Take a knee?
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man who is not an expert in the topic opined and who has spent only
a minimal amount of time in formulating his opinion. Opposing opinions are welcome, but they are
wrong. As always, please, no name
calling, and that means you, you big stupid-head!
I have
thought long and hard on this “take a knee” thing. I’m talking about taking a knee before NFL
football games, instead of standing for the National Anthem. I get the original reasoning. A quarterback wanted to make a statement
about the mistreatment toward black Americans, and in particular, police
brutality.
I am a white
American. I have never experienced
police brutality. I have never been shot
at by a policeman or known anyone who has been shot at or experienced police
brutality. That makes me eminently
unqualified to comment on police brutality.
I have no doubt that many black Americans are unfairly treated by the
police. Sometimes, perhaps, it is a
black “attitude” and resentment against the police that brings about
mistreatment, many times, I believe, it is racist behavior. It is clearly more than just a perception.
To the
extent that police brutality against black people exists, something as I said I
am eminently unqualified to discus, it is a worthy subject to draw attention
toward. My objection would be to the
means of the attention grabbing.
I wish the
quarterback had simply taken a knee one time and then stated he did it to draw
attention to unfair treatment of blacks, that he intended no disrespect and now,
going forward, he would continue to draw attention in other ways that are not
perceived as disrespectful.
I think that
would have been a powerful statement.
By
continuing to take a knee, attention has been diverted away from the original
purpose, to a freedom of speech/respect the flag argument. It has become a divisive statement, made even
more divisive when it became politicized (yes, Trump probably have stayed out of it).
The knee
takers are now in a position where if they stand, the claim will be they knuckled
under to “The Man.” The Americans who
feel disrespected by the knee takers are turning against Football. This is not good for the game, the players or
the fans.
It is time
for diplomacy.
The knee
taking athletes need to be assured that they have a voice and their voice has
been heard.
The NFL
should make some effort to address the knee takers issue. We see pink “Breast Cancer Awareness” symbols
for a month in the NFL; perhaps a month could be dedicated to some symbolic
recognition that there is racism in the country and it needs to be put on
notice, it needs to be stopped.
Give the
players something, allow them to make their statement in another way, make
their statement against racism an NFL statement. Everyone should want to stand up for the
flag, no one should stand for racism.
Free speech
intact…check.
Respect for
service men (women)…check.
Football
without distraction…check.
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man, and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
*After this post was written The NFL President took this stance:
It will be interesting to see how many players ignore his request tomorrow.
*After this post was written The NFL President took this stance:
“We live in a country that can feel very divided. Sports, and especially the NFL, brings people together and lets them set aside those divisions, at least for a few hours,” Goodell wrote. “The current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country.”
Goodell added: “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the National Anthem. It is an important moment in our game. We want to honor our flag and our country, and our fans expect that of us.”
He noted that the NFL “cares deeply” about players and “respect” their “opinions and concerns about critical social issues.”
“The controversy over the Anthem is a barrier to having honest conversations and making real progress on the underlying issues,” Goodell wrote. “We need to move past this controversy and we want to do that together with our players.” It will be interesting to see how many players ignore his request tomorrow.
I'm a crier; I cry for anything and everything. Its a terrible reputation to have and over the years my family is used to it. I love going to sporting events where the National Anthem is sang and people are standing, hats off, hands over their hearts and attempted to sing the words. It brings tears to my eyes to the public display of respect for our country as I watch fellow fans and players participating in a time honored tradition. Granted, I have not been to a game since the "taking a knee" philosophy has occurred. I might resort to booing, I'm not too sure.
ReplyDeleteThe professional athletes are getting paid a "pretty penny" for their talents. The least they should do is honor the flag and the National Anthem during their "working" times (i.e. game) and then protest on their off times.
Funny, Tim Tebow was criticized for taking the knee. Colin Kaepernick praised. It just reinforces the truth of the Bible in my opinion where it says good will be considered evil and evil considered good.
betty
I don't think Tebow was criticized as much as teased, I do not remember booing; Kaepernick has been supported, but praise might not be the correct description for the most part...he has been booed. Perhaps he has been praised for his courage and conviction, but not as much for the way he protests.
DeleteLike you, I think they should all stand for the anthem. Then after, perhaps there could be a moment for those who want to take a knee, then on with the game.
ReplyDeleteYou have come up with an excellent suggestion on a way for them to be heard without "knuckling under." Let's hope they choose to do this or something similar.
ReplyDeleteIt has, unfortunately, gotten out of hand. Your suggestions make perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteThe players on knee are not disrespecting the flag, a service person, a tradition that is not law or mandated. They are bringing attention to their existence as people, shot far more often by police men than white people are shot by policemen. My opinion. They have chosen to take a knee, not a ribbon.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe their intent is to disrespect the flag or service people, but people, many and especially service people feel disrespected, and they are aware of this so if they want to make their point, this has not turned about to be the best way. They raised awareness, now the message is being blurred...time to change the method.
DeleteThe message isn't blurred, Joe. It's as clear as black and white.
DeleteFrom my perspective, these protests are workplace incidents. These men are 'on the clock' meaning that they are supposed to be doing their jobs, preparing for the game at hand. instead, they are choosing to do something else entirely while 'on the clock'. If I did the same thing, repeatedly protested while on the clock at work, I'd be tossed and rightly so.
ReplyDeleteThis is no different from politicians who campaign on our dime. That should stop as well.
The bottom line is, these men are being paid to protest, even though paid by someone who doesn't necessarily support their position. The message loses its luster when done in a way that would place an 'ordinary citizen' in jeopardy or in a way that endangers innocent people or businesses.
Do it on your own time, on your own dime, and do no harm. That's the most scandalous part of this mess.
The problem with protest is that it doesn't work if no one notices.
ReplyDeleteHouston was nice to the Occupy folks a few years back. At first. The City did nothing. Well, that's not the way you get your protest noticed, so they had to do more and more until the City took action against the protests - because a protest that no one notices and no one gets worked up about is ineffective.
Granted, it's been many years since I've been to a protest.
Oh, and granted, if the conversaiton your protest starts is about the naitonal anthem rather than the thing you're protesting, I'm not sure how effective your protest is.
I don't know. It's tough to outrage me either way.
Excellent points made here Joe, I agree with you that this taking a knee thing should have been a one time deal, explained, and then another way found to make a stand for their issue.
ReplyDeleteYes racism is a horrible thing and it goes both ways, but it does appear to me some of the "brutality" is brought on more by attitude than color, and this whole taking a knee thing is now only adding to that attitude and is no longer making the original point.
I agree with you, Joe. Any meaning to what the original guy did has been lost. Now you've got football fans refusing to watch the games and unsubscribing from cable plans in a counter protest. Just seems dumb to me. I now feel sorry for the other players who just want to play football.
ReplyDeleteThe players are entitled to their opinions. And for my money, the President playing the demagogue and agitating for them to lose their jobs is a far bigger scandal. Not the President's place. . .
ReplyDeleteThere are fair points to be made on both sides of the argument, but the fact that both sides simply refuse to see any perspective beyond their own, might be the most concerning thing of all. . .
I do have a friend who had been briefly jailed because of his color, not his action. I respect the athletes right to protest. Our service men fought for that right. I think your alternative method might just work.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and have made a similar statement, too. They definitely have a right to state their opinion, but by making a statement DURING the National Anthem, they are alienating many people they likely could have had on their side. It seems to me a take-a-knee gesture for a legitimate cause before the National Anthem or before the kickoff, for example, could have been a win-win. The player's have shot themselves in the foot. But now that Trump opened his big trap, as well as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones flapping his gums, they are all in a race to the bottom. But as I swore off the National Felon League years ago, I'll just stay out of it. Good post.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay to make a statement. Free country and all. But every week? I like your symbolic recognition idea.
ReplyDeleteFootball is their job. Can you imagine your doctor or dentist or mechanic protesting at their jobs? They'd be fired.. I'm so over this whole thing. Play football and be done with it. They should put their money where their mouths are and donate to black colleges and any other black organization that can help them move forward in life and if not in life at least past this crap.
ReplyDeleteWell put, well thought out opinion Joe!
ReplyDeleteLike you I think they would have better served their cause in a different way. Press conferences before or after the game, community outreach programs or some such, make a visible show of HELPING instead of throwing sideline temper tantrums during the National anthem. Fans boycotting watching/attending, hitting the owners in the pocketbook is the only thing they understand to let them know Football should not be political.
I don't quite understand this whole thing...even before the taking a knee issues. So these people are on the job, right? Why do they play the national anthem? Do they do this before dentists and mechanics start their work? What is patriotic about playing football? Isn't it a lot more patriotic building roads? Do road construction workers play the national anthem before they start work?
ReplyDeleteHi-new to your blog!
ReplyDeleteYou make too much sense. Stop it. The world doesn't seem to know how to handle 'making sense' anymore.... ;)