To think footballers taking the knee is hypocritical?

If a soldier salutes is that a meaningless gesture ? If a person puts their hand on Their heart for a national anthem ?
Gestures are gestures and who is to say they are meant less for those making them ?

As for the pathetic fuss about saying taking the knee instead of kneeling........what does it matter.

timetogo2016

Well put 25aAvalon.
And as for football and the BLM i no longer watch it and neither does my DH and we shant be following it in anyway shape or form.
NO MORE FOOTY TOPS IN OUR HOUSE.

Can’t have been devoted fans then.

No, I do not believe that footballers who take the knee are being hypocritical.
I believe in white privilege. It's real. Black Lives Matter.

And please don’t shout, it’s very rude.

Words fail me.

Well put 25aAvalon.
And as for football and the BLM i no longer watch it and neither does my DH and we shant be following it in anyway shape or form.
NO MORE FOOTY TOPS IN OUR HOUSE.

Absolutely no comment.

flopen

My DH watches football a lot. It really gets on my nerves to see footballers taking the knee in support of BLM at the start of a match when I've not heard one of them protest against the working conditions of those building the stadium for the World Cup in Qatar, which amount to slavery.
They're happy to make meaningless gestures but indifferent to issues which they could actively do something about.

If you want to draw attention to another abuse of power then that’s fine, but don’t denigrate the efforts of those who are doing their bit.

It is not ‘meaningless’ just because it ‘gets on [your] nerves.

I agree Scribbles.

Slightly OT but ... am I alone in being teeth-grindingly annoyed by the term "taking the knee"? They're kneeling down for goodness sake! Why not just say that?

Flopen, you keep moving the goalposts. First you object to it because it’s ‘meaningless and easy’ hypocrisy, and when people point out that all symbols are meaningless and easy, then you say it’s about BLM. When someone responds to that, you go back to your thing about hypocrisy. As this is an AIBU thread, I can only respond yes, you are, on all sorts of levels.

And 'breaking down cisgender privilege ' it's bollocks like that that mean I'm not going to be voting Labour in the near future.
And defunding the police? Really?

You can vote for a political party and disagree with some of their policies if overall they suit your political leaning. Overall, BLM supports equal treatment for people of colour.

Aaah, so what you really object to is BLM? Which bit of their aims do you object to?

No. I think footballers are being hypocritical when they take the knee.

But I am also uncertain about an organisation that supports defunding the police, and the breakdown of capitalism and the nuclear family. You have cherry picked the less egregious parts of their mission statement, but you must be aware that there are less palatable elements within it.

I also disagree with their support of trans rights, but that's a whole different thread.

Aaah, so what you really object to is BLM? Which bit of their aims do you object to?

From blacklivesmatter.com/about/

‘#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, we are winning immediate improvements in our lives.

We are expansive. We are a collective of liberators who believe in an inclusive and spacious movement. We also believe that in order to win and bring as many people with us along the way, we must move beyond the narrow nationalism that is all too prevalent in Black communities. We must ensure we are building a movement that brings all of us to the front.

We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.

We are working for a world where Black lives are no longer systematically targeted for demise.

We affirm our humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.

The call for Black lives to matter is a rallying cry for ALL Black lives striving for liberation.’

Or from the U.K. blacklivesmatter.uk/about-us/who-we-are

‘We operate as a broad inclusive non-political unifying arm of the Black Lives Movement in Britain within the UK.

Your political position is yours to own, an individual choice. We don't and can't talk for all people and all views, but we stand and will fight for racial and social justice for black people who are discriminated based on the colour for skin, and hope you will too.

United we stand with the British public who abhor racism, shoulder to shoulder, side by side with all people, allies of all colours and ethnicities unified in fighting to end racism by supporting the black lives matter cause breaking down the walls of silence that uphold and sustains racism in Britain. Our fundamental goal is racial and social justice for black citizens that has and is denied on par with fair justice received and extended to white citizens, these injustices for black people that been going on for far too long and within all British systems AND we will not, must not stop until all people are treated equally.

Currently we are working hard behind the scenes in creating many exciting new working partnerships, particularly now that we have attention of the world, humaity. Attention of British citizens and businesses alike, of course all this takes time to plan, coordinate and evolve, seeking and accepting partnerships. Donations, funding is part of the support we need so that we may continue to work to achieve the human right to be treated fair and equality to other citizens.’

I believe, but am prepared to be corrected, that it shows support for BLM. Which, given it's mission statement, I wouldn't be prepared to do.

I would have thought that "taking the knee" would be against any slavery where ever it is - or are we forgetting the fact that there is still slavery happening in this country when young women (usually) have been brought into the country with promises of a good job and home and then find themselves working in brothels ?
Are you also going to have a go at the F1 drivers and teams ? No doubt several of the tracks worldwide, especially those in the Middle East will have been built under similar circumstances ?

Taking the knee is meaningless. and easy You could say the same about clapping for the NHS, but millions of us did it. Especially my across the road neighbours who did it so enthusiastically, singing and banging, with up to six friends? relatives? joining the 4 of them on their small driveway.

flopen

*Do you just not like BLM?*
Where did you get that from?
No, I'm not keen on hypocrisy. Taking the knee is meaningless. and easy.

A lot of symbolic things we do are, in themselves, meaningless and easy. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have a huge importance. Putting a ring on a another person’s finger is meaningless and easy, but in the context of a marriage, the ring is a big deal. Pinning a poppy on a lapel is meaningless and easy, but I’m guessing those who do it don’t consider it to be ‘virtue-signalling’.

Me too Starblaze. It shows that there is still support.

If you were part of a targeted, minority group, visible public signals of support would be meaningful to you, from well known public figures.

It means a lot to some people, that's good enough for me

yes eazy

I would call it pure affectation, now known as 'virtue -signalling'.
The sweatshops in Leicester, and elsewhere, need a proper business investigation, not protests.

But taking the knee is very VISIBLE flopen, which is the whole point. Making it into an easily visible wide-scale movement. Non confrontational, non violent.

It's become a fad, which they feel obliged to follow. The very fact that there are so many black football players indicates that they have little to worry about. It's the fans who are regarded as racist, even though hurling insults at the opposition is traditional, whatever their colour.