Profiles in courage and cowardice.

Some of you reading this are old enough to remember the heroic actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos during the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. What they did took big ones. Athletes back then were not afraid to take a stance on social issues and stand up for what is right. Names like Arthur Ashe, Jim Brown, and Muhammad Ali comes to mind.


And while we are at it, let's not forget the actions of white Australian runner, Peter Norman, who got the silver medal that day and supported his fellow athletes with their struggle.


So we fast forward to 2014 and the latest racial dilemma here in America.


Several players from the St. Louis Rams did something that was very courageous yesterday, and they deserve all the credit in the world for risking their popularity and endorsements to make a social statement for all of America to see. (Gotta love wide receivers.)  


I am glad to see that the NFL will not do something stupid like punish them for their actions. This, in spite of calls from the St. Louis Police Officer's Association for them to apologize. (BTW, there is a white police officers association and a black one in St. Louis.) 


"The SLPOA is calling for the players involved to be disciplined and for the Rams and the NFL to deliver a very public apology. Roorda said he planned to speak to the NFL and the Rams to voice his organization's displeasure tomorrow. He also plans to reach out to other police organizations in St. Louis and around the country to enlist their input on what the appropriate response from law enforcement should be. Roorda warned, "I know that there are those that will say that these players are simply exercising their First Amendment rights. Well I've got news for people who think that way, cops have first amendment rights too, and we plan to exercise ours. I'd remind the NFL and their players that it is not the violent thugs burning down buildings that buy their advertiser's products. It's cops and the good people of St. Louis and other NFL towns that do. Somebody needs to throw a flag on this play. If it's not the NFL and the Rams, then it'll be cops and their supporters."'


So don't go to their games or buy their jerseys, Mr. Roorda. That's how you and the members of your organization can protest what the players did. Not by trying to censor them or punishing them for exercising their right to speak.


And speaking of having the right to speak, maybe that's not such a good idea for coons like Charles Barkley. This dude has been jigging since he came to Philly from Alabama and started chasing unattractive white women in the clubs around town. He actually messed around and married one of them. (Sorry Chuck, I had to put you out there.)


So anyway, he felt it necessary to weigh in on the events of Ferguson, recently.


"Shortly after the Ferguson grand jury decision was announced last week, Charles Barkley went on Philadelphia’s 97.5 Fanatic radio station with host Mike Missanelli, where he shared his reaction to the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. And just as he has done in the past, the NBA all-star did not censor himself.


“The true story came out from the grand jury testimony,” Barkley said, indicating that he believes Wilson’s version of the events and that the shooting was ultimately justified. “We have to be really careful with the cops man, because if it wasn’t for the cops we would be living in the Wild, Wild West in our neighborhoods,” he continued. “We can’t pick out certain incidentals that don’t go our way and act like the cops are all bad.”


“Do you know how bad some of these neighborhoods would be if it wasn’t for the cops?” Barkley asked.


“I can’t believe anything I hear on television anymore,” Barkley said later. “That’s why I don’t like talking about race issues with the media, because they love this stuff.”


“They don’t jump to conclusions when black people kill each other,” he added. Echoing some prominent conservative pundits, Barkley noted that the media doesn’t go “crazy” over the “epidemic” of black-on-black crime. [Source]


Yawn, the black on black crime meme again.


I expect this straw man to appear when wingnuts talk about police brutality, but not from someone like Barkley who should know better.


But, then again, we are talking about Charles.


“There is no excuse for those people to be out there burning down people’s businesses, burning up police cars,” Barkley concluded. “That serves no purpose whatsoever.”'

Of course there is no excuse to be "burning down "businesses", but..... I can understand it.


Charles, you would be able to understand too if you didn't spend so much time locked away in the house.


I understand that you are afraid of losing all the corporate love you built up over all these years. It has been good to you. But remember, all the money in the world can't cover up cowardice.