Posted on 10/02/2017 8:48:16 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last week, three-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton asked people to try to educate themselves on why athletes are kneeling for the American national anthem in protest of police brutality and oppression of people of color. Not long after, he said he may join them at the U.S. Grand Prix this month.
The act of kneeling for the anthem started with NFL player Colin Kaepernick in 2016, and has since spread. Even in sports that have yet to see kneeling in their arenas, such as NASCAR, everybody has an opinion: Team owners Richard Petty and Richard Childress said theyd fire anyone who didnt stand for the anthem, while driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Americans have the right to peaceful protest.
(President Donald Trump followed the NASCAR team-owner rhetoric, saying NFL owners should fire son of a bitch anthem protestors.)
Hamilton, whos from the U.K. and races in a series that only visits the U.S. once a year currently, has followed and talked openly about U.S.-centric racial and political debates of late. Hes commented extensively on the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the election and actions of Trump.
Hes used Instagram to say a lot of it.
(MESSAGE-AT-LINK)
And although hes not sure how hell approach the USGP, Hamilton told the Sunday Times hes considering taking a knee when the U.S. anthem plays. From the Times:
Ive not even thought about that race, but of course I will have to start to think about it what would be right for me to do, or do I even need to get involved?
Its not my national anthem, but the issue that is in the States well, its not just in the States, it is a global thing. Its more focused and probably at its worse perhaps in America. I think we all do need to stand together.
Hamilton continued, via the local Austin American-Statesman:
Its important for everyone to stand up for what they believe in, the Mercedes driver said. I dont plan on being more political, but I do feel we should all stand up and stick by what we believe in.
Hamilton, who leads the F1 standings this year, has been hammering away at Trump for quite a while in a series of politically-charged tweets and Instagram posts, including a now-deleted video which involved a doll of President Trump.
It is open for anyone to have freedom of speech, and I guess we can all play a role in trying to make a difference in the world, Hamilton said prior to the Malaysia GP. Particularly if your leader is not helping in that area.
In response to Hamiltons Instagram posts, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff told Motorsport.com that his driver may need to rethink his approach to such controversial matters:
This is a very controversial and polarising story, [Wolff] said. I wouldnt want to get involved in politics. We all have our opinion.
Lewiss feelings about human rights are very strong and I think he wanted to show that and probably Instagram as the communication channel is something that he needs to rethink but I can relate to his feelings.
Hamilton, on the other hand, can relate to the athletes being talked down upon by the U.S. president. He identif[ies] with a lot of those individuals, as quoted by the Austin American-Statesman.
Well see if he kneels with them in a few weeks, too.
GB is going down the tubes. I guess maybe he’d feel better if we crashed and burned with the rest of them.
Lets see some athletes kneel TO PRAY. See how long THAT lasts!!!
Instead of self-aggrandizement go into Chicago, Detroit, or any crime-ridden neighborhood and make a personalized difference. The showboating is just telling someone else to do it.
Would I be out of line, if I said this twit should FOAD? If thats a little over the top, maybe I should say he can just FO. 😀😆😄
I love my anthem, flag and country more than NFL and motorsports.
He is right about one thing —it is not his anthem. What he misses is that it is also not his business. He misrepresents the racial problem as being worse in America than anywhere else in the world (seriously?) and then he has the arrogance to tell people to “try to educate themselves” about why athletes are taking the knee. Well, educate this, Lewis.
[[A reserve deputy in Oklahoma did pretty much the same thing about two years ago.]]
I remember that one- one thought he pulled out his stun gun, but it was a real gun- he was a rookie too-
My point is that the left and black folks are tryign to paint the police force nationwide as racist and full of police brutality/shootings of ‘innocent unarmed men’- but hte fact is that out of the 100’s of 1000’s of police on citizen acts, only a very very small number are actually racist/police brutality-
As MPJackal pointed out- only a very small number of black folks are killed each year by police compared to white folks killed- the stats show black folks are LESS likely to die by police than white folks-
The football player lectures us about ‘educating ourselves about why players are protesting’ but it is he who needs educating and I bet he can’t name even a 1/2 dozen cases of TRUE police brutality where a TRULY innocent black man was shot for no reason other than racism by a police officer
It’s so yesterday. They need another new fad. Immolation sounds good and is quite visual.
exactly- whites are more likely to be killed by police than black folks are but whites aren’t screaming about ‘racial profiling’ or ‘police brutality’ and rioting and burning neighborhoods everytime a white person is killed by a cop
Hamilton, who is from the UK...
SHUT UP you twit.
For crying out loud.
BLM is in Britain, too. The black soccer players in the English Premier League are talking about having protests of their own.
Adjusted to take into account the racial breakdown of the U.S. population, he said black men are 3.5 times more likely to be killed by police than white men. But also adjusted to take into account the racial breakdown in violent crime, the data actually show that police are less likely to kill black suspects than white ones.
If one adjusts for the racial disparity in the homicide rate or the rate at which police are feloniously killed, whites are actually more likely to be killed by police than blacks, said Mr. Moskos, a former Baltimore cop and author of the book Cop in the Hood.
Adjusted for the homicide rate, whites are 1.7 times more likely than blacks die at the hands of police, he said. Adjusted for the racial disparity at which police are feloniously killed, whites are 1.3 times more likely than blacks to die at the hands of police.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/21/police-kill-more-whites-than-blacks-but-minority-d/
He can do what he wants in his own country. Here, he is a guest in someone else’s house.
I know that it’s just the white in me talking when I say this, but I will start taking BLMers everywhere more seriously when they start getting concerned about how blacks in Chicago and every other major city shoot each other by the dozen every week, or about the tribal genocides that occur on a regular basis in Africa.
For my part, I have never taken a black life in the line of duty and I have had the occasion to do so. The difference was that they surrendered at the moment of truth.
The truth is that police save far more black lives than take and that should be lauded at every opportunity.
THAT would put BLM back on their heels and negate their argument to nigh standstill.
The only time this guy should kneel is if he is replacing his own tires.
If you the sharks are in a feeding frenzy, don’t jump in with a pork chop around your neck.
If he had a brain he would be dangerous.....v well balanced, he has a monster chip on both shoulders.
[[The truth is that police save far more black lives than take and that should be lauded at every opportunity.]]
Absolutely- like i said in previous posts on the issue- police engage people 100’s of 1000’s of times every year (and maybe even a lot more- I’m just guessing at the number)- and almost 100% of those engagements end without extreme violence or death- and they/you risk their lives DAILY for our sakes- all our sakes- and like you said- they risk their lives protecting all our lives every day- and it just rips me up watching the nfl and others ignore these facts, and disrespect the police, and other professions that lay their lives on the lines for them every single day- The ingratitude on their parts is deafening
Well said, thanks Bob.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.