Pavlovitz: White People, This Anthem Thing is Really Simple [View all]

[EffieBlack]

A couple of years ago, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the National Anthem to leverage his platform and visibility and turn our collective attention toward the injustices people of color experience as a daily occurrence here in this country. Other players followed; some kneeling, others sitting down or locking arms or raising a fist in the air.

They silently, respectfully, stoically made an appeal to our shared compassion on behalf of people who do not have a voice.
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This should have been enough ... We should have told these players that we hear them and that we are as grieved about the premature deaths of young black men as they are.
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Trump did what he’s done all the way through the campaign, election, and his Presidency: he exploited easily manipulated, angry white people looking for someone to ratify their prejudice and consent to their enmity. He purposefully used his position of power to try and steamroll people of color asking to be treated equally, into silence—and in the process, he and his supporters proved exactly why these athletes were kneeling to begin with.

This predatory President, spineless NFL owners, and complicit white fans treating players like expendable animals—all conspired to made Colin Kaepernick’s point for him.
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You can pretend this is about when and how these athletes are protesting—or just admit that it’s the fact that they’re protesting at all that really offends you, and you wish they’d stop inconveniencing you with truth that you’d rather not deal with.

This is about what it’s always been about: us choosing to defend white privilege or black lives.

https://johnpavlovitz.com/2018/06/06/white-people-this-anthem-thing-is-really-simple/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=johnpavlovitz