NFL Boycott - Will FedEx Peak be easier...in current events?

[vantexan]

Trouble in the Balkans started WW1.

Started long before that. The Ottoman Turks controlled the area for 500 years. They subjugated various ethnicities and were brutal in putting down uprisings. Had rules like Christian families had to give up a son to serve in their military. The son was forced to convert to Islam. Churches couldn't be built as high as a mosque. Some churches were built into the ground so that the inside could still have a high ceiling. The Muslims in the region today are descendants of Christians who converted to get better treatment. WWI's aftermath was a major problem too. Borders were drawn that divided groups like the Albanians. Interestingly the communist dictatorship in Albania brutally tried to stamp out all religion there. It was the world's first declared atheist state. The result is that most Albanians are only nominally religious. Their ancestors were Muslim or Christian so that's what they are. But the Muslim majority gets along well with the Christian minority. Unlike intensely Muslim countries Albanian Muslims drink alcohol, eat pork, and women wear what they please, including very revealing bathing suits at the beach. One fellow traveling through was invited to eat with a Muslim group at a restaurant. He commented he was surprised at the alcohol and pork. They all laughed and said they're Muslim-lite. There are more conservative practitioners of Islam and Christianity there, but they are a small minority. And yet the Albanians have deep seated animosity towards the Serbs and Macedonians, and vice versa.

 

[oldngray]

Started long before that. The Ottoman Turks controlled the area for 500 years. They subjugated various ethnicities and were brutal in putting down uprisings. Had rules like Christian families had to give up a son to serve in their military. The son was forced to convert to Islam. Churches couldn't be built as high as a mosque. Some churches were built into the ground so that the inside could still have a high ceiling. The Muslims in the region today are descendants of Christians who converted to get better treatment. WWI's aftermath was a major problem too. Borders were drawn that divided groups like the Albanians. Interestingly the communist dictatorship in Albania brutally tried to stamp out all religion there. It was the world's first declared atheist state. The result is that most Albanians are only nominally religious. Their ancestors were Muslim or Christian so that's what they are. But the Muslim majority gets along well with the Christian minority. Unlike intensely Muslim countries Albanian Muslims drink alcohol, eat pork, and women wear what they please, including very revealing bathing suits at the beach. One fellow traveling through was invited to eat with a Muslim group at a restaurant. He commented he was surprised at the alcohol and pork. They all laughed and said they're Muslim-lite. There are more conservative practitioners of Islam and Christianity there, but they are a small minority. And yet the Albanians have deep seated animosity towards the Serbs and Macedonians, and vice versa.

Yugoslavia was only held together as long as Tito was in control. After he died it went back to genocide and ethnic cleansing in a 3 sided war.

 

[vantexan]

Yugoslavia was only held together as long as Tito was in control. After he died it went back to genocide and ethnic cleansing in a 3 sided war.

Tito was probably the most beloved dictator in history. Yugoslavia actually flourished under his brand of communism. Enver Hoxha in next door Albania however was a paranoid sob. Ironic that Yugoslavia disintegrated into ethnic and religious strife while Albania didn't. Kosovo by the way is 90% Albanian and the Albanians there are mostly Muslim. They and Albanians in Macedonia have had real strife with their Christian dominated gov'ts. Kosovo of course broke away from Serbia with our help. Mother Teresa was an Albanian Christian from Skopje, Macedonia by the way.

 

[oldngray]

Tito was probably the most beloved dictator in history. Yugoslavia actually flourished under his brand of communism. Enver Hoxha in next door Albania however was a paranoid sob. Ironic that Yugoslavia disintegrated into ethnic and religious strife while Albania didn't. Kosovo by the way is 90% Albanian and the Albanians there are mostly Muslim. They and Albanians in Macedonia have had real strife with their Christian dominated gov'ts. Kosovo of course broke away from Serbia with our help. Mother Teresa was an Albanian Christian from Skopje, Macedonia by the way.

Albania is pretty much the filthy armpit of Europe. Full of terrorists and Russian mob money but little else.

As far as the former Yugoslavia I always think of the Serbs as Orthodox Christians, the Croatians as Roman Catholics, and the Bosnians as Muslims. And they all hate each other.

Macedonians are like the Greek hillbillies.

 

[vantexan]

Albania is pretty much the filthy armpit of Europe. Full of terrorists and Russian mob money but little else.

As far as the former Yugoslavia I always think of the Serbs as Orthodox Christians, the Croatians as Roman Catholics, and the Bosnians as Muslims. And they all hate each other.

Macedonians are like the Greek hillbillies.

Albania isn't nearly as bad as you say. Not full of terrorists. And the Albanian mob? They're in other countries where people actually have money. Albania itself has very little violent crime. Two UNESCO world heritage cities. An incredibly beautiful coastline. Great food. Has a lot of poor people and trash is everywhere. Not perfect, but getting better.

Macedonia isn't Greek, and that's a huge problem for Greece. They've blocked any chance of Macedonia getting into the EU. There's a region in northern Greece called Macedonia and they feel the Slavs in Macedonia the country have stolen their heritage. Macedonians are Slavic, with a language very similar to Bulgarian.
Bosnia is majority Muslim, but barely. Bosnia and Herzegovina is pretty much split three ways between Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats.

One thing comes through often in research. The Serbs were to Yugoslavia what the Russians were to the Soviet Union. The dominant ethnic group that usually got things their way. It was a major factor in the country's collapse. People get tired of getting dominated. I've talked to Serbs on a forum where they blame everyone else but themselves for how everything turned out. They'll tell you Albanians aren't a real ethnic group and that present day Albania should be their's. Get infuriated when I point out they didn't arrive to the area until the 6th Century and Albanians are descended from the original Illyrians. Their greatest kingdom was centered in Kosovo but the Ottomans changed the area's composition. They don't want to let it go but they took a massive infrastructure hit from NATO for trying ethnic cleansing there.

 

[Route 66]

Tucker Carlson was talking about the significance of the NFL protests about a week ago..

That guy is such a dweeb. He might as well go back to wearing his bow ties. I don’t know who’s worse - him or Hannity. There needs to be more guys like Krauthammer. He’s a no BS’er, and one of the very few at FoxNews who actually subscribes to the “fair and balanced” motto (which I think they actually finally stopped using BTW cuz even they knew it was a joke that nobody was buying anymore).

 

[vantexan]

That guy is such a dweeb. He might as well go back to wearing his bow ties. I don’t know who’s worse - him or Hannity. There needs to be more guys like Krauthammer. He’s a no BS’er, and one of the very few at FoxNews who actually subscribes to the “fair and balanced” motto (which I think they actually finally stopped using BTW cuz even they knew it was a joke that nobody was buying anymore).

Come on now, if you are watching you know they still use the slogan. Does he not have a point?

 

[Route 66]

Just checked it out, van. Fox did in fact drop the slogan. Evidently they decided it was too closely associated with Roger Ailes. I guess that was his brainchild.

I don’t watch any of those extreme news channels anymore since I ditched cable (and I’m feeling much more serene these days for it). That and having disconnected Vintage Flatulence - life has been practically nirvana.

 

[fatboy33]

Maybe!
I'd like to walk without hurting and I am sure there are lots of other things.
I'm fairly happy.
I don't worry about stuff I can't control ... it would be pretty stupid for me to do that. Maybe that works for you.
I take all the things I can't control and give them to my GOD.
My GOD has a cruncher is it's right knee that takes all my troubles, worries and fears I can't control and shreds them into nothingness.
My GOD is a great God.

Well maybe you could have lent him to those 500 people last sunday. They could have used a Great God to jam the killers guns or give that killer a heart attack in that room so many people would be whole today. But I digress.

 

[fatboy33]

You've got an interesting take on things. But it's not cut and dried. Sometimes cops do terrible things. Most times they don't. But you seem to think most, if not all, cops are racist a-holes who are actively seeking to harm minorities. In a country of 325 million you see a few reports, some of which were twisted and untrue, some no doubt true, and conclude all cops are this or that. Even if you saw a thousand negative stories about cops that's a drop in the bucket compared to the number of interactions cops have with the public every day. And many of those stories will be false, twisted to get people just like you to at the very least doubt the police. A cop's job is to enforce the law. A soldier's job is to kill the enemy. Two different worlds. Hopefully you'll never have to call for help because you or your family's lives are in danger. And hopefully if you do need help you won't resist calling because of your distrust.

We had a talk about that very topic. I read a story in Mississippi where the cops were responding to a domestic. The cops went to the wrong house and a Mexican man was executed. It's unclear but some say he was shot before he could open his front door. We don't know but the facts are the cops went to the wrong house and killed an innocent man. We talked about living with a death like that on our conscience. Your call caused an innocent to lose his life. I know we have plenty of stories where cops take their own money and help people. Cops going into inner cites and buying food for kids. Maybe this doesn't qualify but a Cop in Canada caught a young man stealing clothes. The man said he had a job interview and had not one suit to his name. The cop bought the suit for the young man. That is a cop I will stand up for. I know the stories are out there and a new one happening everyday. I look for them. But, at the same time, a cop can do all these wonderful things but turning a blind eye to his dirty brothers only makes him part of the problem. Those victims don't want to hear about a cop buying a basketball nets or paying a mothers rent when their dad is dead.

 

[fatboy33]

It's called 'reverse racism'. Ironic thing is, many of the blacks I know look down on Hispanics as THEIR inferior. To me, the only inferior ones are those who refuse to put in the effort to rise above their current station in life, then want to blame others for it. And Van, you were correct when you posted that our Federal Government is cultivating that mentality with social aid handed out without evidence of real need.

Trust me, If we cut Federal aid(welfare), more poor whites would be effected than black or Hispanics. You know it and I know it. And revise racism is code for, "We like the way things are so shut your mouth". When slavery ended. The Mayflower Whites here only hired those ex-slaves.They were skilled and worked hard. Those slaves prospered and created many black communities. "Catholic need not apply". That really meant, Irish need not apply. Those signs precede "Negro need not.." Jealous, those Irish systematically burned black community after black community to the ground. Blacks had put in the effort to better themselves but the Irish burned destroyed that effort. Law enforcement was, at that time and to a point still today, and Irish profession. They eliminated black male threw bogus arrests and imprisonment. The same way the English did them(Irish) back in their old country. Then, some Irish cops became elected officials. Did you know Unions were created to keep blacks from working? Those same Irish government folk past laws saying employers were only allow to hire from unions. And those unions, as you would guess, didn't allow Blacks. But that wasn't good enough. Look at the names authoring Jim Crow, Irish surnames. And you know the irony to this? During Slavery, Irish and Blacks married and had children with each other . But think for a second. How can so many Blacks have Irish surnames? That's how. The Mayflower whites saw Irish as Black people. Why do you think Conor McGregor has a huge Ape tattooed on his chest? That's what they were called, After the so many Slave rebellions, and yes Irish were in a form a slavery as well, the Slave owners went to the Irish and told them they are now white and will now be slave overseers, run away slave catchers. Maybe this is how they jump so easy into Law enforcement in this country. Boston, an Irish city, was for many years seen as the most racist city above the Mason-Dixon line.
Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have all come to this country working from the start. Don't mistake what you call reverse racism for people calling out the wrongs this country were built on. For days a people were quiet. For days they were marched into ovens.

 

[Catatonic]

Well maybe you could have lent him to those 500 people last sunday. They could have used a Great God to jam the killers guns or give that killer a heart attack in that room so many people would be whole today. But I digress.

My God.

 

[Oldfart]

Trust me, If we cut Federal aid(welfare), more poor whites would be effected than black or Hispanics. You know it and I know it. And revise racism is code for, "We like the way things are so shut your mouth". When slavery ended. The Mayflower Whites here only hired those ex-slaves.They were skilled and worked hard. Those slaves prospered and created many black communities. "Catholic need not apply". That really meant, Irish need not apply. Those signs precede "Negro need not.." Jealous, those Irish systematically burned black community after black community to the ground. Blacks had put in the effort to better themselves but the Irish burned destroyed that effort. Law enforcement was, at that time and to a point still today, and Irish profession. They eliminated black male threw bogus arrests and imprisonment. The same way the English did them(Irish) back in their old country. Then, some Irish cops became elected officials. Did you know Unions were created to keep blacks from working? Those same Irish government folk past laws saying employers were only allow to hire from unions. And those unions, as you would guess, didn't allow Blacks. But that wasn't good enough. Look at the names authoring Jim Crow, Irish surnames. And you know the irony to this? During Slavery, Irish and Blacks married and had children with each other . But think for a second. How can so many Blacks have Irish surnames? That's how. The Mayflower whites saw Irish as Black people. Why do you think Conor McGregor has a huge Ape tattooed on his chest? That's what they were called, After the so many Slave rebellions, and yes Irish were in a form a slavery as well, the Slave owners went to the Irish and told them they are now white and will now be slave overseers, run away slave catchers. Maybe this is how they jump so easy into Law enforcement in this country. Boston, an Irish city, was for many years seen as the most racist city above the Mason-Dixon line.
Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have all come to this country working from the start. Don't mistake what you call reverse racism for people calling out the wrongs this country were built on. For days a people were quiet. For days they were marched into ovens.

That's funny. I don't care who you are. While this chart is a few years old, it is accurate enough to show you are totally wrong.

 

[vantexan]

Trust me, If we cut Federal aid(welfare), more poor whites would be effected than black or Hispanics. You know it and I know it. And revise racism is code for, "We like the way things are so shut your mouth". When slavery ended. The Mayflower Whites here only hired those ex-slaves.They were skilled and worked hard. Those slaves prospered and created many black communities. "Catholic need not apply". That really meant, Irish need not apply. Those signs precede "Negro need not.." Jealous, those Irish systematically burned black community after black community to the ground. Blacks had put in the effort to better themselves but the Irish burned destroyed that effort. Law enforcement was, at that time and to a point still today, and Irish profession. They eliminated black male threw bogus arrests and imprisonment. The same way the English did them(Irish) back in their old country. Then, some Irish cops became elected officials. Did you know Unions were created to keep blacks from working? Those same Irish government folk past laws saying employers were only allow to hire from unions. And those unions, as you would guess, didn't allow Blacks. But that wasn't good enough. Look at the names authoring Jim Crow, Irish surnames. And you know the irony to this? During Slavery, Irish and Blacks married and had children with each other . But think for a second. How can so many Blacks have Irish surnames? That's how. The Mayflower whites saw Irish as Black people. Why do you think Conor McGregor has a huge Ape tattooed on his chest? That's what they were called, After the so many Slave rebellions, and yes Irish were in a form a slavery as well, the Slave owners went to the Irish and told them they are now white and will now be slave overseers, run away slave catchers. Maybe this is how they jump so easy into Law enforcement in this country. Boston, an Irish city, was for many years seen as the most racist city above the Mason-Dixon line.
Blacks, Hispanics and Asians have all come to this country working from the start. Don't mistake what you call reverse racism for people calling out the wrongs this country were built on. For days a people were quiet. For days they were marched into ovens.

First let's acknowledge that terrible things happened in the past. Then let's acknowledge that things have greatly improved. And let's say that there are White people living today who didn't own slaves or enforce Jim Crow laws and aren't responsible for that happening. I'm not Black, can't begin to know the pain they feel knowing their grandfather was lynched, or the apprehension they feel when pulled over by a police car. But I do know if a Black man in the 1940's showed attention to a White woman walking by he could get himself beaten or murdered. In what are considered the most racist corners of the country today, such as Alabama, a Black man can have a relationship with a White woman, even marry her, and no one is lynching him, burning a cross in his yard, blowing up his church. Things HAVE progressed. I worked for a Black senior mgr in AZ that I'd go to war for. Blacks have worked hard, gotten the education, made a good life for themselves and their families. And no one is denying them the right to do so.

But the flip side of this is the victim mentality that is pushed by people like Al Sharpton. Everything and everyone is against them, they can't get a fair shake, they're owed for past sins. I'm a large white guy, and based on too many reactions to me over the years from blacks, I get the feeling they look at me and see all of the pain and persecution of 400 years. I've had black cashiers act like it pained them to wait on me countless times even though I smiled and said hello. And often this was just after they very cheerfully waited on a Black customer. The anger and distrust is real, and this constant dredging up of past sins is a major factor, if not the major factor. Race relations won't move forward as long as blacks believe in their hearts that White America is out to hurt them, especially the police force. The facts don't support this myth. More than 90% of all Black murders happen at the hands of other Blacks yet many Blacks sincerely believe that it's Whites doing most of the killing, especially White cops. And White liberals exploit this fear to get the Black vote. And Black leaders like Al Sharpton exploit it to get rich.

Is there racism going on out there? Of course. Are there racist cops? Of course. Is there a systemic persecution of Blacks going on to keep them in their "place?" No. And something else to consider. Blacks do have a right to be concerned anytime there's a killing involving a White cop and a Black. The White cop represents "the system." But extrapolating that into distrust and overt anger towards whites, as well as the constant beating of whites' heads about past injustice, breeds anger amongst whites. Just as we see a rise in groups on the Left like Antifa, who've carried out riots causing extensive damage as well as having attacked numerous people physically including reporters, we're also seeing a rise in white hate groups who see themselves being threatened by minorities and liberals. An economy with too many young men out of work and the constant drone of racism being leveled against them breeds anger. The thing polarizing us more than anything else is advocates of economic change, wanting a switch from capitalism to socialism, are using racism as a wedge to divide us. With much of the media on their side they paint a picture that one side embraces, and the other side is seething with resentment over. What's the endgame? To destroy capitalist America by any means possible? When the Soviet Union collapsed I thought we had a bright future. It never occurred to me that some of our own citizens were upset that it collapsed and decided to work behind the scenes to further what they consider the utopian ideal world. The groundwork has been laid in our universities and in our poorest precincts. And our business leaders certainly have contributed by pushing so many out of the middle class, taking such a large proportion of the economic pie for themselves.

So when we're going off about racism and economic injustice, just remember we're pushing ourselves ever closer to a precipice that leads to violence, possibly civil war down the road. And we're the instruments of those who are working to that end.

 

[Serf]

If you agree and if you still insist on separation (even beyond what now exists) then I think you need to go further and define how the "tribes" will achieve equality of opportunity and equality under the law. I think it's fairly evident that neither takes place so far.

Look up what Green Party VP candidate said this past election cycle. Basically; no dialogue can exist with Americas diversity because all of America is founded on White Supremecy. It's a Terribly slippery slope because most of the free world wants to live here, yet it was founded on unpleasantries.

 

[Serf]

Sounds like Serf wants the US to emulate Iraq or Serbia. Think I'll pass. Our mixed race family is doing ok

Is it though? Every Oreo cookie or pizza bagel I grew up with had an existential identity crisis in the teen years. Whether it not being "black" enough or "white" enough. Even in Asian households, it exists. Look at Kaepernick, a mulatto raised in White America. Basically lashing out. He knows nothing of true African American life. I sincerely hope you experience the least amount of this unfortunate thing that exists in the USA.

 

[Serf]

France is getting that way and is creating some bad trouble spots.

It's odd, We are so different, yet so similar. It's the French Canadians who are smug.

 

[Serf]

Serf have you ever seen the movie Hotel Rwanda? I think I'll take the screwed up way our country is now than any of that craziness.

Of course it could be worse. But the proposition nation we live in now affords us so much. Yet still, a constant downward pull.

 

[oldngray]

It's odd, We are so different, yet so similar. It's the French Canadians who are smug.

 

[fatboy33]

My God.

Keep the faith lol.