I think everyone is pretty clear that Trump is a major ass/idiot/fill-in-the-blank and that obviously everyone has the freedom to do what they want during the U.S. National Anthem. It is obviously not a protest of the anthem or the flag itself, but to draw attention to many injustices in this country. Considering the NFL is probably about 75% African-American, it would be an injustice if black people didn't use their influence as star athletes and entertainers to draw attention to the plight of poor and minorities in the U.S. Everyone knows the class system in the U.S. is getting stretched to extremes, like a rubber-band about to break. Washington politicians have no interest in helping America, they are only interested in the corporate and military conquest of the world for their own elite. The people living, working, and dying everyday have no interest to them and they have proven that by allowing the health, education, food, and infrastructure systems of the U.S. to become some of the most degenerate and degrading in the world.
One of the best quotes about the whole situation is that using your right to protest to draw attention to an issue is not a problem. The problem is when someone tells you that your issue is not a problem and you have no right to protest. That is the height of hypocrisy and disrespect for everything the U.S. should stand for. Fascist idiots like Trump and his ilk are the ones with no respect for the enlightened ideas of the U.S., the liberty of the founders, or what the flag itself stands for.
Colin Kaepernick is an American hero for standing up and saying the economic situation and police state in minority communities is not right and is unacceptable. At this point their are about a billion studies showing lack of opportunity, increased health risks, institutional prejudices, educational deficits... you could go on and on, about communities of color and poverty. Everyone knows this, but people are afraid to really discuss it. Colin is now being blackballed by the NFL and effectively a martyr, but this week with our Chief Executive Jack-Ass weighing in, I can feel the tide of sentiment and understanding changing, and I believe within the next several weeks Mr. Kaepernick will be on an NFL roster.
Kudos also to LeBron and many others for standing united and communicating in a thoughtful and unifying manner. The idea that a simple protest during the national anthem can be so berated and lambasted in this country is absurd. The fear many have at discussing socio-economic truths and inequality is shocking. In this country if you protest violently you are a terrorist, if you protest peacefully you are a traitor. So we are told to believe to be an American is to be a conformist. I don't believe that for one disgusting second. That's not what I believe when I look at the flag, and God willingly neither should you.
Peace @ClumsySilverDad