Is the National Anthem Controversy a Conspiracy?

So is it me, or, as I mentioned in my column, Starting the Conversation for Northern Connection magazine, at the first incident does Kaepernick look like he’s just not paying attention and no one on the sidelines is paying attention to him – not staff, not security, not the other players. You would think that if he was protesting something, someone besides the press, would have been aware.

But either way, does he not realize that he is one of the most privileged in America? He has one of the most coveted and well-paying jobs, he has a college education, both birth mother and adopted parents are among the most non-racial citizens this country has to offer. Who, when, where was he oppressed in any way? Or was he simply embarrassed that he forgot to stand and only then did he come up with a reason?

What do you think? Let me know in the comment section below, email me at NorthCon@consolidated.net or send me a “Letter to the Editor” at P.O Box 722 Wexford, PA 15090-0722 attn: Marianne Reid Anderson.

Sporting Concussions: Are We Too Violent?

In the March issue of Northern Connection magazine, I started the conversation on the violence in our society and wondered if it is because of the violence in the sporting industry - as with the illegal, dirty shot against Steeler, Antonio Brown. If you want to see the shot - take a look at the play via this youtube video: https://youtu.be/-tfLncD3pGM

As gut-wrenching as the cheap-shot was, it was compounded by the way the Bengal fans were reacting with the microphones picking up comments hoping he was actually dead! What kind of mind thinks that way? No matter how much money someone may have bet on the game, there is no justification for the psychologically demented comment.

Even scarier, is my fear of the impression all this violence has on the younger generation. Is this behavior and unethical even immoral thought-processes the new normal? Is the violence in professional sports merely a manifestation of the violence in our society? Do people not comprehend the finality of death and injury?

But as always, what do you think? Please leave your comment below or email me at Northcon@consolidated.net.