I would take a knee. Absolutely and without any question. I want everyone to know that.
First of all, taking a knee is a gesture of respect even while it is a gesture of protest. Taking a knee is what young athletes are taught to do when their coaches speak, as well as when one of their peers is injured on the field of play. They do so out of respect. Kneeling is what people do when they pray, when the circumstances of life demand deep reflection and faith. The circumstances of our world demand both. Eric Reid, the San Francisco 49er who first took a knee beside Kaepernick in 2016 has explained, “We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking,” he continues, “our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy.” The senseless slaughter of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers is a tragedy. Those taking a knee are simply trying to mark that, to draw attention to it, and to encourage all of us to raise our voices in defense of the oppressed.
I have close friends and loved ones who are jumping on the “patriotic” wave of condemnation, people I care for and respect who are expressing the belief that players should stand up and respect the flag and the country. I have seen Facebook posts hashtagged IStand, and heard the argument that because they are paid well they should shut their mouths and play. I think people are missing the point. I think they are being tricked by an oversimplified narrative and blinded to an overly complex history. To say NFL players taking a knee are disrespecting our country, our flag, our soldiers, is to miss the point entirely. While the president tweets out that fans booing those taking a knee is an example of “great anger,” he tries to fool us all into forgetting what great anger looks like and how our country’s proudest moments have harnessed anger into peaceful protests and needed social reform. Those taking a knee are not protesting against soldiers or patriotism.
Protesters are not disrespecting the flag, or this country, and certainly not the men and women in the armed services who have fought valiantly so that citizens can have the right to make this protest. I don’t believe there is a person in the Armed Services who has ever fought in the hopes of censoring Americans, or silencing political dissent. Protesters are drawing attention to the systemic racism that has plagued this country’s history - a history of slavery, segregation, and suppression that seems on the rise again in the white supremacist undercurrents of the current White House. Those taking a knee are protesting the fact that parents of young black boys are far more likely to bury their children than their white counterparts. They are protesting against racism, against a system of racial profiling, against police brutality, and now against censorship of free speech.
I have sat and listened to honors students, remarkable kids who have never broken a rule or questioned an authority figure, recounting experiences of being pulled over simply because they were black. I have heard their stories of being asked what they are doing standing on a corner in the neighborhood where they live. I have heard black parents talk about the methodical way they explain to their children what to do when pulled over so that a police officer doesn’t have a reason to shoot them. I don’t have to talk about that with my two white kids. I have never been pulled over because of the color of my skin. I have watched videos of unarmed black men being shot by white police officers, considering how much good fortune was scattered at my feet simply because I was born white. I once sarcastically asked a police officer who had pulled me over for speeding, “Are you going to give me a ticket or not? I don’t care, but get on with it.” There was no fear of that interaction going sideways because I had gotten mouthy and a bit aggressive. My cloak of whiteness protected me.
I have now listened to a president who supported violent neo-nazis in saying there were two sides to what happened in Charlottesville. Then I have heard him say any son-of-a-bitch who doesn’t stand for the anthem should be fired. Where is the second side to that one, or is there only a second side when the people on that side are white, no matter how detestable? Where is the side in which peaceful protest is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy?
I am not a professional athlete, but when that anthem plays, I would take a knee. For those posting pictures on Facebook waving flags with the hashtag IStand I ask: for what are you standing? Have you thought about what is actually being protested?
I would take a knee if it meant losing out on a lucrative contract, just as I would take a knee knowing it would upset and offend some people. I would take a knee because the slaying of black men in this country by white officers is a real thing, and that is what Colin Kaepernick wanted everyone to talk about. I would take a knee because his one brave gesture did more to get people paying attention to that issue than anything else I have seen. I would take a knee because so many white people trying to make it about disrespecting the flag, or worse - patriotism, are simply missing the point and I would make any gesture within my power to help them see it. Protest is the foundation of patriotism. What do people think the founding fathers were doing hurling tea into the ocean? How did women get the right to vote?
Martin Luther King Jr. said, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.” I believe that time is now. I think it is time to make some clear statements about the injustices being perpetrated against African Americans in this country. I think it is time to see the complexity of how our collective history impacts our current world, and not summatively dismiss a gesture we may find distasteful. I think we must take a good hard look at what is motivating people to kneel rather than just the act of kneeling itself. I believe we must all kneel in reflection and only stand when we are certain what we are standing for.
I would take a knee. Absolutely and without question. I want everyone to know that.
Thanks you for a beautifully written and very meaningful post.
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ReplyDeleteI disagree. When Colin first took a knee, it had nothing to do with the above.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely your right to disagree. I would love to hear why. To say Kaepernick's taking a knee had nothing to do with the reasons I explained is simply not accurate.
DeleteThanks for this post Jeremy. I don't know if I would take a knee, but I certainly support those that do. I remember when my friends from Spain came to visit many years ago and noted with surprise how many homes had flags out front (including mine). They were not judgmental, just surprised. Though they loved Spain, the flag there became more than just a flag when Franco came to power in 1939 (and stayed, as dictator, until 1976). He mandated the flying of flags. The shouting of !Viva España! (Long Live Spain) followed him everywhere. There were cultural police (one of my colleagues who visited when Franco was in power remembers them coming on the train to check clothing, music, etc). Though my friends were born just as Spain was transitioning to democracy, I think the lack of passion for the flag, despite their absolute love of their country, is a direct result of this. For me, the American flag has always been a beautiful thing, and I have long enjoyed waving it during a July 4th parade, or displaying it at my house, just as I enjoy reciting "And liberty and justice for all" with my hand over my heart during the Pledge of Allegiance. But to not listen to those who feel otherwise? Those who love this country but want to call attention to the ways in which we do not yet have liberty and justice for all? I just don't understand.
ReplyDeleteMy Spanish friends helped me understand how the flag, when forced upon you, ceases to be an expression of love of country and becomes instead a weapon. That is what I think about when reading your post or any coverage of the ongoing debate.
As a friend and I former student of yours I have always respected your view point even though we have disagreed and I've always admired the way you state your opinions. This is one of those occasions where I respect but disagree. I do not believe that the national anthem is a stage for anything other then being respectful to our country. But I understand that there is frustration among certain groups of people in our nation with how they are treated, and it is an American right to voice how you feel. But I ask these professionals who kneel on a public stage, what are you doing other then that? Are you starting positive programs in your community? Are you donating parts of your ludacris salary to foundations that support what you believe? Or is kneeling for the anthem the "thing" to do now for no reason other then everybody else is? And that my friend is where I feel that is disrespect rather then a positive movement to better a perceived fault in our world.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post--How sad all these years later things have gotten worse, especially as they pertain to the flag, patriotism, respectful protest, the military, etc. Bad actors have conflated these larger, complex issues, and in doing so have shut down any meaningful, nuanced discussions, therefore, any workable solutions.
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