Offended

Is booing during the national anthem now somehow respectful? On Sunday and again on Monday night players from several NFL teams peacefully protested amidst boos from their home crowds. Some chose not to take the field at all during the playing of the anthem while others kneeled and looked directly at the flag. So, I must ask the question, who was more disrespectful, those who kneeled in silent protest or those who disrupted the national anthem which could not be heard over their incessant rude booing? I’d also really like to know exactly what the privileged consider an acceptable form of protest. We’re told don’t march in protest, don’t kneel in protest, don’t use social media to protest and don’t dare challenge the Orange President in protest. Apparently for some the only acceptable form of protest is polite and quiet submission.

With his constant blabbering, divisive tweets, calling black men’s mothers bitches and insisting peaceful protesters should be fired the orange man has successfully managed to distract from the original issue of Kaepernick’s protest of systemic racism and engaged his audience in a fake patriotic stupid flag waving narrative. He has made this an issue of disrespecting our military and questioning the protesters patriotism while purposely refusing to address the real issue. How about the fact that our communities continue to face terrible and cruel injustices? According to him and his ilk we should be thankful. Thankful to be second class citizens. How dare these ungrateful players express concern for themselves and interrupt White people’s weekend entertainment of gleefully watching mostly Black men bloody themselves running into each other with their stupid whiny protest. Because of course they see us as entertainment…only.

The American flag is meant to represent freedom and justice for all…at least that’s what we’ve been taught. The irony in all of this is that those who object to peaceful protest are the ones who are un-American. They choose to ignore the statement against social injustice and racial inequality made by protesters. They choose to be offended by protesters who say this is not about the American flag or the military. They refuse to acknowledge the fact that these players actually take pride in their country and risk their jobs and sponsorship's with these protests. They refuse to acknowledge systemic racism but continue to be its main beneficiaries. They refuse to grasp the concept of the right to protest which is as American as you can get. It is my right as an American to honor or ignore the flag or the national anthem and thankfully my right to ignore forced patriotism. I continue to be amazed at how angry racists get and all caught up in their feelings whenever Black people exercise their constitutional rights in this country.