I must take issue with one point you made: I don't think all the UFC fighters were mysogynistic or racists. Cage fighting is a barbaric sport. But so is boxing. And the schmuck with the beer belly overhang should keep his mouth shut about comments on gender. But Alex Poatan Pereira, who lost his heavyweight fight last night, is a humble man who grew up in the favelas of São Paulo. He's also hoping to become the first MMA fighter to win in all three heavyweight classes. CHAMA!
That’s what freedom of choice is all about. Aren't those players lucky to have been given the choice. Most people in the world are born, raised and die without such choices. That’s the first amendment of our constitution. That’s what freedom of speech means: Freedom of choice.
It's a private venue on public land, benefiting Miracle Ear and his wealthy crowd. I don't see the fighters as having been "given" anything except maybe crypto currency. Ya know, I wish women still had freedom of choice, but it was stripped from us and women are becoming more and more marginalized with this regime.
The whole event was set up to enshrine toxic "manhood" and choosing whether or not to fight in it isn't constitutionally protected. (The GOP is crickets about one fighter declaring Michelle Obama to be a man.)
Yet, the First Amendment is also constantly violated by this regime:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
We're on the same page, seeing the same horror. It's a bloody battle between the obscenely wealthy and the rest of us. They're trying mighty hard to take our choices away from us. That's what DOGE was all about. So, whether we're a cage fighter or a fire jumper or a teacher, we're in this together. United we stand. It's the only way we win. Because they're trying more and more with every breath they take, to divide us.
So why does Poatan Pereira have so few options that he has to become a UFC fighter to have any hope? And if he does indeed get to the top, how much does that benefit his people, especially the women? The system is classist as well as misogynistic and racist, and too many USians have (understandably) internalized the national delusion about individualism -- while those in charge collude with each other at will and for profit.
Aren’t we lucky, then, to live in a country with so many options. Where the class/caste system favoring white Christian males has not fully taken root -- but some of us are working on it.
Many countries, including the United States!, hold athletes in high esteem. No matter the sport, being an athlete is a historic path to success. Particularly when you’re brought up poor. Ticker tape parades down Broadway. A flood of product endorsements. Naming children after players. Whole families and neighborhoods spruced up.
The Knicks winning the NBA championship brought a sense of pride to the entire city. Why begrudge any favela, any city, any country the chance to grab the gold ring?
Don’t forget: our lives can change in an instant. Just be grateful for all that we have. Most of the rest of the world don’t have those opportunities.
Don’t look now, but the “class/caste system favoring white Christian males” has been firmly in place since before the founding. This “historic path to success” looks a lot like a pyramid, where only a handful make it to the top. It has a lot in common with, say, making it big in show biz or winning the lottery. But if your options are few and you (might) have the right skills, the gamble looks pretty good.
De Niro: … when I hear something I don’t like, I use my own free speech to respond. Let me give you an example. When I hear Trump say, as he did a few days ago, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, not even a little bit,” I say, shut the fuck up. On Wednesday Trump said, “I love the inflation.” Now say it with me, shut the fuck up. Trump said he won the 2020 election. Ready? Shut the fuck up.
No words are more brilliant than De Niro's. I am saying "shut the fuck up" at this moment.
‘I’m beginning to fear that what he’s doing and saying is making a pathway to rebellion and even civil war. His supporters are decreasing in numbers but increased in outrage. The more reasonable and community-minded critics are increasing and also are more frustrated. Not a good scenario for a supposedly pluralistic democracy. I hope at least this isn’t a choice he or his “advisors “ have made. We need a whole lot of Martin Luther Kings and Bobby Kennedy, I hope without assaainations.
I was up there too from delaware. One of the best concerts ever except for the male pervert who sat beside me. I gave him a tongue lashing and he almost hit me but luckily his friends called him off. Men are pigs. Had a great hotel. Ms. Fonda looks great and bette belts out the notes. De Niro speaks from the heart to everyone. No script needed for anyone. They believe in this as much as we do. So glad I went. Thanks to Amtrak and nyc cabbies. They are the best. Hampton inn manhattan/times square the best hotel I have stayed anywhere, anytime. I have been around the world…Thank you for your commentary. Watching Desert hearts for about the 50th time before my one month with the evil hbo max runs out. Had to watch the final season of Hacks. So good.
I have no use for people who want to even watch other people beat each other senseless for their “pleasure”. I have never seen the point in “fighting” to prove a point. It’s inherently stupid and gets people hurt. If you can’t settle your differences with words, then you do not have a clear understanding of the problem. Control your emotions first, then get a better idea of what the situation is. Everything can be negotiated. Or close to it. That’s why this nonsense of getting more and more money in the bank needs to be stopped. It’s a type of hoarding which is a recognized mental health disorder. We have more millionaires and billionaires than ever and more mothers and babies DYING in this country than ever before. But we can pay $60 million dollars for a damn UFC match to satisfy an old rich man’s whim for his birthday? That’s fucking sick.
Not appropriate no matter how you portray it. Disgusting as always, trump is evil so there no expectations of anything decent. Do you think he will live long enough to totally destroy our democracy. He is well on his way. As I am involved in every time of social activism I can be, I don't know how to escape the travesty of July 4. Any thoughts?
Thanks Mary. This pictures of a goon dressed in the flag are suffocating to look at! In this moment Trump is seeing his little 80 year old self as a champion of personal strength and loud mouth bravado. It's you Donald, the King of the World, hiding the Chicken Shit concessions going to Iran in order to declare a peace agreement. People living in Iran under IRG armed control with a religious cover, still live in fear. Meanwhile let's look away while Trump holds Cubans under siege for his names sake.
Thanks, De Niro, fortunately, I learned that in 1964, when my parents’ years of weekly Civil Rights meetings in an attempt to get the schools integrated finally bore fruit, causing all the Mayflower founding families to run for the hills, leaving our schools 60% Black/40% Jewish and a lot more fun.
Yeah, I scoped out the town’s Nazis early on, and have been giving Nazis shit ever since.
I'm with De Niro.
I'm with DeNiro! STFUD is a good one!
I must take issue with one point you made: I don't think all the UFC fighters were mysogynistic or racists. Cage fighting is a barbaric sport. But so is boxing. And the schmuck with the beer belly overhang should keep his mouth shut about comments on gender. But Alex Poatan Pereira, who lost his heavyweight fight last night, is a humble man who grew up in the favelas of São Paulo. He's also hoping to become the first MMA fighter to win in all three heavyweight classes. CHAMA!
And there were no women among the fighters.
Don’t blame the fighters. They’re the employees. The grunts. Blame the organizers. Upper management. Including Trump.
Many athletes have refused to show up for him.
That’s what freedom of choice is all about. Aren't those players lucky to have been given the choice. Most people in the world are born, raised and die without such choices. That’s the first amendment of our constitution. That’s what freedom of speech means: Freedom of choice.
It's a private venue on public land, benefiting Miracle Ear and his wealthy crowd. I don't see the fighters as having been "given" anything except maybe crypto currency. Ya know, I wish women still had freedom of choice, but it was stripped from us and women are becoming more and more marginalized with this regime.
The whole event was set up to enshrine toxic "manhood" and choosing whether or not to fight in it isn't constitutionally protected. (The GOP is crickets about one fighter declaring Michelle Obama to be a man.)
Yet, the First Amendment is also constantly violated by this regime:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
We're on the same page, seeing the same horror. It's a bloody battle between the obscenely wealthy and the rest of us. They're trying mighty hard to take our choices away from us. That's what DOGE was all about. So, whether we're a cage fighter or a fire jumper or a teacher, we're in this together. United we stand. It's the only way we win. Because they're trying more and more with every breath they take, to divide us.
You sure women want in on such barbarism? I think women are above that kind of behaviour.
So why does Poatan Pereira have so few options that he has to become a UFC fighter to have any hope? And if he does indeed get to the top, how much does that benefit his people, especially the women? The system is classist as well as misogynistic and racist, and too many USians have (understandably) internalized the national delusion about individualism -- while those in charge collude with each other at will and for profit.
Aren’t we lucky, then, to live in a country with so many options. Where the class/caste system favoring white Christian males has not fully taken root -- but some of us are working on it.
Many countries, including the United States!, hold athletes in high esteem. No matter the sport, being an athlete is a historic path to success. Particularly when you’re brought up poor. Ticker tape parades down Broadway. A flood of product endorsements. Naming children after players. Whole families and neighborhoods spruced up.
The Knicks winning the NBA championship brought a sense of pride to the entire city. Why begrudge any favela, any city, any country the chance to grab the gold ring?
Don’t forget: our lives can change in an instant. Just be grateful for all that we have. Most of the rest of the world don’t have those opportunities.
Don’t look now, but the “class/caste system favoring white Christian males” has been firmly in place since before the founding. This “historic path to success” looks a lot like a pyramid, where only a handful make it to the top. It has a lot in common with, say, making it big in show biz or winning the lottery. But if your options are few and you (might) have the right skills, the gamble looks pretty good.
Um, shouldn’t it be www.nokings.org?
Yes - suspect AI spelled it as knowkings ?
Or dictation. My dictation program does all kinds of weird things. One must pay very close attention.
De Niro: … when I hear something I don’t like, I use my own free speech to respond. Let me give you an example. When I hear Trump say, as he did a few days ago, “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation, not even a little bit,” I say, shut the fuck up. On Wednesday Trump said, “I love the inflation.” Now say it with me, shut the fuck up. Trump said he won the 2020 election. Ready? Shut the fuck up.
No words are more brilliant than De Niro's. I am saying "shut the fuck up" at this moment.
.
‘I’m beginning to fear that what he’s doing and saying is making a pathway to rebellion and even civil war. His supporters are decreasing in numbers but increased in outrage. The more reasonable and community-minded critics are increasing and also are more frustrated. Not a good scenario for a supposedly pluralistic democracy. I hope at least this isn’t a choice he or his “advisors “ have made. We need a whole lot of Martin Luther Kings and Bobby Kennedy, I hope without assaainations.
I’m so glad you got to attend Rise Up Sing Out! I watched it on YouTube and appreciated all of the speakers and performers so much.
I was up there too from delaware. One of the best concerts ever except for the male pervert who sat beside me. I gave him a tongue lashing and he almost hit me but luckily his friends called him off. Men are pigs. Had a great hotel. Ms. Fonda looks great and bette belts out the notes. De Niro speaks from the heart to everyone. No script needed for anyone. They believe in this as much as we do. So glad I went. Thanks to Amtrak and nyc cabbies. They are the best. Hampton inn manhattan/times square the best hotel I have stayed anywhere, anytime. I have been around the world…Thank you for your commentary. Watching Desert hearts for about the 50th time before my one month with the evil hbo max runs out. Had to watch the final season of Hacks. So good.
I have no use for people who want to even watch other people beat each other senseless for their “pleasure”. I have never seen the point in “fighting” to prove a point. It’s inherently stupid and gets people hurt. If you can’t settle your differences with words, then you do not have a clear understanding of the problem. Control your emotions first, then get a better idea of what the situation is. Everything can be negotiated. Or close to it. That’s why this nonsense of getting more and more money in the bank needs to be stopped. It’s a type of hoarding which is a recognized mental health disorder. We have more millionaires and billionaires than ever and more mothers and babies DYING in this country than ever before. But we can pay $60 million dollars for a damn UFC match to satisfy an old rich man’s whim for his birthday? That’s fucking sick.
MISSION (not) ACCOMPLISHED. This blathering waste has made W seem positively statesmanlike.
A pro-active approach; an encouraging way forward.
Thank you for the article. I believe in what Mr. De Niro said.
The link goes nowhere. Totally blank!
www.nokings.org
Not appropriate no matter how you portray it. Disgusting as always, trump is evil so there no expectations of anything decent. Do you think he will live long enough to totally destroy our democracy. He is well on his way. As I am involved in every time of social activism I can be, I don't know how to escape the travesty of July 4. Any thoughts?
Thanks Mary. This pictures of a goon dressed in the flag are suffocating to look at! In this moment Trump is seeing his little 80 year old self as a champion of personal strength and loud mouth bravado. It's you Donald, the King of the World, hiding the Chicken Shit concessions going to Iran in order to declare a peace agreement. People living in Iran under IRG armed control with a religious cover, still live in fear. Meanwhile let's look away while Trump holds Cubans under siege for his names sake.
Thanks, De Niro, fortunately, I learned that in 1964, when my parents’ years of weekly Civil Rights meetings in an attempt to get the schools integrated finally bore fruit, causing all the Mayflower founding families to run for the hills, leaving our schools 60% Black/40% Jewish and a lot more fun.
Yeah, I scoped out the town’s Nazis early on, and have been giving Nazis shit ever since.