Source lost - a thread somewhere on Reddit.
Amid all this debate about kneeling during the national anthem, I have seen very little discussion of why the national anthem is played at American sporting events. It was not always so. I believe someone reported that historically the anthem was played when the U.S. played against another country, as for example in the Olympics. It first came into collegiate or professional sports during the first or second world wars.
And I believe that most persons watching sports on television at home do not rise from a seated position when the national anthem is played and the flag depicted on TV.
Paid patriotism?
ReplyDeletehttps://thinkprogress.org/nfl-dod-national-anthem-6f682cebc7cd/
"In 2015, Arizona Sens. Jeff Flake (R) and John McCain (R) revealed in a joint oversight report that nearly $5.4 million in taxpayer dollars had been paid out to 14 NFL teams between 2011 and 2014 to honor service members and put on elaborate, “patriotic salutes” to the military. ... Among the more wasteful expenditures were a payment to the Atlanta Falcons to have a National Guard member sing the national anthem and a payment to the Minnesota Vikings for the “‘opportunity’ to sponsor its military appreciation night.”
Though USA Today has a different take:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/09/26/how-national-anthem-become-essential-part-sports/706243001/
I suspect the truth lies somewhere in between.
-gem
In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943), Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson wrote: “To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous, instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.”
ReplyDeleteBefore 2010 the NFL stayed in the locker room till after the anthem.
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ReplyDeleteNot that it matters, but 600 people weren't shot. And I don't think "mad" accurately describes the feelings toward the shooter, but this is a fairly obvious false comparison anyway.
ReplyDeleteNot that it matters, but I think the term "mad" was being used for the feelings toward Marcus Peters.
DeleteSad, we should all be getting along.It shouldn't be about how many he killed,which knee he went down on...We all have no where to go,no outter space friends ta visit us. All we do is disrespect and kill ea.other,and for what? Certainly not history,most have realized from hearing their ancestors talk of " were in our last days",there are none! Yet we bcome violent when predictions don't come true.So you must remember,Nothings out in the where Evers gonna save us,from us,but US! That's all that's it,stop being afraid,feel free to trust n drop ur guard,relax n distress,take a deep breath and just look around at all the beauti ur surrounded by.Here try this story on for 1day.The next? read Legally Omitted. by C F Thomas, let me know what he should do next,bc ur humans...so I've been told.
ReplyDeleteLook, people love America. And when someone burns a flag, it would be just as easy to say "they weren't harming anyone." But as Americans it DOES hurt in some way when someone does something we consider disrespectful of something we treasure.
ReplyDeleteHow many fights have there been over comments made about someone's mother? It's just words, right? But the Supreme Court has long realized that not all words are created equal. "Fire!" in a crowded theater is far different than normal, everyday language. Who in the world would fault a black man for punching someone who came up to him and called him the n-word? The prosecution doesn't want me on that jury!
The guys taking a knee during the National Anthem are doing EXACTLY what the flag burners are doing. They are protesting some things in America that they dislike. In many cases, the flag burners will tell you that the LOVE America...and are just trying to call attention to us having lost our way, in their estimation.
I'm not for punishing these guys for taking a knee. But there ARE consequences to our decisions. MLK, Jr., marched anyway...sat at lunch counters anyway. But here's the thing: burning flags or taking a knee when the National Anthem plays LOOKS and FEELS like you are disrespecting AMERICA. That is, pretty much no one is watching a flag being burnt and saying, "I think they must be upset with the direction that American has taken." Nope. They think "that person must no like AMERICA."
And that's the crux of it all. Viewers see these actions as saying that a person doesn't like AMERICA. They aren't reading this, for the most part, as someone saying, "I love America, but I don't like what's become of her." If they did see it that way, they'd be a whole lot more understanding, since I dare say that left and right BOTH feel that America is not where it should be.
But one thing kneeling does is...DRAW ATTENTION. And that gives the person a platform to speak...and it also gives people a reason to be angry. I wish there were another way--i.e., call time-out, then hold up signs for the entire stadium and viewing audience to see, etc.--but we often feel the need to shock people.
Alas, all of this kneeling has convinced VERY FEW (if any) people to see things differently. People may now understand why it's being done, but I dare say that most still don't like it. All it ultimately did was cost Kaepernick the rest of his NFL career, it seems.