Just don't play the national anthem - problem solved.

But what do I know - I am a foreigner - like most other people here discussing an american tradition.

ledilot wrote: Just don't play the national anthem - problem solved. But what do I know - I am a foreigner - like most other people here discussing an american tradition.

Being a patriotic moron is critical to the gods that run America, and who use America to run the world into the ground. There is no room for any men in such an equation. You need indoctrinated idiots to run such a pitiful regime. No weapons of mass destruction found in the middle east? No problems, since America has an endless supply of ass kickers that will blindly follow Uncle Sam anywhere, any time for the sake of a mangled notion of American supremacy.

So don't expect "America" to stop indoctrinating it's zombies at every available opportunity any time soon!

There are 2 types of black people in the U.S. - those that can't get over the fact their there due to their ancestors being kidnapped and enslaved by white America, and those who can and get on with their lives. The former want to stick it to the white man and that's about the full extent of their agenda. And that's who all these children are.

Their ancestors were slaves and we denied them basic human rights.

Their grandparents were denied the right to vote, access to even a basic education, and all but the most menial jobs. More significantly, they were kept from buying property in desirable neighborhoods, which was the biggest way white families built wealth in the 20th century.

Their parents had to fight to secure all these rights under law, and all the rights in the world didn't change the fact they owned property in poor neighborhoods while rich whites guarded access to their own communities, with the corresponding benefits (better schools, transportation, and job opportunities) jealously and economic factors reinforced legal segregation.

The biggest determinants (by far) of access to education, government services, and employment opportunities continue to be income, wealth, and one's place of residence.

Kids who grow up poor today usually live in poor neighborhoods, with parents who work longer hours, can afford fewer books/music classes/visits to the museum/etc, and may not have a great deal of formal education themselves. The 30-million word gap, a huge determinant of success later in life, is there by the time kids start preschool, through no fault of their own - low-income parents often need to work two jobs instead of playing with or reading to their kids.

When these kids do start school, their classrooms are full of similar kids, and usually underfunded (since we fund education through local property taxes, which bring in less money in poor neighborhoods). If they do well anyway, many can't afford to go to college, or run out of money before they graduate (leaving them with no degree and student debt). I work with high-school students in Chicago's South Side and I've seen the lengths to which they go to afford college - while still coming up short in many cases.

Those few that do go from crippling poverty in a largely poor neighborhood to an upper-middle-class job and a home in the suburbs do so through a combination of hard work, talent, and extraordinary luck. We can't place the onus on every black person in America to beat the odds.

Not to play scrooge on this conversation but......Quoting directly from the game rules:

POLITICS, RACISM & RELIGION
No racist behavior, statements and/or team/manager names will be allowed on Grid-Iron servers. Religious outbursts and slander of others beliefs will not be tolerated. Political discussions are for political forums, not for a game and will not be allowed. Grid-iron is a place where we should have fun, sports banter and healthy sports rivalries, so politics, racism and religion have no place here.

I agree with David Ortiz.

I disagree entirely with Hosh13.