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Help me understand, How is the Betsy Ross flag racist?

I'm not American but I am guessing this is another source of Leftie outrage?

Because they just have to get upset about things that is why. Slacktevism at it's finest. The way they carry on it's as if the USA was the first and only country to have slaves.
 
From what I've read, Nike withdrew the shoes because one man - Colin Kaepernick - complained (allegedly on behalf of others). There was no widespread complaint about the shoe, as far as I'm aware. So Nike has essentially pulled a product from sale because of the complaint of one person.

Understandably, there is growing dissatisfaction against Nike because of it.

Supposedly, the 13-star flag is related to an era of slavery in US history.
 
yeah, the next year should be a combination of high comedy and sheer terror.

I'm too young to remember the Nam Protests, so not sure where on the scale of idiocy we sit currently.
 
I think this kind of thing, which is mentioned several times in the linked article is where the issue may lie:

''Some KKK groups in Georgia were found to have required members use the Betsy Ross Flag during ritualistic meetings if not a Confederate Flag, an Albany Herald investigation discovered in 2013''

It's an issue due to it being currently used by racist groups.

The logic that the flag is racist due to being used at a time of racism is slightly skewed. There will be plenty of other flags that fall under that category as well, so why not complain/campaign about those flags as well, or lets just abolish nations and borders all together. Which is a good (if impractical for the time being) idea, but hey this is a good example of centrists paucity of ambition.
 
Well if that is true, and I never assume anything printed or online is, then I can get that. But that is the trouble today, getting reliable news. Not much of it out there anymore. It's all spin, and will only get worse the closer the election gets. And while in a perfect world nations and borders aren't necessary, the sad reality is we don't live in that world. Nor are we likely to see it in our lifetimes.
 
And while in a perfect world nations and borders aren't necessary, the sad reality is we don't live in that world. Nor are we likely to see it in our lifetimes.

We've collectively (some more than others though) fucked the planet and society, so I doubt at this point it will ever happen. But it's too early in the day for those thoughts!
 
Uh. Yeah. Sure. Considering that slavery wasn't a massive issue until the mid to late 1860s, whereas the 13 star flag was crated in the 1770s, better known as the time when the US Colonies were created as a means for the colonists to get out from under British tyranny?

What's more, is that have any of these people ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?
 
Well as having an actual opinion today can get you in deep trouble, I'll just agree here lol

That's never not been the case, it just depends on what opinion it is and where you are spouting it off.

I'd like to tell you a story, about a guy, a guy we all know, from Nazareth...
 
Uh. Yeah. Sure. Considering that slavery wasn't a massive issue until the mid to late 1860s, whereas the 13 star flag was crated in the 1770s, better known as the time when the US Colonies were created as a means for the colonists to get out from under British tyranny?

What's more, is that have any of these people ever heard of the Emancipation Proclamation?


The institution of Slavery goes back far further than that, world wide. Every civilization has had slavery in one form or another. What is now known as Slavery in the US dates back to roughly the early 1600s when the warring tribes in west central Africa started selling the defeated tribes to white people for use in tobacco and cotton plantations. While it existed well before the Civil War, it was tolerated in most places up until the early 1900th Century when men Like Jefferson started to free their slaves upon their death.

The north was relatively slave free by 1830 or there about. And it didn't really become a "thing" politically speaking until the addition of Missouri and Kansas, which ultimately led us to the Civil War.

I understand why people feel this way, I do. But at the same time, as somebody who studied history a fair deal well into college, i worry about the rewriting of history to reflect the current ideals. The past should not, nor can not be judged through the eyes of today. No matter whom you look at, be it the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians etc look good when looked through the eyes of modern day. The entire point of history is to understand the failings of the past, remember the victories, and what more can yet be done.

But that's just how the world we live in now rolls. You don't like something, ban in, suppress it, ignore it or rewrite it to suit your tastes.
 
Believe this or not, I hold no argument against that. I just find it odd that they're bringing this up now like it's supposed to mean something.
 
That's never not been the case, it just depends on what opinion it is and where you are spouting it off.

I'd like to tell you a story, about a guy, a guy we all know, from Nazareth...

Today he'd have serious trouble. There is a lot more I could say, but this isn't the time, place or medium for such conversations.
 
yeah, the next year should be a combination of high comedy and sheer terror.

I'm too young to remember the Nam Protests, so not sure where on the scale of idiocy we sit currently.

I'm too young for the 'Nam protests as well but looking at society from that era we seem to be at a similar level of idiocy. Possibly worse now. We just have a group of people who parrot slogans and call anyone who disagrees with them some kind of name in the hope that it will silence people.

The irony in a lot of these cases is the causes they support are either completely silly or contradict the values they claim to uphold.
 
And people are choosing to ignore certain parts of history for that purpose. Considering that it was Abraham Lincoln - then a Republican - who freed the slaves after the events of the Civil War.

WHOOPS! Sorry for slipping that factoid in there that blows Newsweek's article out of the water!
 
And people are choosing to ignore certain parts of history for that purpose. Considering that it was Abraham Lincoln - then a Republican - who freed the slaves after the events of the Civil War.

WHOOPS! Sorry for slipping that factoid in there that blows Newsweek's article out of the water!

I pissed a few people off recently on another forum when I pointed out that the KKK at the peak of their power had a lot of power and influence over the *drum roll* Democrats. They did not like hearing that.
 
There are very few journalists left. Most now are activists pretending to be journalists. There are a few, but very few. There are a lot of factoids that can be thrown out that would fry most peoples minds today. But to be totally honest, I have lost the desire to "educate" the uneducatable. And there are plenty of those to go around. The problem is that people follow their tribe, rather than objective truth. Regardless of which tribe they are, people are guilty of it. We all are to some degree or another unless you are true anarchist, of which most who claim to be many actually are not.

But the worrisome issue is control of the conversation in the media, and the tired majority that will accept what they see on tv or online as true, without making any attempt to fact check. Which is bad, since most "journalists" don't either. But with Silicon Valley controlling every part of the conversation, not just in American but world wide. They can control what we see, hear, or know about the world at large. And they can manipulate it according to their flawed algorithms. Do I think that everyone at said companies is evil? No. The Algorithms are written to a certain set of ideas Either intentionally or unintentionally. The problem with the sort of power Silicon Valley has today is that power corrupts. And as there is literally nobody to check their power, they have absolute power, thus their corruption is absolute.

Individual people, by and large, are just that, people. They mostly want the same things: life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To feel safe, happy, and useful. Groups can be bad. There are bad people on all sides. And there are good people on all sides.
 
I think it's darling that US-ians see the democrats and republicans as a 'left' and 'right' as opposed to 'right' and 'further right' like the rest of the world.

Although the rest of the world can't really throw shade, it seems to (in general) be sliding further and further right.
 
Nike has more to lose by releasing the shoe than they gave to gain. Is the flag inherently racist? No. Is it being used by far right extremist white nationalist (now-nazi) groups? Yes. That’s the problem.

It’s not a lefty issue. It’s the issue of the climate of the country right now. It’s an issue of riots by white nationalists and now-nazi’s who would love to have a shoe like this being able to go to a HUGE brand and purchase that shoe. What is Nike telling them? In some small way they are saying, hey your views are valid. We agree with you.

And why have the Nazi’s adopted this flag because it represents a time when black people were enslaved. The golden era when they could do whatever they wanted and white ruled the land.

Of course this wouldn’t be understood if it wasn’t looked at from a person of colors point of view.

And to say that slavery wasn’t a big deal until 1860s is the biggest what the fuck?! If we are only talking about America George Washington has slaves in 1761.

Again, this wouldn’t be understood if you didn’t look at it from a colored person’s point of view.


No, that is correct that slavery goes far further back than that. The point was I believe that it wasn't a hot button until then.

The only thing I question is exactly how you define far right? As today, those two words have truly no meaning. If by actual white supremicists and actual followers of the American Naxi party, you'd be surprised at how few of them are left. However, the term has been used as a label to apply to anyone who doesn't agree with people. Violence or racism by anyone is a bad thing. If you cut us open, we are all red on the inside. So claiming that one group or sub group is superior is not only morally false, it is scientifically so.

Does that mean that minorities have not experienced racism. Hell no. They have, it's well documented. And while its down, actual Neo-Nazism, its not gone. And there is still violence against minorities across our nation. This isn't something open to debate. However, what is and should be, is where the line is actually drawn. People twist words for political gains., And we the citizens of our nation (if you are in our nation) are the unwitting pawns.

As to Right and Left, they are subjective. Compared to Europe sure the US isn't as far left. But its subjective.

As to the comment, I will refrain from comment on that point.
 
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