Make a Stand, Take a Knee
There is a lot of talk about Messy Orange Demon 45 of late due to his comments on sports. Why the Twitter Finger, White Supremacist, mildly ignorant "leader" of the Free World has time to attempt to shame the NFL into firing any of its football players who have the "audacity" not to stand during the national anthem while North Korean leader Kim Jung Un has made multiple threats about RELEASING NUCLEAR MISSILES AIMED AT THE WEST COAST OF THIS COUNTRY (tests have shown the missiles would in fact hit their target as well, in case you'd like to get uncomfortably scared this Sunday), is beyond my scope of understanding. And yet here he is, doing it anyway.
The entire point of the not all but majority African-American football stars are simply exercising their right to free speech and silent, peaceful protest by not standing during the national anthem. It's more than just protesting Messy 45, it's protesting the system that was been setup to fail us as African-Americans. It's protesting disenfranchisement, disrespect, police brutality, the carceral state, the literal and figurative "bucking" of the Black man, the over-sexualization of the Black woman, the criminalization of Black youth, the racial inequality faced daily by African-Americans all over this country. Protesting Messy 45 is one thing but Colin Kaepernick's complaints were and are separate entirely and not based on just one evil person's agenda to make this country "great" "again" (the definition of which varies greatly depending on the melanin levels of the person you ask).
Furthermore, I see lots of public opinion and some agitation on the fact that sitting during the national anthem is illegal or disrespectful etc. especially to the veterans who fought, some of whom died, for this nation.
1. It's not illegal. Seriously?
2. Again, it's a form of silent protest.
3. Veterans served for our rights. Our right to free speech included.
4. Football players should follow the rules, do as their told and not speak out because of their high levels of visibility.
If sitting or kneeling in silent protest of this country makes you upset then maybe you should do something to fix the inequalities and inconsistencies found in it. Then maybe there wouldn't be anything to protest about. Imagine that.
Messy 45 has tweeted (imagine using those words in a sentence seriously) that football stars should stick to football. Well maybe he should stick to running the country. Stay in your lane sir.
Also, if we allow the punishment of free speech to become normalized, we'll be well on our way to the propaganda-laden and censorship-drenched state that is Russia. Then again, with his meetings and conversations with Putin as well as his son taking meetings both with, and now without, the Secret Service tailing him, Messy 45 could very well have us already there and we're just the last ones to the party.
One of the reasons it's so great to see football players specifically making a stand is because of their high visibility. If you have a problem with the system and you have a platform, why would you not use that platform to get the message about the problematic system out. Why just sit in silence when you know you would be supported? And even if you weren't, we are mandated to do more than just sit idly by.
The point is, as the ACLU points out, free speech is a right for a reason and it must be protected. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's not valid. And Messy 45 should be the last person getting happy with a keyboard, firing back at football players who just want their Black children and families and neighbors and community to be able to grow up in a world where they don't feel targeted based solely on the color of their skin.
Get into it.
The entire point of the not all but majority African-American football stars are simply exercising their right to free speech and silent, peaceful protest by not standing during the national anthem. It's more than just protesting Messy 45, it's protesting the system that was been setup to fail us as African-Americans. It's protesting disenfranchisement, disrespect, police brutality, the carceral state, the literal and figurative "bucking" of the Black man, the over-sexualization of the Black woman, the criminalization of Black youth, the racial inequality faced daily by African-Americans all over this country. Protesting Messy 45 is one thing but Colin Kaepernick's complaints were and are separate entirely and not based on just one evil person's agenda to make this country "great" "again" (the definition of which varies greatly depending on the melanin levels of the person you ask).
Furthermore, I see lots of public opinion and some agitation on the fact that sitting during the national anthem is illegal or disrespectful etc. especially to the veterans who fought, some of whom died, for this nation.
1. It's not illegal. Seriously?
2. Again, it's a form of silent protest.
3. Veterans served for our rights. Our right to free speech included.
4. Football players should follow the rules, do as their told and not speak out because of their high levels of visibility.
If sitting or kneeling in silent protest of this country makes you upset then maybe you should do something to fix the inequalities and inconsistencies found in it. Then maybe there wouldn't be anything to protest about. Imagine that.
Messy 45 has tweeted (imagine using those words in a sentence seriously) that football stars should stick to football. Well maybe he should stick to running the country. Stay in your lane sir.
Also, if we allow the punishment of free speech to become normalized, we'll be well on our way to the propaganda-laden and censorship-drenched state that is Russia. Then again, with his meetings and conversations with Putin as well as his son taking meetings both with, and now without, the Secret Service tailing him, Messy 45 could very well have us already there and we're just the last ones to the party.
One of the reasons it's so great to see football players specifically making a stand is because of their high visibility. If you have a problem with the system and you have a platform, why would you not use that platform to get the message about the problematic system out. Why just sit in silence when you know you would be supported? And even if you weren't, we are mandated to do more than just sit idly by.
The point is, as the ACLU points out, free speech is a right for a reason and it must be protected. Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it's not valid. And Messy 45 should be the last person getting happy with a keyboard, firing back at football players who just want their Black children and families and neighbors and community to be able to grow up in a world where they don't feel targeted based solely on the color of their skin.
Get into it.
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| Courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/ijessewilliams/ |
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| Courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/ijessewilliams/ |
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| Courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/ijessewilliams/ |
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