Lewis Hamilton - UK press suggest he might take a knee in USA

[NYGIANTS]

lewis is one of my favorite current drivers but its not his anthem, flag or country.

lets keep it about the racing.

In the US black males 18-34 have a nine times higher chance of being shot and killed by police than a white male the same age. Lewis spends quite a lot of time in the US and he's in the right demographics so yeah, he's nice time more likely to get shot by a cop while he's here too. Whatever he does or doesn't do is fine by me, his decision. The facts are the facts and everyone in this country should be aware of the issue and if they're uncomfortable about it, maybe demand change instead in the policing practices instead of the athlete's choice to protest.

doesn't matter if he spends 365 days a year in the U.S., he is not an american, and kneeling during the american anthem wouldn't be right. there are other ways to voice your opinions regarding racial injustice and not just through social media. in fact during the austin drivers press conference would've been a good time to reiterate his stance but he chose not to.

the problem with entertainers and athletes everyone thinks they're MLK or Mandela or Ghandi on social media cause of all their followers. lets see how you do regarding your right to free speech when the checks are not coming in, lets see how much of a civil rights activist you are then. there's a difference when your a keyboard warrior civil activist vs true civil rights activist.

[turbof1]

Just for you @TAG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmxTQtEcGvw

Now I have to note here that Caucasians put out similar lovely lines about the police. It's definitely not something solely related to afro-americans.

I also have to note: from my personal view this kind of music is ok. The music is terrible to my ears imo, but just because someones sings he's a cop killer, does not make him a cop killer. It teaches society to rationalize and relativate things. Something our modern western society lacks in many cases.

[NYGIANTS]

lewis is one of my favorite current drivers but its not his anthem, flag or country.

lets keep it about the racing.

That is the point. Most Americans do not take it well if their loved NFL stars "offend" their anthem. And most really see this as an offence. It is no surprise, that Kaepernick has no contract anymore.
They will not take it well and surely not as a good sign, none of them, if a foreigner does the same.

not here and its their right as americans. in fact they are more americans by doing so. lewis kneeling during the US anthem is wrong no matter how many american friends he has black or white.

kaepernick will gain more respect if he continues his stance and not give in for the money. plus i'm sure he has more than enough money to live.

[turbof1]

Being black in America. This is why they'd rather run away from the cops, because there are some really racist ones out there and a lot of others that are more than willing to cover up for them. @George-Jung would rather you not watch this though.

https://youtu.be/8ji4n3J7Caw

You can just feel the distrust between the guy and the police, both being quite tense. The situation between police and afro-american in the USA is in my eyes a case of parties not knowing to handle one another, with one overreaction on the other's overreaction, eventually leading to tragic incidents. No doubt there are racists among cops, as with any profession really, but my view on the whole ordeal in general is that subconsciously prejudgements are playing the biggest role here, not active racism.

And that's a big issue. The most effective way is to get more interaction between all ethnicities so they feel more comfortable with one another. Only, that's a massive undertaking in reality. And distrust only dissapears by generations, not by years

[dans79]

Just for you @TAG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmxTQtEcGvw

Now I have to note here that Caucasians put out similar lovely lines about the police. It's definitely not something solely related to afro-americans.

I was not suggesting that it was. I just wanted to point out that people from the other side of the issue don't help the by doing stuff like this. I remember when this song (and a few others) came out. Artists glorifying violence against police, always played it down to expressing themselves. They never owned up to the fact that they where role models to some children.

I was in Junior high when this song came out, and I knew of kids who sang along, and who would point their hand like a gun at cop cars that drove down the street.

[TAG]

Just for you @TAG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmxTQtEcGvw

Thanks. Would you care to explain why this makes it okay for black men 18 to 34 be killed at a rate nine times higher than white men from the same age group?

[George-Jung]

@George-Jung would rather you not watch this though.

Would you care to explain why this makes it okay for black men 18 to 34 be killed at a rate nine times higher than white men from the same age group?

Perhaps you should better not watch this

Would you care to first look up the percentage of innocent shot black men from that group of 9.

[Manoah2u]

As part of my job (adviser of social systems in disadvantaged erea's) I speak with a lot of people effectes from both sides (although in Europe) and of course we discuss the US system and what happens there a lot. The general consensus of dutch police is that they wouldn't be a cop in the US.

In the united states they specifically hire cops that aren't the best of the best. The "philosophy"around that is that if you hire someone that's too smart they'll get bored with the job after they realize what it is, and they won't stay long. So they hire goons and a lot of goons are attracted to the job, it's a recipe for disaster.

Read this, lawsuit brought by a person in Conneticut who was not hired as a police officer despite him scoring much highter on the testing than those hired for the job.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barr ... y?id=95836

Thnx.

You would almost hope that when the anthem begins tomorrow, Hamilton goed down on his knee, directly followed by all drivers and the whole F1 management.

but they probably won't dare.

that would be a shocker though.

if you ask me, Hamilton would do much much better to win the GP and then on the podium interview,
grab the microphone and dedicate his win to all those who got lost due to police brutality against blacks,
and NAME every single one of them, and make a stand right there and then that this has to stop.

it would do nobody harm, there would be no negative backlash, there is perfect moment for asking attention,
- he should for politics sake DO also mention pink ribbon stuff though - and i think there would be agigantic applaud and recognition.

question is though, is it wise to jump into that right there and then AND what is Mercedes' stand on the matter.
anyway, i think the above would be the best way to ask for dealing with the situation.

then again - this issue was also present last year and NOBODY BAT AN EYE.

so in the end, i think it's rather hypocritical. but well, that's my opinion.

[JAA17]

I wish I had not started this thread now.

I need to explain I read this (he was going to take a knee) on the Windows 10 news feed program that comes with the base Windows 10 install. It was still reporting the same thing on Sunday race day.

I wish I had not started this thread because it has become very inflamed.

I am a Lewis fan, but my personal opinion is it is someone else's national anthem and you should never disrespect another country's national anthem in their country. If a country allows you to enter their country, you should show respect at all time. I am glad Lewis chose not to do it in the end.