TheProgressiveLiberal

Blacks are treated differently in America, just not when it comes to police shootings. It's nonsense. Different ethnic groups are shot by the police in proportion to the amount of violent crimes committed by individuals in different ethnic groups. Our juries have a habit of requiring extraordinary circumstances when it comes to putting cops in jail for shootings, no matter the race of the cop or the victim. They don't go to jail for making an honest mistake. They certainly don't go to jail when defending themselves from violent criminals, as with Mike Brown. This has been the case for as long as there's been an America, going back to the colonial Boston jury letting off the British soldiers involved in the Boston massacre. Again, having consistent standards which result in different outcomes for different races is not racism. We should not be necessarily required to alter our standards just because there are different racial outcomes. Most people believe, and I think correctly believe, that a large portion of the different outcomes come down to different average behavior among individuals of different races.

He was getting shit on by the press for not immediately calling the families of a few soldiers who recently died. He is correct that former Presidents did not call every family member, but he obviously stated it in a rude and inarticulate way.

https://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2017/10/10/what-harvey-and-trump-have-in-common/ Interesting article on how Weinstein got away with everything for so long by a person who once ran his book company and magazine. Stuff like buying movie options of every terrible book written by some gossip journalist. Trading secrets he knew about stars to quash stories. Book deals with no deadlines for projects that would obviously never be finished. "Consultancy" jobs. Beats bags of cash. Kind of the same as how the Clintons used their foundation.

Bro, this isn't complicated. When people are asked why they are proud to be American, you will very rarely hear people mention our government or one of its programs. In fact, we tend to hate and disrespect our own government for the most part. You are very likely to hear about areas where the government is specifically prohibited. Free speech, the Bill of Rights, etc. Or you will hear things about our culture. Individualism, a place where anybody can succeed, a massive country where there's a place for whatever you like, etc. For most people the flag is the representation of the people and culture, not the state or government. It's the same in lots of nations. Perhaps this is part of the disconnect between black and white people on this protest. It does seem to me that black people are more likely to view the flag as a representation of the government.

This is what I'm interested in knowing. It seems from the articles I've read that Spanish is on par with the Catalonian language. Is that a stand in for ethnic identity? Or does it not matter? It also seems that people from other parts of Spain have been pouring into Catalonia for a long time. Do the people descended from these folks consider themselves Catalonian? Spanish? Both? Do they specifically reject Catalonian identity? Are the 50-50 polls on independence an expression of ethnic difference among the inhabitants? Or are they the expression of people who for the most part consider themselves as belonging to the same ethnic group disagreeing on future political arrangements? I'm completely unclear on these issues. When I read about constitutional issues in the UK or Belgium they seem fairly straightforward. The waters seem really muddy on this one.

I suppose we can start with the Texas Nationalist guys.

Every single one of you guys would stand up at a US sporting event when the anthem played, despite your opinion on the issue. Why? Because you know that everyone around you would be offended by your actions if you kneeled. It's honestly the most baffling opinion I can think of that this protest is not designed to be offensive or provocative. What a strange thing to argue against.

What laws would you suggest America change to fix this situation?

I've never claimed to be an ethno-nationalist. I'm a civic nationalist. I just acknowledge that a civic rather than ethnic basis for nationalism may not be possible, and that certain cultures can't be absorbed into existing Western nations. I was making a general statement about the Europe of regions, rather than nations, within the EU. I'm not informed enough about any particular secession movement to speak confidently about their local conditions. I'm just skeptical of independence movements where the group trying to secede doesn't have some sort of obvious cultural difference that's greater than regional differences you'd expect in any nation. I 100% get why Crimea would want to leave the Ukraine, or Quebec would want to leave Canada. When it comes to other independence movements I'm not so sure. The EU is not going to remain at arms length. The EU superstate will in the end take all the former powers of the nation state if they can. The deconstruction of the traditionally powerful European nation states will aid in this trend.

There was a kid from my grade who I worked with at a job while I was in high school. He was gay in an extremely effeminate way. He was also borderline retarded and had tourettes syndrome. He could be fairly funny sometimes, but also annoying at times. He used to like to grab my ass and sometimes poke my butthole with mop or broom handles if I wasn't paying attention. I'm a motherfuckin victim. This was in the early days of the internet. I made a fake news article that said all of his celebrity crushes had died in a terrible accident. Ricky Martin, Usher, a few others I can't remember. I brought it to work and gave it to him. He didn't really react much, so I thought it didn't fool him. A bit later everyone was wondering where Seth went. Turns out he was in the bathroom crying. I had to tell him it was just a joke. All his crushes were still alive. Felt semi-bad about that one as it wasn't the reaction I was trying to get.

I've also been sexually harassed at work by a black woman. That was extremely uncomfortable, but from a social standpoint rather than physically. Even if it's uncomfortable for men, it's still not the same as what women go through. She was fired for it, but not because I asked. I've never tried to get anybody fired no matter how much I disliked them. The boss noticed.

Breaking up nation states in order to replace them with a so-called "Europe of regions" dominated by the EU is an idea I just can't understand coming from self described "nationalists." You're just trading rule by people who are more like you for rule by people who are less like you. And if Devo-Max is on the table from the greater nation-state, you're actually giving up potential national self rule. The end logic of globalism is that every nation and culture will be destroyed in the long term. That's what you're signing up for gladly.

On the first part, that's why being pestered for sex in a private area should be separated from being pestered for sex in a public setting. One is much, much more predatory. On the second, men and women are different. I've been sexually harassed at work by a gay dude, involving him slapping my ass even after I told him to quit. It didn't affect me. I can't imagine an adult male being scared by such action, but I suppose I could be wrong.

No single person can define what's offensive. Society as a whole does that. Their action is deliberately offensive. That is the point. And the white people cheering them on and criticizing the half measures such as kneeling as a team before the anthem or locking arms are criticizing those measures because they are not specifically designed to be offensive. None of those white people are actually kneeling though, which is interesting.

Right. But there's also a world of difference between being pestered in a public place by a stranger or someone of equal standing, and being pestered in a private area by someone who has massive power to make or break your future prospects. The second is closer to the same predatory behavior of a rapist, but without the physical force.

It wasn't just that he could ruin careers. He was also rumored to work with the tabloid media to expose any skeletons in your closet if you crossed him. That might give even well established stars who had already made a ton of money pause about talking. I also love the part in the Weinstein statement posted about how Hollywood types are the compassionate ones because of 9/11 and Katrina fundraisers. I always assumed those are essentially industry parties where you happen to raise money on tv.

So you would have preferred a referendum without consulting the UK government? Or you would prefer that the SNP government declare independence despite the result of the referendum?

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The US withdrew from UNESCO during the Reagan administration and didn't rejoin until Dubya. Obama suspended US funding for the organization, but not our membership. I'm against all international organizations made up primarily of 3rd world countries. The UN. FIFA. The Catholic Church. It's generally a terrible idea for us to get involved as they generally empower the worst in our society and drag our culture down. Where have I said black people should stand for the anthem? I've only presented my interpretation of their action, and I've always defended their right to make offensive political statements in the workplace. If black people want to use traditional American symbols to represent them, that's fine with me. If they don't, that's fine with me as well.

The Miami Dolphins offensive line coach has been forced to resign after a video surfaced of him snorting cocaine. Turns out the video was released by a black escort. She was trying to prove some sort of point about social inequality. Supposedly she thinks a black coach who did this would face a harsher punishment, and she thinks she proved her point. From listening to this interview it doesn't seem like her IQ is much above 80. On the happier side of things, a farmer in North Dakota has carved a message for NFL players into his field.

I'd rather talk about how dumb Canada is with their flag and anthem humping. They even do it at youth sporting events. What brainwashing.

You guys know that Canadian sports teams play their anthem before games as well, correct? It's not just the US.

I'd assume they thought slavery was wrong. Doubt they thought racism was wrong. It's a very modern idea. Think about what you're saying. You don't believe that society should seek to instill certain values in young people? It's not brainwashing. It's what humans do. Do you think a football player should be able to protest against gay marriage by holding up a bible verse during the national anthem? Do you think kids should be taught to respect people's differing sexuality? It seems that you're just offended by the concept of patriotism.

He probably wasn't more racist than somebody like Abraham Lincoln or Winston Churchill. He was a dude from the 1800s. Almost nobody thought racism was wrong then. In fact almost everybody thought it correct. It's a bit weird to write off every racist person who ever lived as filthy and subhuman. Now, if you want to use "slave owner" rather than "racist" I will grant that it's a legitimate argument. I'd still reject the idea that anybody who owned slaves was filthy and subhuman, but I could see how someone would disagree.

Yeah. Got off work at 3 am, as most nights. Had an hour break and was eating some lunch this afternoon. Off early tonight. Cracked open a six pack and watching playoff baseball. Last week I had one evening off. I went with my old man and my girlfriends daughter to watch a college women's soccer game. Big top 25 matchup. Don't tell me I have a lame life. Pure excitement. Gen. Forrest gets a bad rap. Great American. Check out his wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest Born dirt poor. Rose to become one of the richest men in the South with some crazy adventures along the way. When the Civil War came he volunteered when most of the rich refused to fight the war they started. Rose from Private to General and became probably the greatest Calvary commander in US history. There's the story where he accidently charged the Union lines on his own. Surrounded by enemy soldiers he used up all the bullets in his revolvers. He was shot. He pulled up the man who shot him off the ground with one arm, used him as a human shield, and galloped back to Rebel lines before discarding the dead body. He does that on his own. I wouldn't say it's a common practice amongst conservative Christians, but it's not unheard of. Pence was my parent's congressman for awhile. The man who was previously their congressman before the line moved a bit was caught porking the lady who he made abstinence education videos with. He had to resign.