TU Football Alum Featured at RNC

[GoldenCaneKC]

Aaron Johnson (Golden Hurricane running back and fellow member of the Class of ‘09) was featured in a video at the Republican National Convention tonight. He’s currently the Executive Director of the Tulsa Dream Center. Thought that was pretty cool!

I couldn’t find a link to just his video by itself, but it starts at 01:23:00 in the link below:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?475002-1/republican-national-convention-day-2&live&vod

 

[Chris Harmon]

From TU media relations...

Former TU football student-athlete Aaron Johnson (2004-08), executive director of the Tulsa Dream Center, was one individual highlighted on Tuesday night as part of the Republican National Convention for helping change lives. The Tulsa Dream center is making an impact in the North Tulsa Community.

The mission of the Tulsa Dream Center exists to empower the community of north Tulsa to know God and experience transformation.

Johnson was a walk-on running back at Tulsa from 2004 to 2008. He played in eight career games and totaled 87 yards and one touchdown. Johnson had a career-high 57 yards on eight carries against Ball State in the GMAC Bowl. He came to Tulsa from nearby Victory Christian High School.

HERE IS LINK TO THE FEATURED SEGMENT...
https://nam04.safelinks.protection....7wJWNVtGITXWgEmL+jWU21z78u9xY=&reserved=0

 

[TU 1978]

How ironic.

 

[GoldenCaneKC]

How ironic.

In what way?

 

[TU Man]

i saw the piece and thought he did a great job. I sent them some cash today!

 

[GoldenCaneKC]

How ironic.

In what way?

I’m sorry, but I can’t just let this comment slide into oblivion.

Please correct me if I’m misinterpreting this, but it appears you were making a comment to the effect that it is ironic that Aaron Johnson, a black man, was featured at the RNC.

If that was, in fact, what you were insinuating, that is a horrible thing to say. He has a right to associate with whatever political party he chooses. And for anyone to pass judgement on his political positions simply because of the color of his skin is, frankly, racist.

Like I said, please correct me if I am mistaken. I sincerely hope that I am.

 

[astonmartin708]

I’m sorry, but I can’t just let this comment slide into oblivion.

Please correct me if I’m misinterpreting this, but it appears you were making a comment to the effect that it is ironic that Aaron Johnson, a black man, was featured at the RNC.

If that was, in fact, what you were insinuating, that is a horrible thing to say. He has a right to associate with whatever political party he chooses. And for anyone to pass judgement on his political positions simply because of the color of his skin is, frankly, racist.

Like I said, please correct me if I am mistaken. I sincerely hope that I am.

I think it's racist to infer that someone shouldn't be dissatisfied that the GOP using token African Americans to try and make the party look less racist given the party's history on issues involving race in the last 40+ years and its continuing disdain for solutions to racial problems today. It's racist to say, "look I have a black friend" when you're busy disenfranchising minorities.

It would be like saying that normal people shouldn't have scoffed when the "Association of German National Jews" led by a prominent Jewish lawyer named Max Naumann came out in favor of Hitler in the 1930's saying things like, "We have always held the well-being of the German people and the fatherland, to which we feel inextricably linked, above our own well-being. Thus we greeted the results of January 1933 (Hitlers ascension to power), even though it has brought hardship for us personally."

That being said, I'm glad a TU alumn had a moment in the limelight and that he's been a positive agent in his community. I just wish it were under more auspicious circumstances.

 

[TU Man]

i was refreshed by the large number of voices that were different at the RNC. You say token...I say about time we gave more people a voice. one or two people are tokens, but I've seen loads and loads and loads of people at the RNC and on Fox lately that are black and not in favor of what's going on in the left right now.

I also believe that the tone we have seen in recent months from the left is more full of hate than anything I've seen from the right.

I watched the DNC and all I saw was a party believing every single person is racist and America sucks, and I'm tired of hearing both, because neither are true.

And, lastly, I agree with you that there is one person in this election with a horrible history toward minorities - and that is Joe Biden.

I think now we've fully hijacked the thread about a great guy doing great things in North Tulsa.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Cherry picking from the 6%.

 

[astonmartin708]

i was refreshed by the large number of voices that were different at the RNC. You say token...I say about time we gave more people a voice. one or two people are tokens, but I've seen loads and loads and loads of people at the RNC and on Fox lately that are black and not in favor of what's going on in the left right now.

I also believe that the tone we have seen in recent months from the left is more full of hate than anything I've seen from the right.

I watched the DNC and all I saw was a party believing every single person is racist and America sucks, and I'm tired of hearing both, because neither are true.

And, lastly, I agree with you that there is one person in this election with a horrible history toward minorities - and that is Joe Biden.

I think now we've fully hijacked the thread about a great guy doing great things in North Tulsa.

And there's your problem.

 

[Chris Harmon]

GOP using token African Americans

Yikes...that's pretty rough. I know of numerous African Americans that are conservatives/Republican, and they don't consider themselves "tokens". It's disheartening that people have just bought into this racist narrative that's been pushed. It is furthering the divide.

 

[Henry Kendall]

I think it's racist to infer that someone shouldn't be dissatisfied that the GOP using token

Wow. Speechless.

 

[TUMe]

Wow. Speechless.

Well, Hank, you know it IS ASTON. And he threw in his usual Hitler reference.

 

[astonmartin708]

Yikes...that's pretty rough. I know of numerous African Americans that are conservatives/Republican, and they don't consider themselves "tokens". It's disheartening that people have just bought into this racist narrative that's been pushed. It is furthering the divide.

What racist narrative? It’s not racist to say that it’s an unwise choice to support a party that has, for multiple decades, stood against the betterment of your race. If you want to close the divide stop listening to guys like Trump and Stephen Miller on racial issues. Stop supporting rallies for statues of racists from a century ago that really don’t matter anyway. Stop making it harder for minorities to vote just so you can win more elections. Stop opposing economic legislation that would help minorities in poverty climb out of poverty. Stop disregarding the fact that there are a problem with some (not all) police in this country and propose real solutions to address that problem.

African Americans can like small government and lobby for tax cuts all they want, but the GOP hasn’t been kind to them as a people at large since the Nixon years, and until it changes you won’t see a large number of AA’s voting for the GOP and it’s not because Democrats are “keeping them on the plantation”. It’s because only one side is really fighting for them.

 

[Chris Harmon]

What racist narrative?

Really?

 

[Henry Kendall]

Take this to Crossfire please.

 

[Chris Harmon]

Take this to Crossfire please.

I was hoping it wouldn't veer into that territory, but I'm afraid it has.

 

[GoldenCaneKC]

Welcome to the world that the left has created, where saying, “Don’t judge people based on the color of their skin.” is considered racist. That’s why you should always take it with a grain of salt when someone from the left accuses someone else of racism.

 

[Chris Harmon]

I'm scared for my kids, who are mid-teens right now. The political climate has always been agenda-driven to some degree, but it’s been amped to 11 with social media and the sharp decline of fair and balanced news coverage. It is imperative for a person to do their own research and separate fact from fiction, but the majority of Americans are too lazy to do so. They just believe what’s fed to them by the media, Twitter, Facebook, etc. I am desperately trying to get my kids to learn how to effectively and efficiently sift through it all.

 

[shon46]

Yikes...that's pretty rough. I know of numerous African Americans that are conservatives/Republican, and they don't consider themselves "tokens". It's disheartening that people have just bought into this racist narrative that's been pushed. It is furthering the divide.

Well said Chris!

 

[maverickfp]

Yeah. Not sure how someone like aston thinks theyre helping by telling people theyre just props riding them of their autonomy to make their own decisions.

Aston must think every black person is just paid off by republicans i guess. And thats damn racist.

 

[astonmartin708]

Yeah. Not sure how someone like aston thinks theyre helping by telling people theyre just props riding them of their autonomy to make their own decisions.

Aston must think every black person is just paid off by republicans i guess. And thats damn racist.

I don't think you know what racist is buck-o. If the Republican party had no immediate history, nor any current agenda that was aimed at depressing African American voting nor any support for measures that inherently harm the poorer African American communities I wouldn't give a sheet who was a Republican.

But, an African American being a supporter of the Republican Party today is comparable to a Black South African supporting the apartheid-enforcing National Party of a few decades ago. We're basically dealing with a watered down version of apartheid today. And no it's not racist to call out the few members of the downtrodden race who switch sides as misguided.

The same stuff that's said about the Democratic Party today was said about Mandela in the 80's. They called him an arch-Marxist committed to violent revolution. The same kinds of violence from and against protesters was happening in South Africa in response to gross mistreatment and maladministration as it is today.

 

[TU Man]

comparing black republicans to apartheid in south Africa? that's not very fair to blacks in south africa that lived under that system for a long time.

There are several differences in the two situations. BUT THERE IS ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE. Black Americans can become President, Secretary of State, Governor, Mayor, or Congressperson or anything else they want and change the system.

We have plenty of black Americans that have held those posts. But you believe it is systemic racism and Republicans that are the problem??? even in areas that have been ran by black politicians and Democrats for decades???

 

[astonmartin708]

comparing black republicans to apartheid in south Africa? that's not very fair to blacks in south africa that lived under that system for a long time.

There are several differences in the two situations. BUT THERE IS ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE. Black Americans can become President, Secretary of State, Governor, Mayor, or Congressperson or anything else they want and change the system.

We have plenty of black Americans that have held those posts. But you believe it is systemic racism and Republicans that are the problem??? even in areas that have been ran by black politicians and Democrats for decades???

I'm not comparing Black Republicans to Apartheid South Africa. I'm comparing the Republican Party at large to a watered down version of the Party that enforced apartheid in South Africa. Just because African Americans can hold office doesn't mean that there aren't still issues that are being ignored and injustices that are being perpetuated by the GOP. In fact, that's exactly the problem. Much like in South Africa of old, a minority conservative party is depressing the ability of the majority coalition (of which most African Americans are a part of) to be elected in significant enough numbers to actually change their communities. That's what depressing the urban vote does and what gerrymandering does. It says, "yeah, you can have a representative... but I'm going to make sure that I always have 1.5 representatives for your 1 so you can never enact a law".

Also, we have not had "plenty" of black Americans in those posts. We've had a single Black Man as president (Through no help of the GOP btw) and only 3(!) elected African American governors (Only 1 of which - Douglas Wilder - was from a slightly Republican state, and he was mixed race to the point of almost being Caucasian in complexion)

America is all about the illusion of freedom. "You have the freedom to be elected" but you don't have the freedom to not have your opponent's hired guns misinform your neighbor about when the election day is so they can't vote for you. "You have the freedom to be elected" but we're going to promote conspiracy theories about how you're actually a muslim, or about how you actually shouldn't have been allowed to be hold office due to your heritage. "You have the freedom to be elected" but we've gerrymandered your district and the ones around you so that even if you manage to hold office, you'll be in a minority and you'll never be able to pass any laws.

No, we're not as bad as South Africa was... but we're not nearly as good as a country that "loves freedom" should be.

 

[TU Man]

There is nothing illusionary about the freedom to become president. In the past five years we have had a Black president and perhaps a black VP.

I agree! YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO BE ELECTED.

Always someone else's fault. misinforming about the date of an election? Really? no one can do that to anyone who takes it upon themselves to know. If I allowed someone to do that to me, I would think "I am a complete dumbass". not "it's your fault".

 

[maverickfp]

No hope for aston. Must be a millennial.

 

[astonmartin708]

There is nothing illusionary about the freedom to become president. In the past five years we have had a Black president and perhaps a black VP.

I agree! YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM TO BE ELECTED.

Always someone else's fault. misinforming about the date of an election? Really? no one can do that to anyone who takes it upon themselves to know. If I allowed someone to do that to me, I would think "I am a complete dumbass". not "it's your fault".

Ok... remind me to call a bunch of your elderly relatives and tell them that the deadline to ask for absentee ballots is a couple days after it actually is (in this election cycle when people are weary to go to polling places, especially the old). They believe pretty much anything they hear on Fox News, so it shouldn't be a problem to convince at least a few of them that they'll still be able to vote after they really will. It's someone else's fault when Republican election operatives blatantly admit that they're trying to suppress African American votes. It's been admitted to multiple times in multiple elections with multiple different techniques.

1. Discriminatory mandatory voter ID laws
2. Phone calls with false information
3. Falsified documents in the mail
4. Cumbersome registration laws
5. Voter purges effecting normal voters
6. Felony disenfranchisement (effecting minorities dispraportionately)
7. Shutting down DMV's in minority neighborhoods so voters couldn't get ID's.
8. Restrictive vote by mail policies during national pandemic
9. Monkeying with the post office
10. Opposing paths to citizenship for immigrants who might one day deserve to vote.
11. Opposition to voter holidays.
12. Opposition to extended voting periods in swing states.
13. Closing down poling stations in minority neighborhoods.
14. Reducing funding for election budgets

Seriously, you might be able to explain away a couple of those items, but when it's such a constant stream of gamesmanship to reduce the number of people actually voting... it's clear that there's something more corrupt going on.

 

[astonmartin708]

No hope for aston. Must be a millennial.

That's funny. No hope for you. One day you and your generation will be dead and maybe then we can have some positive change. Honestly, I can't wait until most of the Neo-Con / Reagan Era hold overs have passed on.

 

[TUMe]

That's funny. No hope for you. One day you and your generation will be dead and maybe then we can have some positive change. Honestly, I can't wait until most of the Neo-Con / Reagan Era hold overs have passed on.

Don't forget there will be a day when you pass on. And not everyone lives to be old.

 

[astonmartin708]

Don't forget there will be a day when you pass on. And not everyone lives to be old.

True. Tru.e