Stephen A. Smith goes IN on Colin Keapernick for not voiting

[AVXL]

Again though he's sayin the system fukked up. He's not participating in systematic political elections because he feels it's all bullshyt. To me it seems like hed rather create change and awareness by actions and being vocal/active in his communities. He doesn't believe changing the system can be done by being in the system. He feels like it's all geared to oppress so why participate?

He could do both and achieve more is my point. He could get people to be politically active to change what he sees in his community. The danger in what he's saying is that he's basically allowing himself to be disenfranchised...imagine if more people in our community just said fukk it when it came to voting on politicians and issues, how much worse off things would be. There's alotta people who support Kaep and I hope they don't think that the key to change in our community is by not becoming civically engaged and voting on issues that directly impact our communities

 

[Truefan31]

The system is flawed, I would agree. I think most people would agree. But that doesn't mean you completely abandon it. It is still the system for how this country operates and to change things you have to use the system to your advantage. What he said is a cop out, I don't respect him saying the system isn't working so instead of trying to change it I'm just not gonna try. That's bullshyt

But he already told you why he didn't vote. To him the entire system fukked up. He not participating in it. He's said its all geared to oppress. So he didn't wanna be involved period. You can disagree that's cool but his point is easily understood.

There's really no benefit to him voting with how he feels. What if the people he voted for were fukked up? Think about it. He'd be supporting a person in the system he feels does nothing but oppress. He wants change through actions and activism, not political lobbying and the normal mainstream political election.

 

[Truefan31]

He could do both and achieve more is my point. He could get people to be politically active to change what he sees in his community. The danger in what he's saying is that he's basically allowing himself to be disenfranchised...imagine if more people in our community just said fukk it when it came to voting on politicians and issues, how much worse off things would be. There's alotta people who support Kaep and I hope they don't think that the key to change in our community is by not becoming civically engaged and voting on issues that directly impact our communities

Getting people to be more active is great if the cause is good. But again the system to him is fukked up from all angles. Again what if he voted for someone who was fukked up? It dilutes his message. Him not voting is actually causing more attention to the issue he's been trying to convey. The system as a whole oppresses. He won't participate in systematic oppression. May not agree but his point is easy to understand unless you're c00n ass sas

 

[AVXL]

First this isn't true. Hillary got more votes tallied in her name than any Prsidential candidate ever.

Second from Colin's standpoint a trump win was no different than a Hillary win.

1. We don't elect Presidents off of who wins the most votes. Do you know how the Electoral College works? Did you know that the candidate with the most votes in a state gets that states electoral college votes? Do you also realize that in battleground states like Florida and NC the difference between votes was in the thousands. Thousands of non votes decided the election. That isn't up for debate.

And again if he didn't like either candidate, write in a candidate he did support. There were other issues on the ballot

Colin's protest has done more to afford change than a vote would have.

Voting is not the only or even the best way to fight for social change.

If his protest was that America doesn't care about black people and other marginalized groups, and he felt like Hilary is part of that problem. Then why the hell would he go vote for her?

I can't agree with that, Colin has affected media coverage and gotten publicity. He's given money too. But has his protest stopped what he set out to accomplish? With a vote your voting on multiple issues, Colin's is attached to one main issue. And how does he measure his impact on the issue? Is there a time frame? What is his end game for you to believe that he's gotten more change than a vote would

Voting is an important way to impact change in communities it's been proven. It's not the only way but it is a very important way

 

[MeachTheMonster]

1. We don't elect Presidents off of who wins the most votes. Do you know how the Electoral College works? Did you know that the candidate with the most votes in a state gets that states electoral college votes? Do you also realize that in battleground states like Florida and NC the difference between votes was in the thousands. Thousands of non votes decided the election. That isn't up for debate.

You can say that for any election then. It's always the non votes fault.

People just keep running with this narrative that voter turnout was to blame for Trumps win, In reality turn out was great, and the people spoke. That's not Colin's fault or anybody else who chose not to vote.

And again if he didn't like either candidate, write in a candidate he did support. There were other issues on the ballot

There was none, and no point in writing in a random name, that's dumb.

I can't agree with that, Colin has affected media coverage and gotten publicity. He's given money too. But has his protest stopped what he set out to accomplish? With a vote your voting on multiple issues, Colin's is attached to one main issue. And how does he measure his impact on the issue? Is there a time frame? What is his end game for you to believe that he's gotten more change than a vote would

Voting is an important way to impact change in communities it's been proven. It's not the only way but it is a very important way

A vote would have done absolutely NOTHING for his cause. Not one thing

 

[Nigerianwonder]

I can't agree with that, Colin has affected media coverage and gotten publicity. He's given money too. But has his protest stopped what he set out to accomplish? With a vote your voting on multiple issues, Colin's is attached to one main issue. And how does he measure his impact on the issue? Is there a time frame? What is his end game for you to believe that he's gotten more change than a vote would

Voting is an important way to impact change in communities it's been proven. It's not the only way but it is a very important way

The claim in bold is false. Voting has become a religion to folks. Just vote then have blind faith things will get better. It hasn't worked. and it wont work by design. The things that really impact your life and could provide economic independence will never be on the ballot locally or nationally. You will have to make those changes yourself. Voting has become a cop out for folks not doing what they need to do to better themselves. The civil rights act came about by civil disobedience and fighting back.. NOT by voting. Remember that.

Read this article. It Would Take 228 Years for Black Families to Amass Wealth of White Families, Analysis Says

This is your future if you keep voting and continue with the status quo. Maybe.. just maybe after 228 more years blacks may achieve equality. Thats if we are not all dead from drinking lead poisoned water. IF thats progress to you.. or that sounds acceptable to you.. then keep voting.. Im not waiting 200 years. Im taking action now. That's what Colin is essentially saying.

 

[AVXL]

But he already told you why he didn't vote. To him the entire system fukked up. He not participating in it. He's said its all geared to oppress. So he didn't wanna be involved period. You can disagree that's cool but his point is easily understood.

There's really no benefit to him voting with how he feels. What if the people he voted for were fukked up? Think about it. He'd be supporting a person in the system he feels does nothing but oppress. He wants change through actions and activism, not political lobbying and the normal mainstream political election.

As I've explained to you numerous times there are other things to vote on besides politicians. There are votes on issues that directly involve him including taxes, infrastructure projects, etc. Some of those directly influence his paycheck and community. Voting on those issues are important that don't involve selecting people you feel are apart of a rigged system

Getting people to be more active is great if the cause is good. But again the system to him is fukked up from all angles. Again what if he voted for someone who was fukked up? It dilutes his message. Him not voting is actually causing more attention to the issue he's been trying to convey. The system as a whole oppresses. He won't participate in systematic oppression. May not agree but his point is easy to understand unless you're c00n ass sas

See my above post. Voting on whether tax money should go to help build a hospital or a park for inner city youth isn't systematic oppression. Stop defending his position that it's ok not to vote, it's not. You vote on things that can improve people's lives and have nothing to do with an elected official

You can say that for any election then. It's always the non votes fault.

People just keep running with this narrative that voter turnout was to blame for Trumps win, In reality turn out was great, and the people spoke. That's not Colin's fault or anybody else who chose not to vote.


There was none, and no point in writing in a random name, that's dumb.



A vote would have done absolutely NOTHING for his cause. Not one thing

Do you understand that there were more things to vote on than the President?

The claim in bold is false. Voting has become a religion to folks. Just vote then have blind faith things will get better. It hasn't worked. and it wont work by design. The things that really impact your life and could provide economic independence will never be on the ballot locally or nationally. You will have to make those changes yourself. Voting has become a cop out for folks not doing what they need to do to better themselves. The civil rights act came about by civil disobedience and fighting back.. NOT by voting. Remember that.

Read this article. It Would Take 228 Years for Black Families to Amass Wealth of White Families, Analysis Says

This is your future if you keep voting and continue with the status quo. Maybe.. just maybe after 228 more years blacks may achieve equality. Thats if we are not all dead from drinking lead poisoned water. IF thats progress to you.. or that sounds acceptable to you.. then keep voting.. Im not waiting 200 years. Im taking action now. That's what Colin is essentially saying.

Alotta lies in this post and especially the bold. Colin's position is an ignorant one. Does voting solve all of society's issues? No and no one should ever think that. But to not participate in the process because youre so misguided & disillusioned isn't a good reason either. Things can change through voting in combination with protest you can make great things happen to benefit local communities. You need both, you can't have one and expect things to change, it has never worked that way in this country

 

[MeachTheMonster]

As I've explained to you numerous times there are other things to vote on besides politicians. There are votes on issues that directly involve him including taxes, infrastructure projects, etc. Some of those directly influence his paycheck and community. Voting on those issues are important that don't involve selecting people you feel are apart of a rigged system

You don't know what was on his ballot

See my above post. Voting on whether tax money should go to help build a hospital or a park for inner city youth isn't systematic oppression. Stop defending his position that it's ok not to vote, it's not. You vote on things that can improve people's lives and have nothing to do with an elected official

Again you are making all this up, you have no idea what was on his voting ballot.

It's very ok NOT to vote, if you have nothing to vote for.

Do you understand that there were more things to vote on than the President?

Like what specifically on his ballot?

 

[WheatThins]

Do you understand that there were more things to vote on than the President?

this is true, but how much say do the people have in what goes on their ballots or the legislature that even gets brought to a ballot?

besides the issues your politicians have chosen and designed to their will, how much say do the people have? you only see 1% of the end game on that ballot.

politicians will have an empty town hall meeting to get the opinions of old people on gentrifying their neighborhood, make promises to get votes and then sell them off for the highest bidder. thats just one example of how little impact people actually have in their neighborhoods and on these legislations. maybe he has a problem with that. maybe he aint fukkin with that.

 

[Nigerianwonder]

You need both, you can't have one and expect things to change, it has never worked that way in this country

I don't expect white folks or the system to change and history has shown that it wont. that's the difference between our positions. You have faith in them and the system. I do not. Colin does not. We are still talking about the same issues we been voting on for 50+ years. They have let you know repeatedly they don't think your life matters.. It's about time you believe them.

 

[JLova]

This is one situation where I actually agree with both sides. Black people voted in droves the last decade, what exactly has changed in the grand scheme of things?

So, I don't know what the solution is, but clearly just voting isn't working. Action beyond voting IMO is what will spark change. White people gonna do what they gonna do, but we can do our own thing. Go to school, get an education. If you don't want to go to school, learn a trade. We need more entrepreneurs. Need to change the perception of the black family as well. Keep kids out of trouble. That's work we can do on our own with or without voting. I'll give Kaep props since he's out there raising money for kids and actually helping them. We been doing what we thought was the right thing and no changes. Maybe we should do something else?

 

[I AM WARHOL]

Anyone who expected Colin to vote is an idiot imo. And to say because he didnt vote his stance is nullified and doesnt mean a thing is the height of c00nery. If i could id punch SAS right in the jaw for all that bullshyt he was spouting.

That being said do I think Colin shouldve voted? Yeah. Ive voted for every election Ive been eligible for. This year I even canvassed for local black politicians my area. But I completely understand why a person like Kaep wouldnt vote. Please dont try to lump him in with others who dont vote cause they are too lazy to get up or just dont give a fukk. He didnt vote cause he his jaded and weary of the whole entire system (im getting close to that). Same way Malcolm X was. How he saw it both candidates were just two sides of the same coin

And if you are mad at him for not voting for his local elections, my Bay area people who voted ow did the down ballot look? If it was anything like my county in Ga it would look a lot like "Republican Incumbent running unopposed" or "Democrat incumbent running unopposed". Once again I think he should have voted but to say his stance is weakened by not voting is stupid. This divisive nonsense is why i hate SAS

 

[I AM WARHOL]

Honestly anyone agreeing with SAS's point isnt even worth my time. Mustve just been waiting for any reason to shyt on his movement

 

[Mr.bocario]

The system is flawed, I would agree. I think most people would agree. But that doesn't mean you completely abandon it. It is still the system for how this country operates and to change things you have to use the system to your advantage. What he said is a cop out, I don't respect him saying the system isn't working so instead of trying to change it I'm just not gonna try. That's bullshyt

So if I don't believe in Christianity and think it's corrupted should I completely abandon the religion or try to get on the deacon board or become a reverend to change things from the inside?

 

[JLova]

Had a white dude offline tell me he lost all respect for Kaep. I told him "I don't give 2 shyts about whether he voted or not and neither should you" . He then said Kaep is hurting the team....I said "look, the team is complete ass with or without Kaep". The conversation ended. I have no idea where white people got this whole "I lost respect..." sh1t from. 1) you probably never had it to begin with and 2) Who gives a sh1t?