Column: Why do whites oppose the NFL protests?

[gollygee]

This is from September but it seems relevant to white people's opinions on how black people should protest, and we're talking about that again.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chapman/ct-perspec-whites-nfl-anthem-protests-20170927-story.html

In a poll, whites were asked whether the NFL players kneeling in protest during the national anthem are helping or hurting the cause of racial justice. No fewer than 85 percent said they are hurting it.

Clearly, this offense to the anthem and the American flag is the worst possible way to change minds. Blacks need to find a less divisive means to register their discontent.

Oh, wait. I’ve got that wrong. Those figures don’t come from a new poll. They come from a survey taken in 1966 asking whites whether “the demonstrations by Negroes on civil rights have helped more or hurt more in the advancement of Negro rights.”

Only 15 percent of whites surveyed thought those peaceful protests would advance the cause of integration and equality. Martin Luther King Jr. and his nonviolent methods are honored even by conservatives today, but in 1967, half of whites said he was harming blacks, with only 36 percent disagreeing.

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

"Hurting the cause" = makes me uncomfortable

[Hortensis]

28. Well, what matters is that 62% of DEMOCRATS support the NFL players,

and 66% of blacks.

I hate bogus titles like this. I'm white, I'm an American, I knew that was an intentionally deceptive headline at first glance. We're being tarred with a Republican brushes, one 50 years old, one new, and without thoughtful explanation offered once reading.

Current NFL pollS show a plurality of whites against, but far, far more modest at 60% and for various reasons. (Some are sympathetic to the players cause but think football's an entertainment business, the players are employees, and for either side to express political views to captive paying audiences is inappropriate.)

538: Just as in previous polls on this issue, there are huge racial and partisan divides.

According to the HuffPost/YouGov poll, most black people (66 percent) and Democrats (62 percent) think that kneeling is appropriate, while most white people (60 percent) and Republicans (87 percent) think it is inappropriate.

But opinions among these groups aren’t uniform: 29 percent of black people back the new NFL policy (per Yahoo/YouGov), 34 percent of black people either feel kneeling is inappropriate or aren’t sure how they feel about the issue (per HuffPost/YouGov) and 23 percent of Democrats think kneeling is inappropriate (again per HuffPost). In contrast, just 8 percent of Republicans think it is appropriate. ...

There’s a lot going on in these questions, which makes interpreting them tricky: Patriotism. Free speech. Race. Politics. President Trump. There are a lot hot-button issues that intersect in the NFL protests. As a result, slightly different questions can yield very different results. ...

Finally, it’s not surprising that the national anthem protests are unpopular: As we wrote last year, protests are often unpopular. (If the majority of people supported a position, you likely wouldn’t need to protest in the first place.) About 60 percent of Americans disliked the “sit-ins” conducted by civil rights protesters and the March on Washington led by Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s. King himself is revered now, but 63 percent of Americans viewed him unfavorably in a 1966 Gallup survey, compared to 33 percent who had favorable views. Vietnam War protests were also unpopular, as were those against the Iraq War more than three decades later.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-agree-with-trumps-nfl-anthem-stance-so-hell-likely-keep-talking-about-it/

[Soxfan58]

29. ...

[sandensea]

2. I think it's mostly Republican/right-wing whites

And in their case it's probably guilt. They know their attitude is largely to blame for the wave of abuses (and impunity) and they feel alluded.

[Spider Jerusalem]

16. Which is "most whites", or at least the ones who vote

Trump won in every single white demographic except three: Jews, under-30's, and people with advanced degrees.

[sandensea]

25. True.

Sad, but true - and it seems to be getting worse over time.

As Cheeto - and other right-wing despots elected in recent years like Duda, Orban, and Macri know - race baiting works.

[american_ideals]

34. But not all. Democratic Party is a coalition of all races

The OP should be very careful NOT to accuse all white people.

Because the Democratic Party is a coalition of all races: white, and black and every other race.

And we’re going to need all those votes to win in November.

Feel free to criticize the white Republicans who hate Kaepernick and are propagandized by right wing media. But if you want to win elections, do NOT criticize the white Democrats who are black allies. There are millions of those white Democrats. We need to find common ground.

[SWBTATTReg]

3. I don't know what whites were canvessed, but I don't object to any protests by anyone, it's ...

our constitutional right. Nothing more to say. Attempts to stifle I think are misguided and probably unconstitutional in some manner.

Protest away! I will be in the background approving.

[treestar]

4. someone should take that actual poll though

there is nothing proving that 85% of white people object to the kneeling protests. A lot has changed since 1966.

[gollygee]

5. Good point! So I checked! :)

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-agree-with-trumps-nfl-anthem-stance-so-hell-likely-keep-talking-about-it/

So 60%of white people object to the NFL protests. 87% of white Republicans, though I don't think that's surprising.

[Anon-C]

9. Loll! Nt

[treestar]

10. Oh boy

Still pretty high

[ProudLib72]

18. 85% down to only 60%!

Now that is true progress!

[gollygee]

22. 15% in 50 years. nt

[CozyMystery]

32. Yeah, and the kneeling is not the problem. It's a diversion from the problem. nt

[unblock]

6. It's manufactured outrage. Kneeling is a sign of *respect* in any other context

They only decided to take offense to distract from what is being protested and to position themselves as somehow patriotic while ignoring the pleas on behalf of Americans getting killed.

[treestar]

11. Orange inspired too

I think it would still be but not such a big thing without the Dotard and his minion Pence.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

7. You mean wy-wypipo oppose NFL players' protest? Answer's simple... they're wypipo, nuff said.

[HopeAgain]

8. How did white Americans get so weird

about a piece of cloth and a bad song?

[treestar]

12. +1

And at a sports event no less

[woundedkarma]

13. Whites don't, TRUMPETERS do.

Please stop throwing everyone into the same bucket because of the color of their skin.

So much irony.

[EffieBlack]

19. Not limited to Republicans. I've seen white people on DU say the players should find a different way

to protest because, they say, kneeling is counter-productive since it "turns people off."

Of course, they mean it turns off some white people ...

[CentralMass]

30. The poll shows some black support for the NFL policy as well.

For the record I'm a 58 year old white guy that stands and puts my hand on my heart. However I support and respect the right of people to make their own choice on the matter. I have my reasons for respecting the flag and the country.

"Just as in previous polls on this issue, there are huge racial and partisan divides. According to the HuffPost/YouGov poll, most black people (66 percent) and Democrats (62 percent) think that kneeling is appropriate, while most white people (60 percent) and Republicans (87 percent) think it is inappropriate. But opinions among these groups aren’t uniform: 29 percent of black people back the new NFL policy (per Yahoo/YouGov), 34 percent of black people either feel kneeling is inappropriate or aren’t sure how they feel about the issue (per HuffPost/YouGov) and 23 percent of Democrats think kneeling is inappropriate (again per HuffPost). In contrast, just 8 percent of Republicans think it is appropriate."

[EffieBlack]

37. Are these scientific polls?

[CentralMass]

38. Here is the link to the article.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/many-americans-agree-with-trumps-nfl-anthem-stance-so-hell-likely-keep-talking-about-it/

It sites the polls and provides links to them with the sampling details.
Here: https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5b0dc5ade4b0568a880f7e9b

And here:
https://sports.yahoo.com/poll-nfl-fans-overwhelmingly-support-leagues-national-anthem-policy-193906840.html

[EffieBlack]

39. Thanks

[CentralMass]

40. You are welcome.

[gollygee]

21. There were a pretty good number of people here who were opposed to it when it started

so it does include here, although I should clarify that I don't write for the Chicago Tribune so I didn't write this and I doubt the writer was thinking of DU. I posted it here for discussion.

[ismnotwasm]

14. K&R

[dustyscamp]

15. Their minds have been obliterated by too much faux news and breitbart propaganda

[dlk]

17. Some Whites Object to Any Type of Protest

Peaceful or otherwise. It's too much reality for them to deal with.

[gollygee]

23. Yes I think that's the bottom line

It's the idea that African Americans would protest at all.

[ProudLib72]

20. This is just a very poignant example of who controls the narrative

If they control it to the extent that first amendment rights are abolished.

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

26. I've never understood it

To me, it has always looked solemn and respectful. People react like they are standing with middle fingers raised on both hands.

[MFM008]

27. I support my team

And all protesters.

[VOX]

31. The answer resides in the question itself.

“Why do whites oppose the NFL protests?”

Those who object the loudest are the less-educated WHITES, and it galls them to see so many African American athletes expressing a legitimate political grievance, when they should just calm down and be good “boys” who know their place— entertaining their WHITE spectators.

In case it’s needed, yes, it’s truth, but couched in

[american_ideals]

33. No. REPUBLICAN white people.

Democratic white people and black people are on the same side: we are pro-Kaepernick.

[MountCleaners]

35. The two white conservatives I know

(yes my social circle is very narrow and normally I can't stomach being around them, but in this case, they're people who married into my family) actually support the players. So there is hope. The one guy is a former Marine, and ultraconservative and normally drives me nuts but when I talked to him about police brutality, he had some surprisingly progressive views. He doesn't worship the police like so many right-wingers and he thinks that Black Lives Matter and the NFL players have a point. It's funny how conservatives are all about "limited government" unless the government is targeting people and assaulting and even killing them.

The other guy said that watching football made him uncomfortable because the owners are mostly white and the players are majority black and that the relationship reminded him of slavery.

Of course, both of these guys live in urban areas where lots of contact with black co-workers and neighbors makes them more likely to heed and respect their viewpoints.

Yeah, there is pushback, but the NFL protests are great in that they add a great deal of legitimacy to the cause and people can see that this isn't some fringe thing.

[ananda]

36. I support them all the way!

Protest is constitutionally protected and
often necessary!