My Thoughts On The NFL National Anthem Protests

"Oakland Raiders National Anthem Kneeling" (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Keith Allison

As a supporter of free speech and the first amendment, I fully respect the right that all NFL players and other professional athletes have, to take a knee in peaceful protest of what they perceive to be racism, police violence, injustice or oppression of minorities. Even though I believe their justification for the protest is severely flawed, I completely support their right to express their opinion.

What those players and coaches should acknowledge however, is that the team owners also have the same right to bench them or terminate their contract - not for protesting, but for doing something that owner believes hurts his team's brand.

The Loss of Another Childhood Idol; Eulogizing Chester Bennington

Photo Credit: Chiragddude at: en.wikipedia

As a teenager you don't recognize and certainly can't comprehend the emotional connection you're forming when you turn on the television or listen to your radio. At that moment, you're just escaping, or celebrating, or blowing off some steam. You have a fight with your parents, and you have to release that frustration. You break up with your girlfriend, and you have to be angry, because if you don't get angry, you know you're going to get sad and tears will follow.

So you run to your room and slam your door, or get in your car, find a straightaway and stomp the pedal to the floor. Then once you've escaped, you crank up some music that you know will get you to that place.

What Needs To Be Said About The Target Transgender Restroom Debacle

April 19^th, Target made the controversial announcement that transgender individuals who visited their stores were welcome to use the restroom and dressing room that aligns with their gender identity. Since then, social media has been ablaze with people on both sides of the issue, either coming out in support of Target's stance on transgender restroom acceptance, or damning the entire company and anyone who continues to shop at or be employed by Target to a fiery eternity in hell due to their “passive acceptance” of the issue.

Dammit, Target!  Why must you force us to discuss difficult topics?!

Law Enforcement, Racism and the Media

You turn on the evening news, and the first thing you see is a “Breaking News” banner emblazoned across the screen, as a young reporter dramatically tells a heart-wrenching story of another white police officer shooting an African American suspect.  The reporter spouts off statistics of law enforcement using lethal force, makes reference to the other non-lethal options officers have at their disposal, and then, gravely looking at you through the television screen, he asks the rhetorical question of how many more of these killings it will take before something is done about this unnecessary violence.

If you take this story at face value, then without waiting on the facts, you immediately start calling this a hate crime and demanding the officer be criminally charged, convicted and locked away, you are part of the problem.