The coast-to-coast talk today is whether it was appropriate for NFL players to take a knee at the games yesterday or whether Prez Trump was right that it was disrespectful to our flag/anthem/country to do so. My opinion: Like beauty, appropriateness is in the eye of the beholder.
Of course NFL players, or anyone else for that matter, have the RIGHT to take a knee as our National Anthem is being played. And President Trump has the same First Amendment right to say anything he wants, short of "FIRE" in a crowded theater, regardless of how obnoxious it might be.
But, as the original purpose of Colin Kaepernick's statement was to bring to light the systemic injustice African Americans experience daily, it appears the "take a knee" protest is taking at least some attention away from the original issue. IMO many people who might have otherwise gotten on board with CK's message have been sidetracked, insulted even, because of their reverence for the anthem.
Isn't there a better way to make a statement for social justice for everyone that would not be as divisive? Here's an idea...find a time and a place in every city that has professional sports teams (football, basketball, baseball, hockey), and professional sport icons of all races, and have giant rallies, with all of them on stage at the same time along with maybe some big name musical groups. Wouldn't that make one helluva statement?
Wouldn't that be something any reasonable person could get behind? Wouldn't that make people think, and maybe bring about some real change....without squabbling over a song or a flag?
Now as for the POTUS, maybe we could just confine him to the Alabama While House that weekend.
S
That WEEKEND????
ReplyDeleteOK, how about we have an event in every city, every month? And let Mr. Mueller take care of Mr. Trump's place of residence? :)
ReplyDeleteYou don’t think you can put on an event the size I envision EVERY weekend, do you?
ReplyDeleteAs usual Trump has to make everything about him, including anthem protests.
ReplyDeleteWill someone enlighten me as to what there is about a song or a piece of cloth that makes it sacred and prohibits anyone doing anything but standing at attention? I've heard the 'it's what it represents', argument, and it don't hold water. It represents the US? Which US? Trumps US? The poor of Detroit's US? The Jim Crow past? The slavery decades? Viet Nam?
ReplyDeleteThink I'm taking a metaphorical knee also.
I just don't understand how taking a knee, actually kneeling, is disrespectful to anything. Quiet, nonviolent protest is one of the best of things. Gandhi Knew it, as did Thoreau, and Martin Luther King Jr., who also took a knee in polite protest. This is what America stands for--the freedom to express dissatisfaction with out government. Take it away, as Trump has Tweeted, is a diminishment of America and all it previously stood for.
ReplyDeleteSome people are offended by things that I don't understand, either. Have you never had to "bite your tongue" when someone said something that you knew was petty or pig headed, but you knew it wasn't worth alienating them when you needed their assistance on something that was of much greater importance? My point here is, if you are trying to put together a diverse coalition to address the social injustice in American that does in fact exist, it might be smart to NOT make an issue over some sideshow that gets in the way of the greater goal. I tend to think in terms of priorities, and this kneeling/anthem/flag thing is low on my priorities.
ReplyDeleteLook at how the Dallas Cowboys handled this situation on Monday Night Football. They ALL knelt, including the team owner, before the anthem, then stood arm-in-arm during the National Anthem. THAT'S how you stand by your principles, yet refrain from kicking in the nuts those who you want to get on board with your ultimate goal. Very diplomatic IMO, and diplomacy is what we need today.
ReplyDeleteAllow me a slight, non consequence retort: they did that to try to have it both ways: one, they would look like they were supporting the players protesting the prejudice against blacks, two, they were supporting those who said that kneeling during the anthem was a step over the line. Just my take, mind.
DeleteFair enough. But to have a chance to someday overcome the former issue, they will need the help of the latter.
DeleteIt is CK right to make a statement. I wish he had simply taken a knee one time, stated his point, and then joined others in showing respect. He could have continued to make his point in other venues having gotten the initial attention.
ReplyDeleteI also like the way the Cowboys handled it, showing support for their teammates, not throwing them under the bus while respecting the flag. A football team without support and respect from all the members of the team is a losing team.