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Title: Patriotism at a price: US military paid NFL teams to ‘honor’ soldiers at games
Source:
Intellihub
URL Source: https://www.intellihub.com/patrioti ... ms-to-honor-soldiers-at-games/
Published: May 11, 2015
Author: Sarah Lazare
Post Date: 2015-05-12 21:17:34 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 2664
Comments: 22
By Sarah Lazare | Common Dreams What better way to advertise military culture—and recruit teenagers—than by staging heartfelt salutes to “hometown heroes” at professional football games in front of thousands of fans? That, apparently, is what Department of Defense officials thought when they shelled out at least $5.4 million of U.S. taxpayer’ money to 14 NFL teams between 2011 and 2014—to pay them to promote the military on and off the field. The vast majority of this money was disbursed by the National Guard, journalists Christopher Baxter and Jonathan D. Salant of New Jersey Advance Media revealed in an article published Thursday. The New York Jets, for example, accepted at least $377,000 between 2011 and 2014 to stage public salutes to veterans. A formal “Statement of Work” agreement between the Jets and the New Jersey National Guard exposes some of the team’s commitments, made between 2012 and 2013, in exchange for money. The following items are quoted from the deal: The list of advertising and promotion commitments goes on, as does the roster of teams that have agreed to such deals. The Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens are among the NFL teams that have engaged in similar transactions with the National Guard. U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) has jumped on the revelations as examples of “egregious and unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars by the New Jersey Army National Guard.” But Matt Stys, an Iraq veteran and member of Iraq Veterans Against the War based in Colorado, told Common Dreams that the revelations point to something far more insidious: the permeation of military propaganda into every aspect of U.S. life. “Should we be perpetuating war or should we be looking at peace, understanding, and education?” Stys asked. “We’re not defending our country or freedom—we’re destroying other countries and other countries’ freedoms.” Marine Corps, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and (Photo: Marine Corps/Sgt. Randall A. Clinton/public domain)New York Jets received hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of years to salute ‘hometown heroes’
“I think it’s detrimental to the youth, specifically, seeing these images on a television of the NFL supporting the military,” said Stys. “It indicates to them that adults think this is right.” 
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#1. To: Deckard (#0)
(Edited)
The USA is the only nation that sings the national anthem before every game and that was because it was something they initiated for WW1 - an unpopular war - and was meant to last till the end of the war but when the war ended no one wanted to be the first to stop and be called anti-American so it has continued wasting our time every ball game for almost 100 years.
A lot of blame is being tossed at the teams. I don't think the players are involved at all in making money from this. I'd guess they are either indifferent or they actually do support the troops. It's the owners who are fully to blame for making these crappy deals. I don't doubt that the Guard thought these displays were an advertising bargain for them.
It is a very concrete link between militarism and sports. I would guess that Nazis and Soviets could only admire such a thorough penetration of militarism into public life and popular culture. Hitler admired us so much, he copied the stiff-arm Nazi salute from America (after which we switched to hand-over-heart for the Pledge). Heil Wilson. Heil FDR. Heil Kennedy. Heil Nixon. Et cetera.
Hitler and the Americans copied the classical Roman salute model. In the old Roman empire lands that is how one pledged an oath or saluted. That is why we raise our right hand up when we are sworn under oath. Hitler did not copy the American salute - but it has the same origins. By the way, the raising of the hand was so that Zues could strike it with lightning if you were being a liar in your oath. That is why you raise your hand in an oath - it is a lightning rod. The origins of "May God strike me dead if I lie".
I think you're wrong. Hitler admired a number of patriotic American habits like that. You recall the Nazi obsession with flags and oaths and banners and uniforms and mass ceremonies like the Nuremberg rallies.
Benito in Italy?
I think you're wrong. Hitler admired a number of patriotic American habits like that. You recall the Nazi obsession with flags and oaths and banners and uniforms and mass ceremonies like the Nuremberg rallies. I looked it up - scholars say the Nazis got their racial laws from the American Jim Crow laws - including the legal rationale for sterilization ideas for mental defectives. All countries had pomp and ceremony over flags and anthems, etc., but the pomp and ceremony and banners of the Nazis such were cribbed from Benito's Black Shirts.
A better headline? "Patriotism at a price: NFL teams demand payment from the US military in exchange for honoring soldiers at games"
The Jim Crows laws were racial segregation laws based on "separate but equal". Did the Nazis consider the Jews, the gypsies, the Poles, the homosexuals, the mentally ill, and other groups to be their equals? Or did the Nazis exterminate them because they were inferior classes? Were the Nazi death camps based on Jim Crow laws? So you looked this up? Great. Give me the link.
Let's not paint with too broad a brush. Seems like the Bluer the city/state, the more likely they wanted cash to honor vets. Of course, I find all the mandatory patriotic displays at sports events to be inappropriate.
A century ago, there was a large international eugenics movement from which these laws came. After some excesses in the Twenties, they pulled back their public exposure. Only the Nazis really charged ahead full-bore. But they had likeminded allies in most industrial countries, like America's own Planned Barrenhood founder.
That's the bullshit answer Americans gave themselves. All, the Nazis looked at was signs that said, "White's Only", etc and adopted them for the Nuremburg laws. I think one of Hitler's inner circle was actually an American German - Baldur von Schirach. Schirach claimed at the Nuremburg trials that the roots of his anti-semitism could be found in the readings of Henry Ford's The International Jew. Also, I know it was mentioned in a few documentaries concerning the Jim Vrow laws and the Nazis but can't remember the names.
That is true. I forgot about the Eugenics movement in the Anglo west. It has been a while since I thought on this subject but I do recall reading several works that stated the Nazis looked up to the Americans and the Brits and had a strange fascination with them - Hitler named he rail car Amerika and loved American movies. It never made sense to me until we remember that the USA was a very different place in the 1900s to the 1920s and swastikas were all the rage in the USA (not linked to any racial stuff then - just a good luck symbol) and that the USA had these casual racial laws and traditions (like keeping Jews out of country clubs) that the Nazis seem to have admired like "If the Americans can do it why not us" kind of attitude, I think.
Yet, he hated American corporatism and especially had a horror of American architecture of the era. Of course, he was as lousy as an architect as he was a painter. Germany and Austria needed no lessons from us on excluding Jews and other "undesirables".
Yes, they did. Germany's Jews especially were not used to these kinds of laws. Austria - more like a cultural attitude than laws was at play.
Until they start arresting people for not being patriotic at sports events, I like it. But the next time you're at a game, feel free to exercise your first amendment right to loudly declare that the displays of patriotism offend you.
Jews weren't invited to the elite hangouts in Germany. Ever. Austria was a hotbed of antisemitism, which is where Hitler picked it up. Vienna was especially notorious. Hitler brought the more virulent strain to Germany with him. It's funny when these things are discussed how many people forget that Hitler was Austrian, not German. Like Napoleon who was Corsican and from a line of petty Italian nobles but then became Emperor of France.
Tell that to Einstein.
Einstein fled and did it early. He had no illusions about Nazi Germany. Probably that is why he decided to write The Letter to FDR. Personally, he had the same kind of reservations about building nuclear weapons as Oppenheimer did.
He had no illusions about Nazi Germany. Probably that is why he decided to write The Letter to FDR. Personally, he had the same kind of reservations about building nuclear weapons as Oppenheimer did. We were talking about pre Nazi Germany.
Jews were still excluded from elite German circles. Germany was no stranger to antisemitism. They had nothing comparable to the emancipation of Jews in France as a foundation of the French republic, following the Dreyfus affair.
Germany was no stranger to antisemitism. They had nothing comparable to the emancipation of Jews in France as a foundation of the French republic, following the Dreyfus affair. The Kaiser's Germany was still not even close to being this dread place for Jews.
he permeation of military propaganda into every aspect of U.S. life. “I think it’s detrimental to the youth, specifically, seeing these images on a television of the NFL supporting the military,” said Stys. “It indicates to them that adults think this is right.”
#2. To: Deckard (#0)
#3. To: Pericles (#1)
The USA is the only nation that sings the national anthem before every game and that was because it was something they initiated for WW1 - an unpopular war - and was meant to last till the end of the war but when the war ended no one wanted to be the first to stop and be called anti-American so it has continued wasting our time every ball game for almost 100 years.
#4. To: TooConservative (#3)
(Edited)
would guess that Nazis and Soviets could only admire such a thorough penetration of militarism into public life and popular culture. Hitler admired us so much, he copied the stiff-arm Nazi salute from America (after which we switched to hand-over-heart for the Pledge).
#5. To: Pericles (#4)
Hitler did not copy the American salute - but it has the same origins.
#6. To: TooConservative (#5)
I think you're wrong. Hitler admired a number of patriotic American habits like that. You recall the Nazi obsession with flags and oaths and banners and uniforms and mass ceremonies like the Nuremberg rallies.
#7. To: TooConservative (#5)
Hitler did not copy the American salute - but it has the same origins.
#8. To: TooConservative (#2)
"Patriotism at a price: US military paid NFL teams to ‘honor’ soldiers at games"
#9. To: Pericles (#7)
"I looked it up - scholars say the Nazis got their racial laws from the American Jim Crow laws"
#10. To: misterwhite (#8)
"Patriotism at a price: Some NFL teams demand payment from the US military in exchange for honoring soldiers at games"
#11. To: Pericles, misterwhite (#7)
I looked it up - scholars say the Nazis got their racial laws from the American Jim Crow laws - including the legal rationale for sterilization ideas for mental defectives.
#12. To: misterwhite (#9)
(Edited)
The Jim Crows laws were racial segregation laws based on "separate but equal". Did the Nazis consider the Jews, the gypsies, the Poles, the homosexuals, the mentally ill, and other groups to be their equals?
#13. To: TooConservative, misterwhite (#11)
I looked it up - scholars say the Nazis got their racial laws from the American Jim Crow laws - including the legal rationale for sterilization ideas for mental defectives. A century ago, there was a large international eugenics movement from which these laws came. After some excesses in the Twenties, they pulled back their public exposure. Only the Nazis really charged ahead full-bore. But they had likeminded allies in most industrial countries, like America's own Planned Barrenhood founder.
#14. To: Pericles (#13)
(Edited)
Hitler named he rail car Amerika and loved American movies.
that the USA had these casual racial laws and traditions (like keeping Jews out of country clubs) that the Nazis seem to have admired like "If the Americans can do it why not us" kind of attitude, I think.
#15. To: TooConservative (#14)
Germany and Austria needed no lessons from us on excluding Jews and other "undesirables".
#16. To: TooConservative (#10)
"Of course, I find all the mandatory patriotic displays at sports events to be inappropriate."
#17. To: Pericles (#15)
Germany's Jews especially were not used to these kinds of laws.
#18. To: TooConservative (#17)
Jews weren't invited to the elite hangouts in Germany. Ever.
#19. To: Pericles (#18)
#20. To: TooConservative (#19)
Einstein fled and did it early.
#21. To: Pericles (#20)
We were talking about pre Nazi Germany.
#22. To: TooConservative (#21)
Jews were still excluded from elite German circles.
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