Killing the NFL and Wearing Its Skin as a Jersey

 

According to the way smarter and funnier than me David Burge, this is how the Progressive Left works:

1. Target a respected institution
2. Kill & clean it
3. Wear it as a skin suit, while demanding respect

This is how the left operates. Public education was taken over by the left. Now, our kids are at the bottom of the pack in math and science, but they know all their transgender pronouns and can spout anti-Capitalist talking points like Hugo Chavez (or the Pope). Meanwhile, teachers demand society’s respect as the Priests and Priestesses of the Holy Temple of Education.

They’re doing it to the Boy Scouts. All that old scout stuff about honor, patriotism, bravery … that’s what the left calls “Toxic Masculinity.” Now that the Scouts have knuckled under to the social justice warriors, their glidepath to becoming another left-wing indoctrination farm is all but assured.

Jazz Shaw writes that this dynamic is really what’s behind the #TakeAKnee protests in the NFL.

This has little or nothing to do with police shootings, racial profiling or any of the rest of it. What we’re seeing is an almost brilliant and concerted effort to damage, if not eliminate, the National Football League.

Why? Because the activist Left has despised the NFL for years. They hate everything about it. It’s a game filled with big, tough, manly men engaging in the closest thing to warfare you can manage without guns. It’s a game rife with symbolism and, yes… nationalism. Even people who would never buy an album from a country singer could feel their blood heating up when Hank Williams used to sing, Are you Ready for Some Football. The military loves football and they fly jets over the stadiums in formation and send our nation’s finest out to pay tribute. And it’s not just the military. Our police and other first responders are frequently called out for honors at the games. Everything about it screams of apple pie, fireworks and patriotism. (Or, if you prefer, God, guns and flags.) And the activist Left hates it. Probably the only sporting event they despise more is NASCAR.

Exactly so. But the greedy and stupid NFL owners have no clue that this is the actual agenda. They just made an insipid advertisement about “Unity,” thinking this is going to fix everything. “Unity” is just a word the left uses to mean “Shut Up and Obey.”

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  1. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    The NFL and its players have decided to throw in with the Left, BLM and AntiFa.  They can get their support from the Left, BLM and AntiFa then.  It is obvious they don’t like me and mine, just our money.  Fine, but I will keep my money thank you very much.

    • #1
  2. Kevin Schulte Member
    Kevin Schulte
    @KevinSchulte

    If only we had somone in powerful office to fight back. Oh, wait, we do ?

    He doesn’t even belong to Conservative Inc. Imagine that !

    • #2
  3. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    My own take on this is that the NFL and the owners know full well that the Left despises football and wants it expunged from American life.    They also believe that the Right loves football so dearly that they will forgive football any sin.    Lastly, they perceive Trump as a one-term abberation.   The image the Republicans have presented as the ineffectual gang-who-couldn’t-shoot-straight has convinced the NFL that the Left will return to power in short order.   And the Left has shown that those they disagree with have to be not merely overcome, but destroyed.    Eradicated.      Fearing the wrath of the Left, the NFL has chosen to try to placate the Left as best they can.    I don’t think the NFL and the owners are under the impression that this will result in changing the hearts and minds of the Left … just get their destruction off the top of the Left’s to-do list.

    • #3
  4. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    I don’t think the NFL and the owners are under the impression that this will result in changing the hearts and minds of the Left … just get their destruction off the top of the Left’s to-do list.

    Bargaining with the crocodile so that they will be eaten last, in other words.

    • #4
  5. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    Ekosj (View Comment):
    I don’t think the NFL and the owners are under the impression that this will result in changing the hearts and minds of the Left … just get their destruction off the top of the Left’s to-do list.

    Bargaining with the crocodile so that they will be eaten last, in other words.

    Yep.    That’s it exactly.     And that the fans will still support the Football no matter what.

    • #5
  6. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Very interesting thesis. I talked to a lefty here at work yesterday and he (a former marine!) wasn’t worried about the current issue — instead he railed about the concussion controversy and then he said that he wanted the NFL to be gone. So, he’s on board with the destruction of the NFL and any way it happens is fine with him.

    I think people like Goodell are being portrayed as being leftists too soon. They are probably just suckers in the whole game.

    Remember when Hostess employees got suckered into destroying their livelihoods? The leftist union people got played by the hard line leftists who are advising unions these days. Back in the day the Commies brought muscle and NY Times influence along with their “help” but now it’s just search and destroy. They are feeling their oats with all their recent successes.

    If you are right then Trump is playing into the leftists’ game plan.

    I’m glad for the discussion about this among all the football players’ families and friends. They need to figure out explicitly whether they want to find some things to admire about this country or not.

    I think we can win this if things can be tamped down — but this will only happen if they fire some of the players who refuse to show respect for the flag. That’s a non-negotiable item.

    • #6
  7. Paul Erickson Inactive
    Paul Erickson
    @PaulErickson

    Victor Tango Kilo: “Unity” is just a word the left uses to mean “Shut Up and Obey!”

    Exactly.  We can all be unified in agreement on that.

    • #7
  8. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Let’s say the “activist left” does hate the NFL.  What does that really have to do with the players, whose actions are, for the most part, driving this whole thing?  I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated.  Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left, but this strikes me as more of an African-American thing than an activist left thing.  The two are not the same.   The budding controversy over concussions/CTE strikes me as more of an activist left motivated issue, for better or worse.  It may well transform football as we know it.

    • #8
  9. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated. Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left.

    Sentence No.1 is directly contradicted by sentence No. 2

    • #9
  10. Larry Koler Inactive
    Larry Koler
    @LarryKoler

    Hoyacon (View Comment):
    I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated. Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left, but this strikes me as more of an African-American thing than an activist left thing.

    The hard left’s single most important weapon is race. They spent decades linking race to their future and they are joined at the hip.

    • #10
  11. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    Larry Koler (View Comment):
    I talked to a lefty here at work yesterday and he (a former marine!) wasn’t worried about the current issue — instead he railed about the concussion controversy and then he said that he wanted the NFL to be gone.

    I think this is going to be a much bigger issue in the immediate future.

    • #11
  12. Bob Thompson Member
    Bob Thompson
    @BobThompson

    MarciN (View Comment):

    Larry Koler (View Comment):
    I talked to a lefty here at work yesterday and he (a former marine!) wasn’t worried about the current issue — instead he railed about the concussion controversy and then he said that he wanted the NFL to be gone.

    I think this is going to be a much bigger issue in the immediate future.

    But then we are right back to the issue of groups telling individuals what choices they can make or not. I don’t see how a U.S. Marine can get to a position like that.

    • #12
  13. Columbo Inactive
    Columbo
    @Columbo

    The irony with this is that the Left detests the NFL. And these “useful idiots” (owners, coaches, commissioner, players) are getting in line with the PC actions and statements as dictated to them by the Left to stay in their good graces and be popular on Twitter … or something.

    And they support Colin Kaepernick as their role model, cause celebre and movement leader?!

    Kaepernick explains …

    “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street [he refers to the fake news of Michael Brown’s death] and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder [referring to exonerated Officer Darren Wilson].”

    They have committed suicide by these actions even if they don’t know it yet.

    The goal of the Left is to shut them down, and the NFL has helped them do it …

     

    • #13
  14. Ekosj Member
    Ekosj
    @Ekosj

    The think that just slays me about the Kaepernick thing is that he HAD a job for this season.    He had a player-option to play this year for 14 million dollars ( plus bonus bumps up to 16 million).   He opted out!!!     He doesn’t have a job because he quit!!!!

    • #14
  15. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated. Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left.

    Sentence No.1 is directly contradicted by sentence No. 2

    I understand your point and thought about that as I was writing.  There is an atmosphere created by the left, but it was not created specifically for the purpose of destroying the NFL and “manipulating” NFL players.  I guess I’m saying that, on this count, I don’t see the league as being directly targeted, although I certainly agree that the left (in general) has little use for football.  The concussion issue, on the other hand, is absolutely front and center.

     

    • #15
  16. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated. Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left.

    Sentence No.1 is directly contradicted by sentence No. 2

    I understand your point and thought about that as I was writing. There is an atmosphere created by the left, but it was not created specifically for the purpose of destroying the NFL and “manipulating” NFL players. I guess I’m saying that, on this count, I don’t see the league as being directly targeted, although I certainly agree that the left (in general) has little use for football. The concussion issue, on the other hand, is absolutely front and center.

    The players are adults take them by their actions.  They are showing their contempt for The anthem, the flag, Americans and America as a whole.  They regularly show their love for BLM, an organization that basically wants to kill or lock up cops.  Not sure why everybody wants to cut these guys any slack.  They would not do it for the rest of the country.

    • #16
  17. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Perhaps the concussions are responsible for all the kneeling.

    • #17
  18. MJBubba Member
    MJBubba
    @

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    I can’t really buy that the players are being manipulated. Yes, they are reacting to theorizing about racial injustice that comes mostly from the left.

    Sentence No.1 is directly contradicted by sentence No. 2

    I understand your point and thought about that as I was writing. There is an atmosphere created by the left, but it was not created specifically for the purpose of destroying the NFL and “manipulating” NFL players. I guess I’m saying that, on this count, I don’t see the league as being directly targeted, although I certainly agree that the left (in general) has little use for football. The concussion issue, on the other hand, is absolutely front and center.

    The way the Left co-opted leadership of the NAACP and other pro-African-American organizations was not specifically done for the purpose of destroying the NFL.  That is just a bonus.

    African-American football players are not any more at fault than other African-Americans for failing to recognize that the leaders of their traditional advocacy groups are all ardent Leftists, carrying water for Progressives even when Leftist policy is clearly counter to the interests of most African-Americans.

    • #18
  19. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    The protests have left the sideline and are now on the field.

    Imagine if a white player tackled a black player and made a White Power gesture…..

    • #19
  20. Joe Boyle Member
    Joe Boyle
    @JoeBoyle

    Many of us fought for the players right to lock arms or take knees. I got it. I’ve also got you don’t like me and I don’t like you. So move on. Play ball. We’re good.

    • #20
  21. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    Boy, howdy – I couldn’t agree with this post and the HotAir article more. Both Stephen Hicks and Jordan Peterson have shown how the NeoMarxist/Post Modernist corruption of the education system since the late 1960s has resulted in the movement to tear down western institutions and any symbols or areas of the culture that celebrate the values of western civilization. The NFL, as the OP and the HotAir article quite correctly point out, is just the latest target and the players who may actually have sincere concerns about injustice without the desire to actually delve into the factual evidence which doesn’t support their concerns, are only the latest tools of the Left.

    Then we are treated to the profound remarks of world-renowned political philosopher and NBA coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs who firmly believes that America is an embarrassment to the world and then went onto say:

    “Whether it is LGBT movement, women’s suffrage, race, [it] doesn’t matter. People have to be made to feel uncomfortable; especially white people. We still have no clue of what being born white means.”

    Which suggests to me that these protests don’t stop with the false narrative of rampant racist police brutality and that at any given sports event, the anthem will be disrespected for any perceived injustice that these brilliant intellectuals of their respective leagues deem necessary to highlight.

    I spent the better part of a couple of days trying to present the evidence on police statistics with some of my Leftist-bent cousins who reside in Oregon and Washington on Facebook only to be confronted with the same white privilege/white guilt/thus white responsibility to address this perceived wrong claptrap that Popovich also espouses. Not a one of them took the time to read or respond to my specific references of the actual factual evidence that discredited the notion of an upsurge of racist police brutality nor a video of Heather Mac Donald walking through the statistical evidence. No, it was all about feelings and white guilt which tells me that they’ve been so fully indoctrinated that all they can do is spout off the emotionally-laden nonsense they’ve listened to in high school and college. Feelings of injustice always outweigh actual evidence.

    I’ll end by at least providing a refreshing sample of sanity from Jordan Peterson. Enjoy.

    • #21
  22. Brian Watt Inactive
    Brian Watt
    @BrianWatt

    Waiting for NFL players to protest the abortions of millions of potential black children and Planned Parenthood as conceived by founder Margaret Sanger as a method to eliminate the black race, as well as the mentally-challenged.

    and waiting…and waiting…

    • #22
  23. Scott Abel Inactive
    Scott Abel
    @ScottAbel

    MarciN (View Comment):

    Larry Koler (View Comment):
    I talked to a lefty here at work yesterday and he (a former marine!) wasn’t worried about the current issue — instead he railed about the concussion controversy and then he said that he wanted the NFL to be gone.

    I think this is going to be a much bigger issue in the immediate future.

    I would not want my son playing football (he’s only 4 now), knowing what is known about the possible long-term health consequences.

    The starting center at Kansas State quit before his senior year this season because he had suffered a couple of concussions, and decided he had had enough. I think he’s wise. You need your brain.

    • #23
  24. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    From the NFL Game Operations Manual:

    • #24
  25. TG Thatcher
    TG
    @TG

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    From the NFL Game Operations Manual:

    There’s been a lot of misinformation on this floating around.  If you tell me you have verified this is the current document, I believe you.

    • #25
  26. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    TG (View Comment):

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    From the NFL Game Operations Manual:

    There’s been a lot of misinformation on this floating around. If you tell me you have verified this is the current document, I believe you.

    From wnd.com:

    The NFL’s operations manual, which, unlike its rule book, is not available to the public, states:

    “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”

    The NFL declined to respond to multiple WND inquiries on the issue

    http://www.wnd.com/2017/09/busted-nfl-rules-require-anti-anthem-players-to-appear-on-field/

     

     

     

    • #26
  27. RightAngles Member
    RightAngles
    @RightAngles

    I believe the liberals who are triumphantly pointing out that it doesn’t appear in the rule book don’t understand that the Operations Manual and the NFL Rules are two different documents.

    • #27
  28. TG Thatcher
    TG
    @TG

    Thank you, RA

    • #28
  29. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    RightAngles (View Comment):
    I believe the liberals who are triumphantly pointing out that it doesn’t appear in the rule book don’t understand that the Operations Manual and the NFL Rules are two different documents.

    I suspect they know perfectly well.  But like all Leftist, they also know if they lie enough it becomes the truth.  So they lie until they make the truth they want.

    • #29
  30. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    One interesting side effect of the NFL thing.  My lodge tried to field a golf scramble a month or so ago (before Trump blew up the NFL) and could not get enough people / teams.  We rescheduled for yesterday and fielded a full set of 8 teams, we were only expecting 5 or 6.  It seems that many of these guys mentioned that they had the time available because of the NFL fiasco and had decided not to go to or watch the games anymore.  One guy who did not make it apologized because he was going to a NFL game and the only reason he was going is because his daughter asked him to other wise he would have skipped the game.  Just some interesting data points.

    • #30
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