Bolton Wanderers and taking the 'knee'

This thread is titled “Bolton Wanderers and taking the ‘knee’”. Take the BLM argument elsewhere because based on the club’s statement it isn’t about that.

Totally agree with the anti-racism sentiment, the player's reasons for wanting to continue it and also that the booing is very unsavoury. Thing is it's not going to go away, it's going to get worse. 
Unfortunately taking the knee has become entangled with the BLM movement and no matter how many times the players explain their true motives for kneeling it's going to be a somewhat divisive gesture from now on.

I can't help feeling that the beginning of a new season was the right time for the football authorities to accept that taking the knee wasn't working (which it isn't),quietly abandon it, and introduce a completely new and simple initiative that enables everyone to get behind the anti-racism banner.
Anyone booing after that is obviously a racist whose seat number will immediately be texted to Norpig who will go round and give them a slap.   

I don't know what the gesture would be mind. Maybe something as simple as the home team captain (or both captains) reading a short standardised message about football against racism over the tannoy before kick off.

Well it would probably be a first on here if a thread kept on topic throughout without wandering off somewhere or other but I would also argue that the club statement is only one part of an equation, the other half being the fans who will be at the games watching the players doing it.

I'm fairly confident without knowing a single person who might be booing, that some amongst them will if ever interviewed why they did so, would sooner or later bring up the issue of BLM.

You can't just take one side of a story and ignore the other half.

Well you can but you don't gain anything from doing so, in order to win hearts and change minds you first have to understand where they are coming from and why.

I personally think the whole issue about the knee and the booing by some to it, all revolves around the gestures and symbolisms of actions (Black Lives Matter, taking the knee, black power salute) that predate the George Floyd murder that spawned the universal outpouring as it did - and as such have a prehistory not necessarily mutually compatible to what it seeks to achieve by adapting these symbols and gestures already existing at the time.

Move away from such 'baggage' and the problem is easily remedied - replace the 'knee' with 'Kick it Out' and there is no longer any hostility or booing.

Keep the knee and watch the matter continue to fester.

Let us be honest, what matters here is an end to racism, what we have here are the players for reasons best known to themselves stubbornly 'fighting' a needless battle over a 'gesture'.

The gesture has become the story here - not how to move towards ending racism.

It is almost as though the players WANT to be booed as that in someway is showing some people are racists for doing so?

Take away the 'knee' and it immediately ends the booing.

Problem solved and the players can spend their time promoting the Kick it Out antiracist initiative instead.

Win/win to my way of thinking.

The Kick it Out campaign has hardly been a roaring success though has it and neither have any of the other initiatives put in place over the years. Couple that with black players or celebrities getting racist abuse for the smallest thing and you can understand why they still feel the need to kneel or promote anti-racism in some other way.

It's incredible in this day and age that black people are still having to put up with this racist shit. Social media companies need to do a lot more to stop racist idiots posting their crap anonymously with no fear of any comeback on them.

They can jump up and down and do back flips before kicks for all I care.  Politics need to be out of sports full stop.
Anybody who thinks kneeling will make any difference to anything is totally naive. In fact its probably causing more problems at this point - this thread being an example.

Norpig wrote:The Kick it Out campaign has hardly been a roaring success though has it and neither have any of the other initiatives put in place over the years. Couple that with black players or celebrities getting racist abuse for the smallest thing and you can understand why they still feel the need to kneel or promote anti-racism in some other way.

It's incredible in this day and age that black people are still having to put up with this racist shit. Social media companies need to do a lot more to stop racist idiots posting their crap anonymously with no fear of any comeback on them.

Well if all the players had made an issue of the Kick it Out Campaign by say standing arm in arm with each other with a big Kick it Out banner in front of them, before every single match (including England and Scotland, games, etc.) BEFORE the George Floyd murder, then maybe it would have been a roaring success.

The truth is that it wasn't such a big deal then to them was it?

Attitudes may have changed somewhat since Floyd but even so has footballers taking the knee been a 'roaring success' either?

How many people have suddenly stopped becoming racist because of it - I think you've answered that question already even before I ask it when you point out the torrent of abuse that still is found on social media, to black players, despite all the knee taking at every game played since it started over a year ago.

If anything it has got worse!

All the other sports in this country have by and large moved away from the knee (partly I suspect because of the historical baggage associated with it) and they instead promote their own antiracism campaigns, football and footballers should have made the same step for this season.

All I can see is constant trouble ahead because different groups of people have issues with it - and significantly these issues aren't necessarily about racism but more to do with the 'gesture' - and the knee has now become the story and not how to end racism, which of course it should be.

The longer this goes on the harder it will be for either side to give it up - the knee from the players, the booing from some of the crowd - is that what people really want?

I don't.

I don't think that will help to end racism at all.

Do you, does anyone?

boltonbonce wrote:
It's the dreaded 'Woke brigade'. Or is it that other stalwart, 'cancel culture'? 
Most are, of course, Marxist's or Trots, Feminists, radical vegans, social justice warriors, Guardian readers, LGBTQ+, or yoga fanatics. A dangerous cadre of extreme knitters has also begun to infiltrate the base.
Troubled times ahead for Piers Morgan and his 'mardypants brigade'.
Had to laugh at the poor chap questioning the mental toughness of certain sports people, when he flounced off set at GMTV because he couldn't hack it.

Very good, Bonce.

In passing, what percentage of the population do you think are aware of the connotations of using BLM as the main symbol of revulsion over racism aimed at black footballers across the globe?

It also crossed my mind to wonder about Nutters' views on those who boo National Anthems.

i think all life matters wheather your black, white or yellow,were all living ppl, its not just for blacks.............so alf. all life matters

dutchwhites63 wrote:i think all life matters wheather your black, white or yellow,were all living ppl, its not just for blacks.............so alf. all life matters

Are you a vegan?

Norpig wrote:I wondered how long it would take someone to mention woke 

So Whites your answer to this is to completely ignore that black footballers are being racially abused on a daily basis and pretending it just doesn't happen? Great plan that! 

As far as i know you aren't a black man so both you and i have no idea what it's like to have to put up with the kind of shit that black people in general have to put up with. What do you suggest they do to try and create change?

How do you know black players are being abused every day? What a stupid statement. Some of them have received abuse on social media which seems par for the course but white players also receive abuse. Nobody should have to put up with that but sadly there are some in our society that can’t help themselves. Football has done a great job to raise the cause of black players in this country and fans have played their part in making many of them multi millionaires so if some resent that and post abuse, gestures like taking the knee will do nothing to stop it and probably actually inflame it more. Football didn’t have a racist problem until BLM came along with this stunt and it’s time we dropped it and didn’t let a few assholes posting rubbish on line drag us back.

Football didn't have a racist problem until BLM came along? Now that really is a stupid statement. I'm surprised you can see anything with your head so deep in the sand.

Whitesince63 wrote:

How do you know black players are being abused every day? What a stupid statement. Some of them have received abuse on social media which seems par for the course but white players also receive abuse. Nobody should have to put up with that but sadly there are some in our society that can’t help themselves. Football has done a great job to raise the cause of black players in this country and fans have played their part in making many of them multi millionaires so if some resent that and post abuse, gestures like taking the knee will do nothing to stop it and probably actually inflame it more. Football didn’t have a racist problem until BLM came along with this stunt and it’s time we dropped it and didn’t let a few assholes posting rubbish on line drag us back.

Astoundingly misguided.....

boltonbonce wrote:
Are you a vegan?

nope im not a vegen but i like sprouts with mashed potatoes and gravy

dutchwhites63 wrote:
nope im not a vegen but i like sprouts with mashed potatoes and gravy

Drop the gravy and I'm in. My mum used to hide things in gravy, so I've never trusted it.

okocha wrote:
Astoundingly misguided.....

Want to know what's wetter than a haddock's bathing costume? Two clues. It begins with 'O' and ends in 'a'

Ten Bobsworth wrote:
Want to know what's wetter than a haddock's bathing costume? Two clues. It begins with 'O' and ends in 'a'

Orchestra! I claim my prize.
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boltonbonce wrote:
Orchestra! I claim my prize.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Good effort Boncey. Here's another clue, it rhymes with gotcha.

P.S. The prize is a round of golf with our unsung hero.
The booby prize is two rounds of golf with our unsung hero.

And even wetter than an eels arse starts with T ends with B, wetter than a whores pussy

Norpig wrote:Football didn't have a racist problem until BLM came along? Now that really is a stupid statement. I'm surprised you can see anything with your head so deep in the sand.

Ok smartarse, how many racist chants or comments did you hear at the UniBol over the last 30 years or so. How many of our many black players have ever complained about racist remarks? Racism isn’t just a football thing it’s all around us but sadly the oiks at the PL decided to jump on the GF/BLM bandwagon and use this knee gesture. It was ok for a season and there were no fans in the ground to deride it but why do they now carry it on knowing many fans are against it.

Black Lives Matter is in itself a racist statement. Try wearing a White Lives Matter shirt out in society and you’ll be accused and arrested for racism. That’s how stupid and divisive it’s become. We’re all anti racist but this gesture needs to stop because it’s now just inflaming the situation.