All this furor over Kaepernik makes no sense to me.

[GaYellowDawg]

He's just an athlete. What the hell does he know? I don't understand why anyone should give a damn. Sit for the anthem, stand for the anthem, doesn't make a bit of difference to me. It's not like Kaepernik is keeping anyone else from standing. Stand, sing, knock yourself out if that's what you like. What the hell business is it of yours whether someone else stands, sings, removes their hats, puts their hands over their hearts, some of the above, or all of the above? I am sick of people who love yelling about how awesome and star-spangly freedom is until someone exercises freedom in a way they don't like.

When I'm at an event where the national anthem is played, I stand, put my hand over my heart, and sing. On the rare occasion I have a cap on, I remove it first. If you don't want to do what I do, then so what? As long as you're not interfering with me, you be you. It's a free country.

There are times when I think that the purest essence of conservatism is a scorching impulse to tell other people what to do and how to do it. Behave like I do. Love like I do. Worship like I do. Look like I do. Speak like I do. Conform completely to me. And if you don't do all of these things, well, you're pretty much less than human. It's so tiresome.

You be you, Kaepernik. Or not. I really don't give a damn.

[cheapdate]

1. Agree completely.

[Lee-Lee]

2. The media is telling people to care

Because it's an easy story to keep hammering on and drive ratings, website views etc.

[uponit7771]

3. +1

[HereSince1628]

4. True, non-compliance with social norms is seen as rejection of prevailing authority

through which 'our' behavior is regulated by normative expectations of the groups to which we belong.

In the minds of people who are aculturated into the controlling rules about their group's view of normativitiy, deviance/non-compliance endangers status quo of thier normative existence. Threats to existence draw strong, often intolerant, reactions.

Intolerance of a protest may not be something you, or I, would hold with, but failure to understand the underlying process would be a major gap in understanding of why protests such as Kaepernik's attract social angst as an act of public deviance. That's true even on DU, which is supposed to be liberal and thereby arguably characterized by tolerance to deviance in the cause of social justice.

It works sort of like this... a person doing, or not doing, something (in public or private) is seen by others and judged to be normative or deviant. This is especially true of celebrities aka people the public is drawn to observe. Consequently, the public and especially the PR dept's of sports teams expect their celebrity employees/products to be role models of conformity.

A person's deviance through doing, or not doing, something non-normative is argued as setting a bad example that erodes the power of whatever controlling rule is involved (as it is seen as acceptance and encouragement of the deviant behavior involved).

The opening ceremonies of professional sporting events in the US are very large ritualized displays of American us-ness. We are conditioned to personally identify with such displays of nationalism. Deviant acts at these times are not seen merely as narrow rejection of unfair, aspects of society but expansively as rejections of us and our idealized core values. Rejection of our self-image hurts.

Creating painful cognitive dissonance in others is typically the point of protest, though Kaepernik himself says his protest is personal. And really the reaction is about us and our dissonance at having our normativity challenged.

[MicaelS]

6. That is one of the best posts I

Have ever read, thank you. You explain like no one I have ever read.

[ronnie624]

11. Exellent post! n/t

[kairos12]

5. As a veteran

I completely support his right to protest. His freedom to do that, as well as others protesting his protest, is why I put on the uniform.

[Oneironaut]

7. Because OUTRAGE!

Somebody told me to be angry, so I have to be angry! It doesn't matter if I actually know anything about the story I'm angry about - everybody else in my "faction" is angry about it, so I have to be too!

[Odin2005]

8. Nationalistic brainwashing.

[backscatter712]

9. OH NOES, HE DIDN'T STAND FOR THE SPECIAL SONG!!!

[The2ndWheel]

10. It's all subjective

There are times when I think that the purest essence of conservatism is a scorching impulse to tell other people what to do and how to do it. Behave like I do. Love like I do. Worship like I do. Look like I do. Speak like I do. Conform completely to me. And if you don't do all of these things, well, you're pretty much less than human. It's so tiresome.

Using the word conservatism there doesn't do the attitude you're talking about enough justice. It's really any organized effort that requires that level of conformity, otherwise the organization doesn't function. And what you do or don't get pissed about depends entirely on what organized effort you feel attached to.

If you don't think the purest essence(i.e. a purity test) of liberalism(or whatever "ism&quot is a scorching impulse to tell other people what to do and how to do it, you haven't been paying enough attention.

[killbotfactory]

12. Clearly, you're not a fascist. nt