DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus NFL Adds Black National Anthem

Far as I can tell Peen was not involved in any decision, the NFL never called him and asked for his input. He's just stating his opinion on what the NFL decided to do..

But please, tell me, since you have your finger on the pulse of how black people feel... what do they feel when they hear this song before a sporting event, alongside the National Anthem? Beyond it just being a lovely song, there are thousands of lovely songs.. do they feel more American? Do they feel prouder to be American? Do they feel included or equal? Do they feel recognized? Do they feel vindicated? Do they feel progress is being made? Do they feel like they have won a small victory? Do they like the NFL front office more? Do they wish they had their own flag to fly alongside the US flag to look to as the song plays?

Since I'm not black and willingly admit that I have no idea what they feel.. (which is kind of a racist sentiment because it assumes they all feel the same thing)... what is the appeal to having this song played for one week or an entire season or forever at football games?

What I do know is that by and large they feel our national anthem does not represent them. And if you read all of the lyrics I posted to the anthem in this thread, I certainly understand why.

According to your assertions you seem to think that our current national anthem is what white people consider the best choice? I certainly don't. I think America the Beautiful would be a much better choice.

I do know that a lot of black people prefer Lift Every Voice and Sing as a song that better represents them. Since I can see and read the lyrics to our national anthem I would see why they chose another song to represent them.

That's really all I need to know.

By and large I think most white people just like tradition and don't want to see it changed and they put very little thought into where that tradition came from or what it originally meant. Has little to nothing to do with that song having any real emotional impact on them.. if, in 1931, we would have adopted "My Country Tis of Thee" or "America the Beautiful" as our national song, then they would be fighting to not "disrespect" that song.... and "The Star Spangled Banner" would be an afterthought.

I tend to be much more of a pragmatist.. I don't put a whole lot of stock in rituals/symbols that don't serve any real practical purpose.. I don't hate them, I just usually don't understand why people get so worked up about changing them up..

I'm very much the same way. That doesn't mean that I don't understand why some people would. But on a personal level not so much.

And I guess what you stated about "most white people just like tradition and don't want to see it changed". I see that side of things but actually I don't see anyone asking them to change the playing of the national anthem. Nobody is asking them to give up their tradition. I don't see how adding a second song changes or impacts the continuation of the current national anthem.

This is where it gets into semantics... as others have said in this thread, calling it the "black national anthem" is really the big hang up here.

Attaching the phrase "national anthem" to it implies a few things like.. blacks and whites in America are really different "nations".. and that this was adopted through some formal process.. and that it has equal status to the song that has been the real national anthem for 90 years..

I can understand why people might see it that way. Although we may differ on what we see their motivation creating that thought process to be. There are reasons our minds work the way they do. Some would see it as you described. But I also think if you asked most black Americans they do see it as us living in two different America's. That may be the actual point of it all.

Some of us have come to that realization and some haven't. I think that's actually where the divide lies. A lot of people feel if that message isn't delivered nothing will ever change. Others see that message as an insult to what they perceive America to be.

In a way there are two, but I view them more as economic than racial.. but I digress.


If playing the song accomplishes anything good, go for it. I just don't see how it will. I'm all for tearing down the divide, the animosity between races, etc. I just don't see how reverting back to "separate but equal" with blacks-only spaces on campuses and a black national anthem and continuation of the black Miss America pageant, etc moves us in that direction. But I've been wrong before.

When are we going to add a Mexican Nation Anthem? or Native American nation anthem?

As I said, it segregates the community.

Call me dumb, but I thought we have been fighting that for 50-60 years?

From speaking to the black Americans I know, and from the sentiment I've seen from the black members on this very board, if you ask them about having to give their children "the talk" and how they've been targeted by law enforcement by being pulled over so frequently for no real reason, you might see that's not how they view it at all. Yes, it is certainly one aspect, but not by any means all of it.

It certainly segregates everyone who somehow thinks the work is done.

A portion of society that is segregated by whatever means isn't going to get the work done. If anything, it sets it back.

I don't think anybody can disagree with that. That was my position from the beginning of the thread and it remains. Everything else is just flapping lips

You guys can carry on with useless conversation if you wish.

So follow the status quo. Yes that's the model for every positive change that has been made in America. Shut up and do what we tell you to do.

If anybody is doing nothing but flapping their gums, it's you. History teaches us all that following the status quo has never changed anything. At least for those willing to learn anything from history.

I mean those crazy black people sitting at a white lunch counter. What were they thinking?!!!

That is not a correct comparison.

So you think it's ok to discriminate against Mexicans, and native Americans?

Not what he's saying at all. He never said do nothing, he said re-segregating people isn't going to help.


they were thinking they wanted to be welcome to sit at the same lunch counter as everybody else, which they currently are. They were NOT thinking, "we need a lunch counter called the 'black lunch counter'"... that already existed and it wasn't getting us anywhere... but some things going on today seem to be taking us back in that direction.

Not really and I think you know that. How is a song that talks about "The land of the free and the home of the brave" addressing people who were enslaved at the time? It doesn't. That's the point but a bait and switch con game used to try and take away from that point and trying to focus on something that has no real merit is convenient to those that wish to never be challenged about it.

Why don't they add a White Caucasian National Anthem?

Why don't they add a Native American National Anthem?

Why don't they add a Chinese American National Anthem?

Why don't they add a Mexican American National Anthem?

Why don't they add a Homosexual American National Anthem?

Why don't they add a Lesbian American National Anthem?

Why don't they have a Straight American National Anthem?

Why don't they add a LBGTBBQ National Anthem? ETC....

The Hypocrisy of it all!!!!!!!!!!!

Why can't THOSE PEOPLE just be happy with my white supremacy slavery promoting Jesus loving Christian version like NORMAL PEOPLE...

Finally somebody with some sound critical thinking chiming in on this... NOT.

You don't have any liberal love for all those other peeps?

Shame on you!

Isn’t the white Caucasian National anthem just called “the national anthem”?

I say, "The more, the merrier... since the term 'Black national anthem' is an informal, unofficial figure of speech.





You've been working hard lately. You deserve a break... and a snack. Allow me to help with that, if you will.

Here's your break room:



...and here's your snack:

Did I forget the Purple?

There is more hate in this post than anything we've seen here I think... at least a top 5-10er.

The discussion I entered into wasn't about the inclusiveness of the real national anthem or about what a good song Lift Every Voice is.. that's totally irrelevant.

The point is, they are playing the national anthem, then they are playing a song dubbed the "Black National Anthem" right along side it. Couple that with blacks-only safe spaces and some of the other self-segregating things that have been in the news.. is that a good idea? Is any of this making progress toward reducing racism and moving us toward a better America or is it taking us backwards? Maybe it's neither, it's just a thing for people to nitpick and fight about.... and as the saying goes "haters still gonna hate"....

I personally don't care if they play the song, don't care if blacks have their own spaces on college campuses, don't really care about any of it.... if people generally believe it's moving us FORWARD, then I'm all for it. But I question whether or not it is.

For now, think of it as 'onward.'

Perhaps, that's the best we can ever hope for ourselves, living in the Here and Now: make the best choices we can/adjust when new data comes in.

[shrugs]

You think any of this happens if white Americans stopped being racist decades ago?

This mentality didn’t happen overnight.

That’s the core of the issue, isn’t it? BLM wouldn’t exist if cops didn’t have a stupidly long history of racism and discrimination against black Americans.

But I forgot. We don’t like talking about origin stories around here…

So you propose that since they are trying to point out that segregation still existed long after this song was named our national anthem, and that as such it can be twisted into segregation?

That by protesting segregation it creates segregation?

And when it comes to safe spaces I don't know. But I will say I've been in areas of our nation where they certainly would need a safe space. It was in the 80's but in context that wasn't so long ago. And I doubt those places have changed that much since then.

J/C

I've said it before in race threads and I'll say it again.

Racism and racial prejudice are things learned, and with each new generation they learn to include more diverse people into their social groups. and that divide slowly degrades.

No laws, rules, requirements will make it end, it may just silence it down. It will take generations of younger people not falling into the trap of their predecessors for it to fade away. Even then, there will be a small fringe that hang on and hide out in their corner of the world.

Someone will reply, "So we should do nothing?"

No that's not what I am saying. But we need to do things with the understanding that they are just temporary bandaids, and not the final solution.

Sometimes you have to stop the bleeding before you can stitch the wound.

So, if a Black National Anthem, safe spaces, whatever it is, helps stop the bleeding so we can get to the stitching and healing, I'm fine with it.

They did appear to be a fringe hiding out. Until lately....