Friday, September 29, 2017

To Take The Knee or not, that is the question

I've been contemplating this blog post for what seems like an eternity. I wanted to address the #TakeTheKnee controversy, but I'm sure like many Americans, I am torn over how I feel about it.


On one hand, the journalist in me says that it's OK for NFL players, celebrities, or whomever to take a knee to protest police brutality and racial issues. On the other hand, the American in me wants to yell out, "that's great that you want to take a stand (well, knee) on this topic, but isn't there a better forum you could do it in?"


From talking to a few co-workers, the message that the protest isn't against the flag or American military and veterans is lost on them. They are dismayed by the whole #TakeTheKnee movement, and find it offensive.


President Donald Trump's tweeting about it didn't help the situation (per normal), but the issue of protesting via sports goes back decades and is nothing new.


Some NFL teams stayed in the locker room during the anthem. Players from other teams intertwined arms to show support for their teammates who taking a knee. But NASCAR offers a whole other issue. I read a blog post a couple of days ago, and with apologies to the author as I couldn't find it again to give proper credit, but he brought up the fact that some NASCAR fans still fly the Confederate flag at races.


This is nothing new and is not isolated to the south. You'll see at least one or two Confederate flags at Kansas Speedway each race. So what does it say that the fan flying the Confederate flag is all hot and bothered that an NFL player would take a knee in silent protest during the playing of the National Anthem?


Once again, we are faced with no easy answers and America seems to be more deeply divided each day. This weekend, NASCAR is racing at Dover International Speedway in Delaware, site of the sport's first races post-9/11. We had just been through one of the most devastating events in our nation's history. Yet we all came together. We were even rooting for the Yankees for Pete's sake!


So how do we return to that "one nation" feeling and attitude? By God, it better not take another 9/11 to make it happen.


Again, I don't have the answers, just more questions. But my sincere hope is that Americans always have the option to #TakeTheKnee or peacefully protest and speak their minds. The message is getting lost in this protest, which is a shame. We'll just have to wait to see how this one plays out, I guess.

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