Burnley flag

I believe the addition of the word "too", would have set a different tone...(?)

Not sure that's a good analogy at all.
By the way,great social distancing up there the other night.

I am not even comfortable with"All Lives Matter"... stating the bleeding obvious just appears hollow to me.

In fact... I find the whole "gesture politics" movement a bit cringing... I feel that over time it ends up diluting the initial message, becoming trite, contrived, & even divisive.

Yes of course there have been staggering emotive examples. My generation will all recall vividly the image of a "black power" salute, at the Olympics by USA sprinters Tommie Smith & John Carlos and - for the record - with the endorsement of white Australian silver medallist Peter Norman, who arguably faced the greater backlash. It was very powerful, as more recently, was Colin Kaepernick's silent protest at NFL games.

I understand why people might want to demonstrate their support or indeed their opposition to the populist reaction... yet somewhere along the line it seems to get cheapened & people are ultimately responding to a pressure to conform.

My Mum (recently turned 90) was handing Halloween sweeties to the local kids who knocked on her door & remarked "it is lovely to see that you are joining in". Afterwards, I queried the comment with her & why she felt any need to say anything, to which she replied "Too many kids from varied ethnic backgrounds get excluded & marginalised".

She genuinely believes that she was applauding diversity & integration, I felt she was judging people on their appearance.

We had a lively but inconclusive discussion, not least around whether Halloween is actually a "tradition" and that naturally lead us to the fact that when I was the same age as those kids, the big event was Bonfire Night. It is hard to explain to youngsters nowadays just how massive an occasion it was.

And there is the final irony, as the whole thing itself began as a massive anti-catholic gesture (and still is to degrees, in places like Belfast, Glasgow & even Lewes). Yet no-one ever once thought that a Roman Catholic boy in Northgate should not gleefully enjoy the occasion...!

I understand the point completely. Sport is a powerful catalyst for change in many areas, as Marcus Rashford showed with his incredible campaign. However what is the point at which sport becomes secondary?

BUT Rashford's political statement (and he isn't alone i.e. others of similar statue I argue same applies) was only possible because of who he is. Others have made plenty of intellectual argument BUT do not get listened to in the same way that others do, not because of what they say but also who they are. That then leave matters open for the Rashford's of this world to make personal political pleas such that the football authorities rightfully scorn e.g. players lifting shirts to reveal statements on shirts underneath. I am by the way happy for anyone to replace "political" with "humane" (or likewise) in the above regards.