Opening up the conversation on taking a knee

Tom Pinney

Every time we think Trump has done something that’s just unforgiveable, he goes and does something else, and we forget about it.

Did you know that Trump is still being investigated on his ties with Russia? Remember how special prosecutor Robert Muller found the smoking gun?

It’s old news now, not because it’s irrelevant or was proven to be false, but because Trump has done so many other things since then to bury the story and hope it fades into oblivion. This is common every week; note that we’re not talking about Charlottesville right now because, in the time since, he’s released another travel ban, alienated his party by hedging on DACA, then alienated the rest of the country again by reassuring his followers on Twitter that he was going to do something about it, and sided with Democrats on the debt ceiling.

It must be a marathon trying to cover him. How do White House reporters keep their sanity?

This week, he broke federal law by suggesting that private business owners should fire their employees for taking advantage of their Constitutional right to peaceably protest.

Forget the fact that he called them something my momma always told me I shouldn’t say. Forget the fact that we’re in a time where newscasters have to warn parents that he’s about to say something obscene so that they can shield their kids’ ears.

He broke a federal law stating that government officials can’t influence or threaten to influence a private company’s employment decisions. It’s the same code Sarah Huckabee Sanders broke when she called on ESPN to fire Jemele Hill for suggesting Trump is a white supremacist.

First off, I’m just saying, if it quacks like a duck, and it walks like a duck, and it says that a whole bunch of his fellow ducks were “really good ducks” who were marching under the Nazi duck flag and chanting Nazi duck chants… well, I’m no hunter, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t a goose.

Second, Trump took a stronger, quicker stance against football players kneeling during the National Anthem than he did white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

Think about that for a second. From 1942-1945, America was actively involved in World War II, fighting Nazis. In 1942, we considered Nazis to be the enemy.

But our President didn’t say “That son-of-a-(expletive) should be fired” about them; instead, in 2017, he called actual, legitimate Nazis “really good people.” Our world has flipped upside down, and my great uncle Dub, who actually fought Nazis in World War II, is rolling in his grave.

If he were still alive, he would feel so worthless seeing how friendly our President has been toward the very people he fought. He would feel so ashamed of the direction our country has gone, and not because football players are protesting during the National Anthem.

If you’re making it about the military, do you know that Colin Kaepernick actually talked to a veteran when he was thinking about protesting so that he wasn’t completely disrespecting the military or the flag? He was going to sit, but the veteran, former Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, told him kneeling would alienate fewer veterans and active-duty soldiers. In essence, Boyer said, taking the knee shows more reverence or respect while still getting the point across.

Further, Business Insider on September 25, 2017 quoted several veterans and active duty soldiers who voiced support for Kaepernick and others for what they are doing.

In fact, Benjamin Starks, a veteran of both the Navy and the Army Reserve, called Kaepernick “more American than anyone sitting behind the computer (whining) about it.” Another veteran, Jeff White, who served in the Army in the 1980s, said that it is “every American’s right and duty to point out what is wrong.”

If you’re going to make it about the flag, let’s talk about how the US Flag Code (which is a real thing) merely suggests standing at attention with your hand over your heart.

You know what it forbids? Wearing the flag as clothing or as part of a costume or athletic uniform. Using the flag in advertising or as bedding or drapery. Carrying it flat or horizontally (as is done on football fields during the anthem every Sunday). Embroidering it onto handkerchiefs or seat cushions or printing it on anything that is designed for temporary use and discarding, i.e. paper plates and napkins that are really popular around July 4.

The protest isn’t about the flag, the military, or the Anthem itself. It’s about the injustice that people are experiencing and the fact that we are too willing to turn a blind eye.

“But they’re overpaid and don’t actually experience injustice!” If their brethren tried to protest in their hometowns, they would get gunned down. Kaepernick and others protest because they’re safe in NFL stadiums. (And if your first thought is about “solving that,” congratulations, you’re part of the problem.)

“They should get involved in their communities instead of complaining!” Kaepernick started a foundation to fight oppression and donated $1 million to organizations that work with oppressed communities.

“But protests solve nothing!” AMERICA WAS BUILT ON A PROTEST.

“But nobody understands why they’re protesting because of what they’re doing.” That’s not their problem, it’s yours for not listening.

“They’re just trying to make a statement, they don’t actually care.” Kaepernick’s activism is why he’s out of a job. Doing this is a massive risk; they care.

“They should be playing football, not making political statements.” Oppression doesn’t take three-hour breaks, and you elected a reality show host to the Presidency; your argument is irrelevant.

This protest isn’t about the flag, the anthem, the military, or the President. It’s about, at the very least, perceived injustice.

So instead of taking the defensive almost instinctively, maybe turn an active ear and listen to what they have to say. Problems don’t get solved through ignoring people, they get solved via discussions where two people with open minds listen to the other.

And if your first response to that is that they won’t listen to you, so you won’t listen to them, grow up. This is adulthood, not second grade.

Tom Pinney is a news reporter for the Maryville Daily Forum.