Facts from feelings

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With all the things going on in America, with all the people who are in need of assistance, why is the president so deeply invested in the NFL protests?

I understand that some people feel that kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful.  I understand that some people feel that this is a slap in the face to the men and women who protect this country as well.

Let me let you in on a secret.  I’m one of those who work to protect this country, and I also protect the NFL player’s right to peacefully protest.  I’m not hurt or bothered by their actions.  I don’t intend on joining any boycott either because of their actions.

This all started over Colin Kaepernick’s protest last season.  He wanted to bring attention to police abuse, which I feel is something that needs to be addressed by everyone, feelings be damned.  He didn’t set out to dismiss the sacrifices of military personnel, and there are numerous vets and currently serving members of the military who support Kaep.

In my opinion, a good bit of the backlash is from the old hit dog effect.  Many people want to act like America is perfect, when we do have areas where would could improve to make our society better.  Many of us use our biases and stereotypes as crutches to walk through life instead of challenging ourselves to tackle things on without bias.

In the beginning, I was supportive of Kaep, and along the way he lost me to an extent.  I still support his right to protest, but I don’t agree with some of the things that he has NOT done while protesting.  That’s a different story for a different post.

Back to the tweets above.  For Trump, and anyone else who is offended, hurt, or otherwise triggered by the protests, I have a question to ask you.  Were you the same way when the flag was mistreated between 2008 and 2016?  Read the US Flag Code and you’ll understand what I’m saying.  Here’s a few examples:

4 US Code Chapter 1 Section 8(d):  The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery. It should never be festooned, drawn back, nor up, in folds, but always allowed to fall free. Bunting of blue, white, and red, always arranged with the blue above, the white in the middle, and the red below, should be used for covering a speaker’s desk, draping the front of the platform, and for decoration in general.

4 US Code Chapter 1 Section 8(g):  The flag should never have placed upon it, nor on any part of it, nor attached to it any mark, insignia, letter, word, figure, design, picture, or drawing of any nature.

4 US Code Chapter 1 Section 8(j):  No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform. However, a flag patch may be affixed to the uniform of military personnel, firemen, policemen, and members of patriotic organizations. The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing. Therefore, the lapel flag pin being a replica, should be worn on the left lapel near the heart.

Now, there’s disrespecting something which is a personal opinion, and there’s breaking the law.  There is no law for disrespect, so there is no legal recourse if someone feels disrespected.  It is a personal feeling, and what makes you feel that way may be totally fine with others around you.  We have to get away from our selfish outlook on life because we’re a nation of more than 330 million people.  We’re not always going to be happy about things, and we’re not going to always get our way.\

The president, of all people, should be the one setting a tone to bring people together, not a tone of inciting a riot.  When Obama offered his opinion on the Trayvon Martin shooting and the Skip Gates arrest, many on the right felt that he overstepped his job as president by getting into small, personal incidents.  Who could ever forget this diagnosis of Obama here:

So, if Obama was way out-of-bounds for the comments made then, what should be said about the current president calling a  football player a “son of a bitch”?

Time is up for allowing a certain segment to own and direct the conversation.  No matter how loud or whiney things get, ALL sides need to be heard and given equal opportunity to express themselves.  Let’s remove emotions and feelings from the conversation and deal with the facts at hand.  Imagine Obama calling one of the Duke lacrosse players a “son of a bitch” live on national TV.  Do we honestly think that he would have been cheered?

I used to think we were better than this, but I guess all good things come to an end.  We are no longer in Kansas, Toto.  Regardless of whether we like Trump or not, we cannot allow the standards of behavior for the office of the president to be lowered.  If he’s not capable of maintain the high standards, then he needs to leave the office to allow someone with standards to fulfill the duties of the office as they should be carried out.

16 thoughts on “Facts from feelings”

  1. On the one hand:
    Why do we play the anthem at sporting events? Doesn’t doing so already politicize sports? To what extent does playing the anthem at sporting events represent respecting and honoring freedom and constitutional protections, and to what extent does it represent glorifying militarism in America?

    On the other hand:
    Police abuse is an issue that, at the very least, needs to be carefully examined. But is taking a knee during an anthem a good way to draw attention to this? It seems to have done a lot to confuse, distract, and provoke people. Maybe it would be better if, as a separate event entirely apart from any game or anthem, protesters were to walk around in public costumed as walking dead full of bullet holes. Maybe someone should come up with a way of drawing attention clearly to the substantial majority of abuse incidents that do not escalate into shootings. Also, to what extent is taking a knee a reasoned response, and to what extent is it an emotional response?

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  3. I just saw an AJC article that makes a similar point.

    I remember learning something about flag etiquette in the Boy Scouts. It’s been a long time, but if I remember correctly, the following were some of the points.
    A flag that accidentally touches the ground should be destroyed.
    A damaged or soiled flag should be destroyed.
    The proper way to destroy a ruined flag is to burn it privately and with dignity.

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    • Yep, that is the proper way to dispose old flags. If you’re not sure how to properly burn it, you can always pass it to a scout troop, and they will do it for you.

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  4. One small, but important thing, the first picture of the singer…is NOT wearing an official US flag…so he is not violating the statute quoted. He is wearing what is considered a “representation” of a flag.

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    • On closer inspection, you may be right. Looking at the transparent nature of it based on the the stripes in the rear, it looks like a real nylon flag.

      Thanks for pointing that out. I’d rather be correct than pass on something false.

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  6. People got it all wrong. It is The Constitution that we respect. The flag and the anthem are the golden calf for some idiots that really have no clue about the Constitution…like Trump.

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    • You’re right to a point. Without the Constitution, none of the other stuff exists. The flag, the anthem, and the pledge are all representatives of the Constitution itself.

      I don’t really care for the fanatical patriotism as it borders on fascism in some cases. It’s perfectly fine to disagreement on patriotic displays as not everyone displays their feelings in the same way. Just don’t label someone as unpatriotic because their actions don’t meet your personal definition, and sadly far too many people have crossed that line already.

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