Age of the Geek

So when is a good time to protest?
     People are dying. Cities are burning. So why are people still talking about these NFL National Anthem protests?
     When I first heard about Colin Kaepernick and his quiet protest of the systematic violence against black people, I didn't pay it much attention. I don't know what difference Kaepernick and his fellow players think they're going to make by kneeling during the national anthem, but at least their intentions are good.
     It's also a safe bet that kneeling for a couple minutes during a song won't degenerate into riots, so, as far as protest methods go, it has that going for it.
     Apparently though, others seem to disagree.
     Kaepernick has recently been voted as the most disliked player in the NFL. There is talk that the protests are causing ratings to drop for televised games. People are boycotting teams. I'm sure on Facebook you've got at least one friend who has posted a list of teams that a sports bar has banned from their TV screens while the protest persists.
     I feel that this would be an appropriate place to remind people that football is a sport where players often make the news when they are found beating their wives, children, or dogs.
     At what point did a man quietly kneeling become a more outrageous offense?
     The level of outrage generated by Kaepernick's protest is utterly astounding. If I were to tell you that a religious fanatic got on a loudspeaker and announced to a cheering crowd that people who don't participate in their nationalistic ceremony should be round up and shot, you might think I was talking about something happening in war torn Syria or Iraq.
     Nope. That's homegrown American "patriotism" straight out of Georgia, where a Southern Baptist pastor was announcing at a high school football game. The pastor has since claimed that his alleged statement was misquoted and taken out of context. Fair enough.
     The bigger problem is, out of context or not, the number of people that agreed with it. In their defense of a song that has "For the land of the free" as a prominent lyric, these people are chomping at the bit for North Korea style state mandated patriotism.
     Then you have Jeffery Bell, President of his local police Union in Miami, urging off-duty officers to not sign up to work security for NFL games, saying "I respect their right to have freedom of speech. However, in certain organizations and certain jobs you give up that right of your freedom of speech temporary while you serve that job or while you play in an NFL game."
     You give up your right to freedom of speech while playing in an NFL game.
     An NFL game.
     Now, I can understand there may be some professions out there where restricting somebody's First Amendment rights may be appropriate. I can't actually think of any outside of public service off the top of my head, but there's probably something out there. I am, however, quite sure that "football player" is not among the professions where it is appropriate to suspend the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. I admit I'm not a constitutional scholar, but I am pretty certain that "unless you throw a ball for entertainment" isn't written in the margins between the first and second amendment.
     In fact, I'm relatively certain that there's nothing in the Constitution about the NFL pre-game show at all.
     Listen, I like football as much as the next guy (so long as the next guy doesn't really follow football unless it looks like the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl), but let's get some perspective here. We are literally talking about a game played for entertainment.
     It's not a funeral. It's not a coronation. It's a sport.
     When the Westboro Baptist Church holds up intentionally offensive signs at military funerals, we grit our teeth and remind ourselves that they have the right to free speech and that their existence serves as a reminder of how important that right is. Because no matter how offensive it is, the alternative is worse.
     Yet, somehow, not participating in a superficial show of patriotism wedged between pre-game rock music and a bunch of dudes slamming into each other crosses the line for some people.
     What bothers me most about this whole ordeal is the hypocritical virtue signaling coming from those who protest the protest. After all, let's not pretend that the people taking such offense at Kaepernick's protest would themselves bother to stand up while watching the game in the comfort and privacy of their home.
     One might be able to argue that kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful, but there is no question that the reaction to that protest has been an even greater insult to this nation. By utilizing his rights to draw attention to an injustice, Kaepernick is performing his patriotic duty. It's hard to say how effective he will ultimately be, but at least he's trying to make a positive change in the country.
     If anybody's patriotism should be questioned, it’s the people who consider superficial lip-service more important than respecting this nation's most important foundational philosophy.
 
      Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and thinks that if you're so proud to be an American, you should start acting like one.