Uh-oh... looks like I'm going to fight you on this one. (if I misinterpreted your question, forgive me)
I think it's disrespectful to take a knee (in protest) during the national anthem. I also think it's wrong to protest on "work time". If I tried that when I worked I'd have been fired on the spot. There's a time and place for protesting!! If the custom of showing reverence for something is to stand or kneel, then that's what should be done. We are losing sight of what respect is nowadays as we have many, many freedoms. When people were ruled by kings, they showed respect to that king (usually by bowing). If they didn't they could be executed for it.
We USED to show respect for out flag and our country. It used to stand for something. When the stars and stripes passed by in a parade everyone stood up. They had, in the words of Aretha Franklin, R-E-S-P-E-C-T! The citizens in many countries show respect to their country by standing when their national anthem is played (and their colors are unfurled). So is the custom in this country. I (personally) find it very disrespectful to take a knee of protest (for anything) during the national anthem. It makes me feel as if the person doing it is protesting the country (if you don't like this country - leave! There are millions of others knocking at the borders who'll gladly take your place). Do they have the right to kneel? Well, apparently we have the right to do anything we desire in this country. We have the right to call law enforcement officers names. We have the right to spit on members of the armed forces whenever we see them. We have the right to curse a rescuer as he's pulling an injured child from a wrecked car. Yes, we have lots of rights ... the question is, do we enforce those rights all the time or are there times when we forgo them out of respect.
No worries my friend. We can't agree on everything and shouldn't. I think a prez who is so disrespectful of everything not white has SOME NERVE making a big deal out of this. He is doing it because it is RED MEAT to his base. 70% of the NFL is black. Any connection d'ya think? If 70% were white and his supporter do you really think he'd make such a stink about it? You cannot order people to respect or to love. It comes from within. And you are looking at it as don juan peeps do. They think it is disrespecting the flag/country. It isn't. It is RESPECTING black lives lost. Lives that were innocent. Black Lives Matter. Why is it so honorable to stand up for anything as if the standing confers dignity and patriotism? What confers dignity and patriotism is how we treat our fellow citizens. If you are black you are treated as if you are second-class. Don juan is an avowed racist as are many if not all of his supporters. They are only concerned with packaging. How can you honor a country when you dishonor its citizens? Good question. I'm gonna ask. Have no fear about this disagreement being a wedge. It happens. I explained how I see it. I relate to people of color. As an Armenian American my people suffered genocide at the hands of the Turks many decades ago. Just as the Jews suffered a genocide at the hands of the Nazis. Don juan doesn't give a sh** about any of it. He only likes the fact that his peeps will react positively to his racist attitudes. Many of his peeps are racists and any time you can put a black man down they love it. And so it goes. Thank you for your thoughtful reply Shuhak.
This post was edited by RosieG at June 5, 2018 11:59 AM MDT
Dont laugh, but I honestly don't watch (or care about) sports. I'll take your word for it that most players are black as I really don't know. Sometimes I think Trump may have a hooded white robe in his closet (if you know what I mean).
I wouldn't laugh for any reason unless you told me a funny joke m'dear. Different strokes. When my kid was young he was in Little League Baseball. I never really got into professional baseball. When he was a teen basketball became his passion and I got hooked on professional basketball and was very knowledgeable about it for years. That was during the heyday of Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) and Magic Johnson (Los Angeles Lakers). Then I met Jim and now I enjoy watching tennis and golf. We ADORE Roger Federer, possibly the greatest tennis player who ever lived. Jim is hooked on golf (he plays tennis too) so we enjoy watching "the big boys" compete in golf tournaments. We have a local boy Ricky Fowler for whom we root. He does pretty well. But getting back to the subject at hand. If those who "took a knee" were WHITE uneducated don juan suckeruppers the don wouldn't have said diddly. He would have pontificated on the First Amendment. I know that. But he knows his racist base and he panders to it. This is red meat to them and he will continue babbling about it. It has zero to do with patriotism and everything to do with racism. SIGH. It saddens me that so many so-called "american citizens" adore him and think he is their saviour who walks on water, always tells them the truth and can do no wrong. It is what it is and they are what they are and they will never change. Sadly. Thank you for your reply Shuhak! :)
Shuhak 