(07-06-2020, 01:03 PM)jagibelieve Wrote:

(07-06-2020, 05:24 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: You guys don't understand what's really happening.   A few decades ago, after the assassination of Dr. King, thousands of cities and towns all over the country decided to name a street after him.   Now what was that really all about?   That was a low cost way of throwing a bone to black people.  Almost purely symbolic.  Just calming people down, "Hey, we'll name a street after him.  See how much we care?"  


It's the same thing with statue removal, changing the Mississippi flag, playing the "black national anthem," and a whole lot of other cost-free, purely symbolic exercises that in the long run, are fairly meaningless.  

People who have power stay in power because they understand how to occasionally appease the masses, throw them a bone, let a little of the pressure off.  It's how you avoid an explosion.  Throw a little oil on troubled waters.  "I feel your pain."  "I'm on your side."   

So in the case of the NFL owners, they say, "We have to throw these guys a bone, get them calmed down a little, so we can get on with making money."   So they let the players kneel, and they come up with some sort of "program" to fight racial injustice, and they play the "black national anthem" one time.  These are all virtually cost-free ways of calming troubled waters so the people in power can stay in power.

I would say that the part in bold is pretty insulting and divisive.

Here's another thought.  Perhaps cities named streets after Dr. King in order to honor him.

Do you think Lenny Curry removed the confederate statue from the front of City Hall because he wanted to do that, or because he felt pressured to do it due to current events/protests? 

hint: he was pressured and placating

Marty's implication is no different. 

I'm sure there were a few local government individuals and entities that chose to honor MLK from a place of honesty and integrity. I'm sure there were others that did so because they felt they needed to placate a portion of their citizenship. 

Insulting and divisive as the truth behind such empty gestures may be, it's undoubtedly true. It's an indelible part of politics. Politicians seek to please disparate segments of their constituency all the time. 

Hell of a lot easier for a mayor to rename a street or move a monument than it is to actually implement reform of his police department. And it's the people who want that reform he's placating. 

Goodell is the mayor in this particular scenario, and "Lift Every Voice" is the renamed street.

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