's already cracking & could be unsafe)? You are correct, except they are more like, 'Sorry my ancestors brought you people over here, but if you refuse to respect the military, flag and National Anthem, then go back to Africa!' That was posted by a relative on Facebook.
Trump has helped to make this about forced patriotism, and has buried the real reason behind the protest. No one ever responds to my comments on Facebook when I say if we are going to force patriotism on our population, we should change the name of our country to North Korea. Go figure.
I think Cass was talking about people like your friend
The audience he referred to is the football ones not Beto's.
Even if people do understand why they are kneeling they say that they shouldn't be allowed to do it while they are on their job.
"I wouldn't be able to protest something while I am working because my boss would fire me."
I don't see kneeling as protesting as much as Kap was trying to start a conversation about the cop killings. You're right though that Trump made it about forced patriotism. The military should be spending the money that they are wasting by flying their jets on veterans!
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I thought about that afterward (audience)
I've heard the protesting at work thing too. Thing is, who else has to listen to that song at work and is expected to stand up for it? You can bet your ass I'd refuse to stand for it if they pulled that shit where I work, and it would be my own protest against attempting to force robotic patriotism on me.
I actually had it out with my dad's cousin on FB about this. I even posted a link and excerpt from ESPN about how a veteran convinced Kap to kneel instead of sit, out of respect for the fallen, like the vet said they do for their own, but all he could do was talk about how he had killed people for my freedom. Then came the groupie-like rah rah rah thank you for your service bullshit. Gag!
I couldn't agree more, though, about using the stupid waste of money on the fly overs on actual veterans. Such a stupid waste imo.
I'd like to know what war was for defending our freedoms?
Anyone who has been involved in a war during the last century has not fought to defend our freedoms or the country. None of them since 9/11 had anything to do with that. NEXT time your cousin tells you that give him the link to Butler's War is a Racket. Smedley says it better than anyone.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Exhibit #395 of why the MSM is the main enemy to ALL progress
So sad that students can be so malleable, in a day and age where there is so much information available to anyone with the faintest curiosity about anything. But therein lies the catch.
Most folks, as Samuel Clemens would say, get their politics like their religion:
Taken further, Twain thought everyone had "Corn-Pone Opinions."
I agree about the "sacredness" of football. It's been in the works and building for decades now. Remember when the Super Bowl was just another big game? Now it's a bonafide, stop-everything, major holiday.
I confess I am (was) a huge football fan. But the #Kap thing leading to my #Boycott these past couple of years has been in the making for many years. So sick of the Air Force flyovers, RW owner domination, the flagrant and excessive dopey he-man/misogynistic advertisements, the constant blitzkrieg of military veneration and a stadium full of belligerent, knuckle-drgagging, RW, bigoted morons, so many cops and firefighters (as well as Wall St criminals in the glassed-in boxed seats).
Another hope of mine is the potential to expose extremely dark underbelly of the college football (talk about Sacred, ever go to those outings/games?) plantation world. The top universities are making so many millions of dollars off of student player talent that get paid not a single dime, despite being the reason for sold out stadiums that sometimes exceeed 80k and record-high merchandise sales. But not only that, they're subject the most insane restrictions with respect to what they can accept as gifts, and sometimes, get this - even go to be hungry - because they don't have enough money to eat.
Former NY Times reporter Joe Nocera has written a lot about how college sports is completely out of control as Big Business.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Football appears to be sacred in certain parts of the US
most notably Ohio and the South. Its popularity is probably connected to its origins in the Civil War -- Ohio was a major supplier of Union troops whereas the South lost the war.
"there's something so especially sadistic about waving the flag of a country that you're actively destroying" -- Aaron Mate
It is enormously popular, but,
not everyone in the South is in agreement with DT's hyper--and I would say, totally phony--patriotism. As a matter of fact, most folks are repelled by it--as they should be. His 'supplicants' are an obvious exception.
I have few views that are in keeping with a 'typical Southerner' on any side of the political isle, in spite on having spent several years there growing up, and living part-time on the Gulf Coast.
But, I have to admit, to this day, I totally enjoy the national (college) playoffs. Hey, it would be impossible to have lived in Alabama during the era of Paul 'Bear' Bryant, and not have a little football in your blood!
Regarding professional football, that's always been a snoozer (for me).
Postcript: Just heard that McCain has passed away. Sorta figured that it was a Barbara Bush scenario--that his time was near.
Blue Onyx
"Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong."
~~W. R. Purche
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."~~Lao Tzu
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
You're on fire with your comments
The biggest thing that needs to be fixed in regards to the NFL is that it's a non profit. How the Hell are they certified as non profits when they make billions and then they get us to foot the bill for their stadiums?
As to college football players I thought that this was being addressed? All it would take is for them to not show up to a week's worth of games and I bet that problem would be fixed PDQ!
Then there's the way that the NFL covered up repeated head injuries. The information on CTE was known by team doctors, but got was kept from the players so the owners could continue to roll in the money! Anyone listen to Joe Montana lately? Or Steve Young? I can tell that there is something wrong with them from the way they speak.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Threats to Freedom Are Both Foreign and Domestic.
Military handles foreign threats, but who handles the domestic threats?
What if the President, another branch, or the whole government itself is threatening freedom?
Good on Beto. I hope people hear his message.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
You get Fascism
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
I Would Say You Get Protest, and the Citizenry Serve the
function of protecting freedom. Often AGAINST the military.
If that is quashed, either by government or factions of the citizenry themselves, THEN you wind up with something like fascism.
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Not sure about the military
getting overtly involved, leave it
to the police. Wasn't Occupy/Boston Marathon
test runs?
Fascism around the fringes already manifesting
itself, tipping point is?
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Every One of Those Gunners Who're Gonna Take Out the
Gubbermint?
Who do ya think they're gonna be shootin' at?
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
I was sayin protest was squashed already
police came a callin dressed as
military, with them police killing already.
Maybe talking past each other as govt is
already at the point of being fascist, needing
to be stepped back by protest, then comes
the killing??
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
Yup, Certainly Missing Something in Translation.
Totally on the same page. My bad, I'm trying to stick to my original point, which is protest IS Domestic Defense of Domestic Threats. The military protects our borders, but they don't protect our freedom and Rights. The actions of citizens protect our freedoms and Rights.
Peace~
“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu
Yep, LOL
I concur
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
When it comes down to it,
it is downright stunning, that Black Americans have been willing to show the utmost, superhuman constraint not to blow up in a major flurry of bloodshed, after 400 years of being subjugated with the most aggressive, relentless brutality any group of human beings has had to endure in modern history.
For that alone should be the highest commendations possible to give.
And never to be forgotten.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
A major flurry of bloodshed ???
Wouldn't that have meant a sure death for all incoming slaves? Neither the oppressors (slave masters), nor the oppressed (slaves) were interested in that outcome. It was a "business deal", imo. You work to my satisfaction or you die.
Look at what happened to the Native Americans. They did not 'work' to their oppressors satisfaction. So, there was no "business deal". They died silently. And the ones who resisted, were incarcerated and humiliated. And the superhuman and constraint showing Afro-Americans seem to ''ignore the Native Americans", as Harry Belafonte so pointedly explained in one of the speeches he gave and I posted upstairs. Obama couldn't even pardon Peltier. Why not?
The Afro-Americans were once Africans and they were sold with Africans accepting the sale. I mean even Trump would love them for their deal making choices.
I feel I need to be silent. Probably get again on many folks nerves already.
I just said in a couple of comments ago how I hate the internet.
You made me love it again, Mark. How much I needed an essay like that, I wasn't even aware of. OMG this was 2005, right? Doesn't it give you goosebumps listening to Harry Belaforte today and realize what exactly he said and how it all came through to be true as a smackdown of the guy and gal who sat beside him on the podium.
And Hillary was at that time already the one she became so visibly later, always nodding her head to anything that is said, without her action ever supporting what her constantly nodding head wanted you to believe, ie that she really is with YOU. Ha. Not quite the case. Obama watching Belafonte and wagging his foot barely oppressing his discomfort to be confronted with Bellafonte's words, makes me chuckle.
Bellafonte had many more of those moments of truthspeaking with regards to Obama, I remember.
How sad must Belafonte have been realizing that his former efforts to work with and for Africans failed on the long run, considering what he tried to do to Obama senior and what Obama jr. had become and 'achieved'.
[video:https://youtu.be/UAiHDgRMzmE]
I ran into this and feel compelled to post it here.
[video:https://youtu.be/wsHhQck6vjk]
And I also think it is worth the time to listen to this 30 min. video of the first time Belafonte and Chompsky appeared together on a podium at the Riverside Church in Manhattan to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Democracy Now and discuss Trump, Sanders, the KKK, Rebellious Hearts ... if zou would listen at least towards the end as from TC 20 round about.
[video:https://youtu.be/Qi98YFkwOzo]
I admit I am biased towards Belafonte. Can't help it. He deserves the Nobel Prize, but I do not think the Nobel Prize committee deserves him.
"Your heart has to find greater space for rebellion" ...
Thanks for the essay with a voice that had to come again to the Front Page.
Thanks Mimi
totally agree, again thanks!
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
"I guess part of the reason I'm here is to really look through
the ravages of the Democratic Party to see if there's anything worth salvaging."
So many smoking zingers by Harry in this rant (circa 2005?), indirectly aimed right at $hills and Barry. It's a must-see. Even Jimmy Dore did a segment on it.
The assembled, at this "Town Hall Meeting on Poverty," are riveted on every word he says, and the explosions of reaction, as well as the reverential silences, to it are telling. And he's got such unending gravitas, his firsthand stories and observations so rich and powerful. Black folks get it - the Dems are fake friends. Yeah, Hillary is such an imperious phony, clear to see. She just can't wait to get out of there, or give some cheap, appeasing lip service to it and then hope nobody follows up. She was just hoping to coast, as the wife of the First Black President. I love the storm gathering in Belafonte's face as he's being introduced. He pulls no punches at all. It's one for the ages. A Man Of His Word/Truthseeker, and one of many in his time.
Great to see you, mimi. Glad to be able to restore some love to you.
Hope all is well with you back home. Things are going along here. Amazing, frustrating, fun and infuriating. Think I need a short vacation. Though I know I'd miss them greatly. It's tough work, heh...
Thanks for the other Belafonte stuff. Will check out when I can. Never tire of watching him speak. What an activist par excellance he's been, for how many decades now. A true titan.
Must have posted this before here, but for those who haven't seen this it's another one you shouldn't miss:
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
The worst part of that video
was having to listen to HER cackling insincerely in the background. Thanks for posting it.
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
oh thanks for your kind comment,
I just was about to get angry with your other comment and reacted accordingly. Please don't be angry. I know what you mean about the amazing generosity and patience of so many black folks, be it Afro-Americans or Africans. They have it shown and proven often and plentiful. There are other issues though with their anchestors I can not overlook. But that is an issue for another time.
I liked the Beto O'Rouke's speech a lot. Were I involved locally and could vote I bet i would vote for him. Why not? Locally I would be a voter, on a federal level I am a radical in my opinions of your electoral system and think it needs to be changed.
But all in all I wouldn't try to salvage anything of the Democratic Party. Nope. They are toast.
Fight against the underlying systemic causes that made the developments of the last twenty years possible.
Thanks for the last video, memory lane brings up
lots of sentiments. I was not aware of all of them, when this Hollywood Round Table was taking place in 1963, but five years later I became aware of all the participants. Great find.
That's ground zero for the patriotism = racial oppression meme
Jerry Jones is one of the preachers of that.
Beware the bullshit factories.
Remember the panicked and confused Jerry Jones kneeling
Just loved that pained expression on his face.
These owners, and the NFL, have been reeling wildly since #Kap very graciously took a knee and explained why. They're losing both sides of their fans: RW conservative bigots who want to Make America Great Again (when was that - during Slavery, Jim Crow, 1950's women barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen?), AND Black fans sick and tired of the heavy-handed authoritarianism of the white power structure.
The NFL is 80% Black players. No owners.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Apparently Jones did that before the anthem was played
This wasn't the only tweet that says that. Brave of him ehh?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I'm sorry
From deep underground as a MA lib, that's not the way it works here.
Invoking MLK does not help a State-wide candidate. Criticizing the Footbaw and the NFL does not help the candidate. One can raise all the out-of-state $$$ you can, it won't matter.
It's Texas.
State Moto: "Come and take it."
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
Former beloved Houston Texans running back on campaign trail
with Beto.
Arian Foster gets major props from me. He came down to Occupy Wall St while in town for a game vs. the Jets. He's a seeker. Could use a lot more of them in that sport.
Looks like your take, that he's criticizing football and the NFL, is the same as the RW zombies who completely missed his even-handed and fair statement. Instead of listening to exactly what he said, you are also conflating it inaccurately to be an indictment of the NFL or football. That's Fox News/Breitbart/Rupert Murdoch/Frank Luntz-style.
Unfortunately, I agree that he may also have a bit of an uphill battle, but just for the moment. He's probably gonna have to waste endless hours appeasing RW morons in the press, rabid to attack him at all stops, in the same way Drumpf has a hard-on for needling the NFL (this is all about the owners locked in mortal fear over what he'll stick his foot in his mouth next about, and further accelerate the league's demise).
Have to say it is surprising that a C99-er is falling for these lies though.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
With all due respect . . .
and as often as I disagree with much of what he usually posts, I think you might be misunderstanding what EdMass is saying, or at least what I took it to mean. He's talking about how A LOT of Texans will take what Beto said. "This is Texas" so good luck with Beto's message getting through to the masses in a state that idolizes football and doesn't much care about what MLK said.
He even qualified it by saying he's from a place closer to you, and has to keep his political leanings quiet here in Texas.
Come and take THEM?
Wasn't that what Leonidas said at Thermopylae when the Persian envoy suggested they lay down their weapons and abandon the field? And didn't the Persians eventually outflank them through the hills and win the battle?
We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg
Where did he criticize the NFL?
He explained why he feels that it's okay for the players to kneel. Did you watch the video?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
I don't think that's what he's saying
He's saying the speech won't mean much to many Texans because they love football almost as much as guns and USA!USA!USA! and certainly more than MLK. Ugh, I live here too, and he's right.
To be fair...
I know what you feel. I think. And... the Texas state motto is actually "Friendship". As an ex-Texan (from 0-22 years, currently late 50's) your comment still will rile up my defensive mode a bit. Yeah, there was GWB, but there was also Anne Richards. I've traveled a bit since leaving my home state and found that Texas is not so different as most folks think, much to my chagrin. I expected when I left that I was leaving all those rednecks behind. That didn't happen.
In fact, Progressives have a longer history in Texas than in my current home state of Oregon for example. The cultures are different from state to state in minor ways in my experience. I've seen as much racism in the Northeast and the Northwest as I saw in good old Texas. I think current Texas politics has more to do with gerrymandering than real differences politically. Your personal experience, of course, might be different. From what I've seen, Beto has a real chance. Yeah, he might lose. But if he does, it won't be because he supported BLM or free speech. It will be more to do with the districts that were arranged to elect a fuck up like Cruz in the first place. Just my 2 cents.
Kudos to his NFL views; but, he's in the 'New Dem' Caucus
according to Wikipedia. (It's under 'Political Views.') It also says he considers himself to be a progressive, on some issues.
Obviously, 'anyone' would be an improvement over Cruz. But, I wouldn't hang my hat on him protecting the Social Safety Net. For one thing, he sponsored the bill that set up a massive VA privatization Test Pilot at one of the largest VA Systems in the US, located in El Paso (his District). I posted about that at EB late last year. That's how he ever got on my radar, since I'd have no reason to keep up with a Texas pol. Also, check out his campaign website. He supports the ACA; otherwise, would possibly consider MFA as a 'public option' to compete against private plans in the Exchange.
If I can remember, I'll post several links regarding his stances on issues over at EB, after the holidays. My primary measure of candidates--rightly or wrongly--is their stance(s) on economic issues, especially safety net programs. And, the Establishment Dem have recruited such a huge slew of fiscal conservatives for this midterm cycle, it's scary. Literally puts Rahm's efforts to shame!
The Dem Leadership has sold many of these former/retired military women as progressives, never mind their conservative fiscal stances, and 'bipartisan' pledges to work across the isle. I've been flabbergasted that the Dem Party Base doesn't seem to question the premise that all these former military folks are 'liberals.' Whew!
Thanks for posting the transcript. I'm often running low on GB for my wi-fi, when I can even manage to connect, so it was helpful. I've heard Beto speak in other videos, and agree that he's a charismatic figure. And, he's obviously on the right side of the NFL issue.
Have a good rest of the weekend, All.
[Edited: Corrected typo - political]
Blue Onyx
"Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong."
~~W. R. Purche
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Beto
Beto voted to fast-track the TPP. And he refused to sign as a co-sponsor of HR 676 (Conyers' Medicare-for-All bill). For those reasons, I'm not sure he is really a true progressive. But he would be better than Cruz.