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polster2 November 9th, 2017 4:33pm

The California NAACP chapter is urging the state legislature to back a campaign which seeks to remove "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the country's nation anthem because of its "racist, pro-slavery, anti-black" message. Do you agree with the NAACP?

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SoCalGal
11/09/17 1:56 pm

It isn’t about slaves as the naacp sees it. This is a pretty good explanation of the entire song.
www.american-historama.org/1801-1828-evolution/star-spangled-banner-lyrics.htm

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makem Chinese Xinjiang Camp
11/09/17 10:02 am

The state cannot remove the star spangled banner as the national anthem. Only the federal Congress can.

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mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:01 am

if you're in a country that has enslaved you, and an invading force comes in promising you freedom if you fight for them, do you own that country any loyalty or are you traitorous scum that deserves to die a traitors death? cause that's basically what the 5th verse is about. do we need that as our national anthem?

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polster2 US
11/09/17 10:02 am

Does anyone sing the 5th verse?

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:13 am

isn't that the problem? the national anthem, statues honoring soldiers who fought for the south? were just brushing our dark past under the rug like it wasn't that big of a deal

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:15 am

I mean a lot of people know the patriotic herofication story of Francis Scott key as he sat prisoner on board a British ship and observed the banner still flying, but how many people know he was inspired by his hate as he watched freed slaves fight for their freedom?

polster2 US
11/09/17 10:22 am

OMG who cares? Why wasn’t this a problem until right now?

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:35 am

it's been a problem, its just now gaining traction... again it was swept under the rug like a lot of our dirty history, and a lot of people had no idea. which is why we still need things like black history month before all textbooks list black slaves as "African immigrants"

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:14 am

Or maybe you should stop being offended at everything.

Alcerus fascist
11/09/17 11:19 am

So you're saying that removing the statues and changing the anthem would bring our history to the forefront? Because it seems to me that that is exactly how one would hide the fact that they ever did anything wrong: by destroying the evidence.

We should keep the statues because they remind us of where we were and how much we had to overcome to be the greatest nation on Earth. As for the anthem, the "fifth stanza" isn't even a part of the anthem. It was unofficially added by some guy for the civil war, and only ever appeared in song books during the civil war. The official anthem only has ever had four stanzas, none of which even talk about slaves.

The other three stanzas are pretty badass, I'm not gonna lie! Go check them out if you haven't already.

Sentinel Ya ie wa noh
11/09/17 11:28 am

That verse discribes what the British offered slaves and any who would take arms against the Colonies, Sir Francis Scott Key spoke of the feelings and mood of the Colonists during the defense of Ft. McHenry, while being held captive by the British.....

Sentinel Ya ie wa noh
11/09/17 11:38 am

This County did not enslave anyone, this Country freed those who were bound by chains forged by their own, and brought here by boats from across the seas, your complete distortion of history and truth is typical....your hate for this Country is clear and obvious.....

Wackacrat Harford County
11/09/17 6:21 pm

What sentinel said. It was the British who brought the slaves. As a country we inherited that. Granted, It took a bit to rid ourselves of it. But let's address you're starting argument. Who exactly today was enslaved that is now crying foul on the anthem? Which one of these SJW with a microphone fought for their freedom? You also say we just sweep it under the rug? It sounds like you just want to whitewash the whole thing.

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 6:31 pm

lol it was the British who brought slaves over no biggie. no matter the fact we continued slavery for almost a century after outlawing the Atlantic slave trade, we should just focus on who started it lol. no one is enslaved today but that a weak ass straw man argument. it's not about if you were enslaved or not.. it that this country tries to sweep it under the rug when it's effects are still lasting to this day..

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 6:32 pm

you're completely white washing the history of the slave trade..

Sentinel Ya ie wa noh
11/09/17 6:36 pm

Nice, whitewash bit..... however, then by your perception everyone is racist......

Sentinel Ya ie wa noh
11/09/17 6:38 pm

Slavery can be traced back to the earliest records, such as the Mesopotamian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1860 BC), which refers to it as an established institution, and it was common among ancient peoples.....

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 6:38 pm

not at all. I just don't sit in blissful ignorance of my countries past. I love my country, but I aknowlege the atrocities it has committed

Wackacrat Harford County
11/10/17 4:01 am

No one is sweeping it under the rug acting like it never existed, but if we continue to tear down these statues and replace the anthem, you are whitewashing history. They're examples to say "wow we came a far way as a country. People actually thought that was ok." You're acting like the song is our anthem because of the 5th verse. Sides, who even sings that verse. Most of the country can't even sing along at a baseball game.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 9:42 am

What?

How is its message pro-slavery?

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polster2 US
11/09/17 9:53 am

I have no idea. The CA NAACP chapter is just looking for something to complain about.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 9:55 am

There’s an entire verse about how they defeated the slaves fighting for freedom.

polster2 US
11/09/17 10:01 am

Does anyone sing that verse?

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:02 am

refer to my comment above

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 10:17 am

If we have to pretend something doesn’t exist because it’s racist prolly just best to change it.

polster2 US
11/09/17 10:21 am

Nobody sings that verse, idiot. LOL!

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 10:29 am

How does that make it better?

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 10:32 am

so if we don't the racism, it's not racist?

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:13 am

Slaves fighting for freedom? That's not pro-slavery that's Pro freedom

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:14 am

Maybe you guys need to stop looking for reasons to be offended.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:15 am

The song talks about killing the slaves. The were fighting for Britain on the promise of their own freedom

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:16 am

No it doesnt

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:18 am

This is why the left it shouldn't have been teaching people for so many years that slavery was abolished. ...

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:20 am

Slavery wasn’t abolished at that time. And the last two lines refer to killing slaves. I don’t understand what your trying to say.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:22 am

It talks of slaves dying yes, but not killing slaves.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:23 am

& and slavery has not been abolished

mudkip17 United States of Texas
11/09/17 11:24 am

"if a foe from within strike a blow at her glory, down, down with the traitor that dares to defile... by the millions unchain'd who our birthright have gained"

he was literally watching freed slaves fight along with the British as he wrote this

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:26 am

Okay? So will killed an enemy who happened to be using slaves.

Still doesn't sound like pro-slavery to me...

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:27 am

Mudkip...Perhaps you should get over it.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:29 am

And please for the love of God stop telling people that slavery is abolished when it's not.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:30 am

If there was a song in Germany about how they killed Jews who fought for America do you think they would get over it. Or maybe change it?

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:31 am

What do you mean it’s not? Can you force free men to do labor for no wages? Are there portions of the population treated as subhuman under the law?

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:32 am

Yes but that's Germany they're super authoritarian if you like the way they do their laws move.

Oh by the way you don't have freedom of expression over there...

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:35 am

It’s not because of their laws it’s because they own the mistake they’ve made. You choose to continue to be blind to this injustice as a result of a deep ignorance inherited from your fore fathers.
And while were asking people to leave let’s ask the descendants of native Americans who should stay.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:35 am

Can you legal for something upon somebody? No.
Can the goverment. yes

The amendment you think that abolishes slavery in fact gives the power to the federal government. If you're having a hard time understanding, the line is "except as punishment of a crime"

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:37 am

Yeah but criminals are not considered citizens. If you want to say slavery transformed rather than going away that’s fine.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 11:39 am

That is completely incorrect. What would give you that notion that incarcerated fellows are not citizens?

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:42 am

ProudGA...If the anthem is so racist, then why does any black person sing it? I've been to several baseball games where the person singing the anthem was black, and plenty of black people in the crowd were standing with their right hands over their hearts. Maybe you should reevaluate your ridiculous claim.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:42 am

How can you be a citizen when you are removed from society and are not afforded the rights of other citizens

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:43 am

If black face was so racist why did black people participate. There was a demand and they had to feed their family.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:45 am

They could be ignorant of its origin. They could be racist themselves. They could not care. The fact that black people are participating makes no difference

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:48 am

If black people don't care, then yes it does make a difference because the only people who are offended are insane white liberals like you.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:50 am

Is the NAACP white now? Or do those black people not count?

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:53 am

Oh, so a couple of far-left black whackos in California represent all black Americans now?

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 11:57 am

In the same way that a couple of black singers represents all black people.

polster2 US
11/09/17 11:58 am

I can tell you right now that the vast majority of black Americans don't care about this at all.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:00 pm

And you know this because the three black people you talked to said so.

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:02 pm

I guess I can't eat another piece of fruit since slave owners used to eat fruit, too...

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:03 pm

I want you to look at that comment and tell me now how that situation is different. That was an insult to your own intelligence

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:05 pm

You're literally approaching that level of ridiculousness by saying that we need to change the national anthem because of one verse nobody sings.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:08 pm

Do I have to explain to you that killing slaves is more intrinsically racist than eating fruit.
And we’ve already discussed that not singing something horrible doesn’t make it better.

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:09 pm

I bet you cried for hours after Trump was elected, didn't you?

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:12 pm

Do the people you love know you degrade yourself with this level of vile discourse?

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:14 pm

You have somehow defined yourself as a man to be the more you care about others the weaker you become. Someone has failed you

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 12:20 pm

Lol they are citizens tjat have lost there right to. Simple and easy.

You do t loose citizenship just because youve been convicted, that just silly mate.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:22 pm

If you don’t have rights and you don live in the society how are you a citizen

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:32 pm

ProudGA...You probably were depressed for a month after Clinton lost.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:34 pm

You probably were failed by an education system and as a result use ad hominem to support weak opinions.

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:36 pm

And you are a histrionic loser who is offended by everything. Grow up, buttercup.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 12:38 pm

I have developed skills and understanding that has allowed me to network and navigate any culture. You are trying to be my life coach when you haven’t demonstrated the ability to form rigid thought.

polster2 US
11/09/17 12:41 pm

"Trying to be your life coach" is what I'm doing? LOL. Thanks for the laugh!!!

TopsQueen Oregon Coast
11/09/17 1:59 pm

Then strike the verse. My goodness everyone’s going on a witchhunt for every little thing they can.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 2:01 pm

They still have rights. So you are incorrect.

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 2:22 pm

Immigrants have rights. Prisoners of war have rights. This not a good argument.

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 2:23 pm

Lol. So you admit your defeat?

proudGA New Jersey
11/09/17 2:27 pm

Are immigrants and POWs citizens. This is shit criteria on your part. Your time could be better spent by defining a citizen and then comparing that to a prisoner

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 2:29 pm

Both could possibly be citizens yes.

Maynard Londor
11/09/17 4:18 pm

Look at all this time, energy, and effort sucked into a hypothetical argument about something in which will not be changing anytime soon. Beautiful isn't it?

Robert97206 Portland Oregon
11/09/17 4:21 pm

Hypotheticals are always intricate in the way we can judge each other's principles.

This conversation was very satisfying.