Standing for the national anthem, removing your hat, putting your hand over your heart, and even singing (if you can hit the high notes) seems like a sacred moment to me, and I’d like to think is it for all of us. It is a reminder that we are a country where free speech is embraced, despite the difficulties which often surface as a result of its exercise.
And so when Colin Kaepernick and others NFL players began to kneel during the anthem, almost two years ago now, as a sign of protest against police brutality, to me it felt both counter-intuitive and counterproductive to the cause they wished to discuss. They consciously or unconsciously had concluded that their cause was so special that they could protest a solemn moment for others in the stadium. They chose to protest an aspect of our less than perfect democracy, they chose to protest the county which grants them free speech as an indisputable right, but they wanted more than free speech, they wanted a podium, and a large one at that.
I didn’t agree with their approach and if I had a cause I wanted to promote (say the impeachment of our President for hateful rhetoric and gross incompetence), I wouldn’t choose to do it by kneeling for the national anthem. I would simply look for other ways to express my opinion
However, their actions didn’t bother me, I didn’t lose any sleep over it and quite frankly, I just didn’t give it a lot of thought. We are after all a diverse nation, and we all come to the table with unique personalities, with unique backgrounds and more often than not, in the history of our country, it has made us all better over time.
As long as no one was being harmed in this process or personally insulted, then my own outlook might be best described as (pick one)
“No harm, no foul”
- “To each, his own”,
- “Different strokes for different folks”
- “Live and let be”
Or, all of the above
- “To each, his own”,
- “Different strokes for different folks”
- “Live and let be”
Or, all of the above
But none of these old sayings would hold any meaning for our selfish and demented President.
Back on September 22 of last year at a campaign rally in Huntsville, AL ostensibly to support the senatorial bid of fellow Republican Luther Strange. (just one of Donnie’s many political failures ) Trump veered off topic, because, well, it was in his own self interest to do so, and he eventually landed on the Colin Kaepernick inspired protests.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners,” sad the president, “when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’ ”
And his adoring crowd went wild...
And so it began, in a moment’s time, this little story that was reserved for page six of the sports section was now prime time on the nightly news. Trump had weighed in and thrown a slab of rich, red meat to his adoring fans. And in the process, he took out his machete and made the divide in our country that much greater.
The NFL has been under fire for the better part of nine months since Trump iterated his divisive comment and this past week announced their new rules in the subject. Players who choose to be on the field during the anthem will be required to stand. But If a player or team employee is on the field during the anthem and chooses not to stand, that player’s franchise will be fined by the NFL. The new policy does give players the option to remain in the locker room during the playing of the anthem if they do not wish to comply.
In an interview on Fox News Thursday morning, while acknowledging the improvement (in his eyes anyway) of the change in the NFL’s stance on the topic, Trump just couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to serve seconds on his personally seasoned piece of rich, red meat, and said:
“You have to stand proudly for the National Anthem or you shouldn't be playing. You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country,"
Maybe you shouldn’t be in the the country…
So now in addition to deporting the 11 million illegal immigrants, apparently we are going to do the same for anyone who disagrees with him on anything. Somebody shoot me now, please . So I don’t have to listen to his idiotic musings any more.
The real story here is not that the President of the United States is a vile and despicable human being. No, the real story is that he has made this behavior acceptable for others in the Republican Party.
New York Republican Rep. Peter King on Saturday expressed his disdain for National Anthem protesters, suggesting their actions were on par with spouting racial insults or giving the Nazi salute.
"Disgraceful that @nyjets owner will pay fines for players who kneel for National Anthem," he tweeted. "Encouraging a movement premised on lies vs. police. Would he support all player protests? Would he pay fines of players giving Nazi salutes or spew racism?
So there you have it, another Republican dissing the act of peaceful protest, where no one was hurt, no one was attacked, and no one was insulted. Republicans were dissing a right that all free nations uphold, and comparing this act to the actions of the most hate filled group of the 20th century.
The specific details varied, but the central theme of the story was the same as many of the other stories that have played out over the last sixteen months. Donald Trump had legitimized the art of hate for all to witness. And Republicans hadn’t even blinked. Instead, they were all clamoring to get a seat at the front of the bus.
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