“Stand for something.”
Over the past couple of weeks, the news has been tracking the controversy over the protest by athletes over the national anthem. A move which have sent fans of football over the top. People feel that the protest is disrespectful to the flag and others feel it is disrespectful to the military. While you have a collection of people who feel both sentiment. Then there the viewers on the other end of the spectrum who feel that the players should be protesting the anthem over police brutality. But my question is, How many of these people are really upset over the national anthem?” Is it just the anthem, or is it more of a conversation that people don’t want to have? Are people stating that it is the anthem as a way to hide behind their true feelings? I have a few theories as to why, but I also have observed why it has to be more than just disrespect.
Fans of sports are saying it’s disrespectful, but there are much worse acts that go against the flag than an NFL protest. And for the most part, all we do is ignore the act. Yet, when an athlete kneels, you would think the world was going to end. If you are against the desecration of the flag, then why are you only compelled to act now? Why wait until a player kneel then go on the attack. It seems just as self serving as the athletes at this point. Especially not even a full month ago men and women marched holding Confederate flags and Swastikas in the streets of Virginia. And countless troops lost their lives during World War 2 fighting the Nazis. So for people to not come out in droves, it was quite odd to see it now. But I have three reasons why people are not as interested in the anthem; yet using the troops as something to hide behind.
Number one, you have the group that knows police brutality and racism exist, but just want to ignore it. They figure, maybe if I ignore it, it will go away. Just act like it is something that is just an isolated incident, then we can go about our daily lives. Because I work all week, and the last thing I want to hear is more politics. Now what I want is to come to the game and or watch it at home with my family. We get it it, you hate Trump, can I just watch this game in peace. This is to me the first level of people you have in America that are against the protest from the players. And then there are the second wave of people that exist who are against the National Anthem protest. And they are the I know it exist types of people, yet it’s not my problem.
The it’s not my problem people are the ones who say, “I know that it goes on, but it’s not my community.” They don’t care if you are getting abused by law enforcement or treated fairly because it isn’t reflective of where they live. To this group they are more concerned with what ales them and that’s it. They know when you walk up the street you’re going to deal with a degree of hate from someone if you’re a minority. But hey, when I walk throughout my community, it doesn’t look this way. And the police that are in my neighborhood are usually officers that live here in this neighborhood. So they way I see it, play ball and shut up. So this group feels this way, yet are they the only group outside the first group I explained? No; the third group are the real cynical people. They not only don’t care, but agree with the nature of the offense that is being protested.
They are the people who say, “I know it goes on, and you’re lucky it isn’t worse.” “Be happy you’re free in America to any extent because you shouldn’t have that much; now shut up and play football.” They are the people that would love to express their sentiment of how much they truly hate you, but can’t. So they hide behind fake profiles on the internet and talk trash. These people just want to be mad at anything, and at times they themselves exemplify disrespect for the flag. Yet now they can have a reason to be in on the hatred under the guise of the flag and military troops. And in the end, this is the fan base of football and how people feel. People love the flag and the troops, but to the extent that fans are going to, no. Because there are too many symbols that actually do spit in the face of America’s existence that we give a pass to, or ignore that are worse than the protest. But in this country people don’t express true sentiment, unless it’s in the comforts of their own homes.
https://faheemjackson.squarespace.com/ (PERSONAL WEBSITE)
https://www.facebook.com/fjacks063 (FAN PAGE)
@theefaheemjackson Instagram
@2320howe Twitter
the word 