So how did we get here? And where is here,
anyway?
Let’s answer the second question first. Here,
is the point at which any mention of Colin Kaepernick, or the protest that he
initiated during the summer, over a year ago, is routinely referred to by
opponents of the protest as some kind of attack on, or desecration of our
nation’s flag. Let us be clear; it is no such thing. The movement, if you want
to call it that, is about police brutality and racial
inequality. That's what
prompted Kaepernick’s demonstrations, first sitting, and eventually kneeling,
during the national anthem.
Back to the initial query, how did we get here?
I’m glad you asked!
Prior to a preseason
game in 2016, Kaepernick sat down, as opposed to the tradition of standing,
during the playing of "The Star-Spangled
Banner". During
his post-game interview, he explained his position by stating:
"I
am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black
people and people
of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my
part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting
paid leave and getting away with murder."
The quarterback indicated that he would
continue to protest until he feels like the American flag represents what it’s
supposed to represent. In the San Francisco 49ers’ final 2016 preseason game,
Kaepernick switched from sitting to kneeling during the playing of the National
Anthem. In a detail most people missed, or at least failed to acknowledge,
Kaepernick’s decision to alter his demonstration was intended to show more
respect to former and current U.S. military members, while still protesting during the anthem. Moreover, it should be noted, his
decision to change methods resulted from a conversation with former NFL player
and U.S. military veteran Nate Boyer, who served in the Army, and who
was a Green Beret.
After
the September 2016 police shootings of Terence
Crutcher and Keith Lamont
Scott, Kaepernick
stated publicly that those shootings were perfect examples of why he was
protesting. Over the course of the 2016 season, Kaep played twelve games and ended
the season with 2,241 passing yards, sixteen passing touchdowns, four
interceptions, 466 rushing yards, and two rushing touchdown. On November 27th,
he recorded 298 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and 113 yards rushing
in a game against the Miami Dolphins.
In doing so, he joined Michael Vick, Cam Newton, Randall Cunningham, and Marcus Mariota as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to record at
least three passing touchdowns and 100 yards rushing in a game.
During the course of the 2016 season,
Kaepernick and the 49ers restructured his contract. On March 3, 2017, he opted
out of his contract with the San Francisco team, and is now an unsigned free
agent. During the course of his protest, it is fair to say controversy ensued.
So much so that despite there being no serious debate about whether Kaepernick
is better than a number of quarterbacks who are currently on rosters, he has
yet to be signed by an NFL team.
Folks have lined up on the pro and con sides of
the issue. Former football greats Jim Brown and Ray Lewis
both condemned Kaepernick’s actions. Brown said he would never desecrate the
flag as Kaepernick did, while Lewis said he would never kneel. Almost
certainly, there has been no greater detractor of Kaep’s position than Donald
Trump. I’ll say more about that later.
On August 17,
former NYPD officer Frank Serpico gave a speech live on Facebook and stood with police
officers at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge in support of Kaepernick. Officer Serpico inspired the 1973
Al Pacino movie “Serpico,” a story about a whistleblowing officer in the then
corrupt NYC Police Department. Though most of the 75 officers at the bridge,
wearing #ImwithKap T-shirts, were African American, Serpico, then 81, was an
exception.
Serpico admitted to not being a football fan.
He said he felt it was important to support Kaepernick for his stance. He went
on to say of Kaep:
“He’s
trying to hold this government up to our Founding Fathers.”
Sgt. Edwin Raymond, who was on his way to work
after the rally spoke of the need for racial healing. He framed his point
thusly:
“Until
discussing racism in America is no longer taboo, we own up to it, we admit it,
we understand it, and then we do what we have to do to solve it. Unfortunately,
until then, we’re going to have these issues.”
As Preseason 2017 melded into the 2017 Season,
a loosely aligned, not well-organized movement emerged to join Colin Kaepernick
by boycotting the NFL. It was the lowest of low-key efforts. Few people seemed
to be aware of it, and of those who did, only a fraction seemed down with the
program. Prior to last weekend, the total number of NFL players who’d joined
Kaepernick in kneeling was less than two handfuls, nine, to be precise. As for
the boycotters, I’m not sure there were many more.
So, on this past Friday, September 22nd,
while Donald Trump, ostensibly was in Alabama to support Luther Strange, a U.S.
Senate Candidate vying to replace now Attorney General Jeff Session.
Incidentally, Strange lost to Steve Bannon backed candidate Roy Moore. OK, it’s
later. I said I’d say more about Trump’s adversarial fixation with Kaepernick.
Said fixation hit it’s zenith Friday night as Trump not only took on Kaepernick
and anyone else who would dare protest, but apparently, he decided it was an
apt occasion to denigrate their parentage as well. In front of a Trump-friendly
Alabama audience, he said:
“Wouldn’t
you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to
say, ‘Get that son of a b---- off the field right now. He’s fired.’”
Not surprisingly, many social media uses viewed
this as a swipe at Kaepernick. However, over the course of the weekend, he
would tweet two dozen times about sports, mainly football, but also basketball,
hockey, and NASCAR. His tweets included disinviting the Golden State Warriors
form a white House visit, extolling the Pittsburgh Penguins, who accepted a
White House visit, and praising NASCAR for the way they deal with supporting
the flag. Time to reiterate…it’s not about the flag.
Ultimately, the crux of the matter boils down
to this point. Judging from consistent and continuous feedback, there is never
an acceptable time, place, or format for people of color to register dissent
about the systematic mistreatment, frequently resulting in their death. Not by
wearing “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts, not on Broadway (Hamilton), not by
proclaiming Black Lives Matter (BLM), and certainly not on the NFL sidelines.
It is almost as though they are either unaware of, or they feel free to totally
disregard the notion that the members of the armed services fight, and too
often die for the right of men and women to stand…or sit for the flag (or any
other symbol). I am reminded that there was more tumult and raucous feedback
over Michael Vick’s involvement in dog fighting than in the steady stream of
unarmed African Americans killed by law enforcement officers, and then
subsequently acquitted without even going to trial. Don’t get it twisted.
That…is precisely why Kaepernick is protesting. Anything else is just noise,
intended to deny, deflect, and/or deceive…”Old Glory: TheMisrepresentation and Appropriation of a Protest!”
I’m done; holla back!
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