"All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable. But almost all say that such is not the case now" (Thoreau, 1018)
I want to start off by saying I know nothing about sports. Sure, I know all the rules and regulations of kickball (thanks to fifth grade recess), and I know what pivot means in basketball, but that's where my understanding ends. One aspect I have no relation to is professional league sports. Whenever Mr. Aldinger discusses the past Lions games with other students, I look like this,
when in reality, I'm like this:
However, this past week, professional sports has finally become relevant to me. Ever since Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in 2016 (in protest of the treatment of black people in the U.S.), the clash between political activism and professional sports has been on the rise. Moreover, when the Warriors were invited to the White House, Stephen Curry indicated he wasn't keen on attending, as him and his team don't stand for what Donald Trump does. Recently, buzz on this topic has escalated with Trump saying, "Wouldn't you love to see one of these N.F.L. owners, when somebody disrespects our flag to say 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he's fired'". This, and Trump's recent tweet revoking Stephen Curry's invitation to the White House has led to widespread condemnation and protest from various professional athletes, many following suit of Kaepernick. This led to the emergence of the hashtag #takeaknee, with many athletes not only expressing their support of Kaepernick, but also protesting against Donald Trump and his comments.
There are two sides to this debate: on one hand, it's disrespectful not only to the spirit of American patriotism, but also our veterans who put their life on the line to not stand for the national anthem; on the other hand, patriotism is dissent, and dissent leads to accountability for this country's wrongs.
This debacle is reminiscent of Henry Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Many are belittling the movement as futile, as complaining about nothing. But Kaepernick knelt for those black people killed by the police. Before him, Muhammad Ali rejected the draft in opposition to the Vietnam War. As Thoreau said, there will always be excuses to not express dissent, but does that mean we shouldn't? The black hole that Donald Trump himself has just opened will invoke not only protests on treatment of black people in America, but the very ideology of Trump. Turns out, a lot of athletes don't like him, and are proving it. Since Trump's tweet, more and more athletes have decided to raise their voices, and express support to Kapernick and Stephen Curry.
This debacle is reminiscent of Henry Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Many are belittling the movement as futile, as complaining about nothing. But Kaepernick knelt for those black people killed by the police. Before him, Muhammad Ali rejected the draft in opposition to the Vietnam War. As Thoreau said, there will always be excuses to not express dissent, but does that mean we shouldn't? The black hole that Donald Trump himself has just opened will invoke not only protests on treatment of black people in America, but the very ideology of Trump. Turns out, a lot of athletes don't like him, and are proving it. Since Trump's tweet, more and more athletes have decided to raise their voices, and express support to Kapernick and Stephen Curry.
This begs the question: is patriotism blind devotion and glorification? Or is patriotism the courage to address issues and actively protest them? Today, in 2017, would Henry Thoreau #takeaknee?
I enjoy how you go to the extent of talking about current events, but(at least how I'm interpreting this) keep a rather impartial view throughout, and take a look at both sides of this, even though you're human and almost certainly have an opinion on who's right and wrong in this case, nicely done.
ReplyDeleteHey Eliya! I loved the conversational voice:) It kept me reading and re-reading. But more than that, I loved that you went on to talk about current events and drew the connection to the conversation we had in class. It really shows that we still have a long way to go...
ReplyDeleteHaha the gifs made me laugh. Also the whole issue. Did you hear Lebron James called Trump a bum? Hahahaha
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I like that you tied current events to what we are doing in class. I like the deep thought process you have going on, too
Your post is really interesting! I like how you tied in current events to what we did in class this week (and even what we did last week). Your title is effective and I like how the ending ties to the title. To answer your question, I think Thoreau would #takeaknee because he would support the reasons behind it. The whole reason he wrote his essay is because he was against spreading slavery. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures really add to your conversational tone, and your creative connection to current events has helped me visualize what civil disobedience can look like today. The questions that you end with are very thought-provoking and really leave room for interpretation. I also really like that you show both sides of the argument; I will try this out in my future blogging.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the athletes would gain more support if, instead of simply #takingaknee, they were to do that, then use their large social media following to give a reason as to why? And for the ones that do give a reason, do you think a more specific reason than "In defieance of the racial injustice in America", they were more specific? I know for me, its hard to stand behind an abstract idea, something I cant actually take the fight to. If they gave a statistic, and say, "Here is what we can do about it", it would provide a concrete idea for citizens to stand behind, rather than just fear some invisible, yet ever present specter that is "American Racism".
ReplyDeleteI think if athletes gave a more concrete reason, it wouldn't make that much of a difference. Colin Kaepernick said "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder." He's obviously referring to the instances of police officers killing black people. When he first knelt in 2016, he was essentially supporting the blacklivesmatter movement which was very vocal at that time. It wouldn't matter if he gave a name or an abstract explanation. Also, all forms of protest aren't valid if they immediately solve what they're protesting against. Kaepernick kneeling was the first step against what he was protesting. It's hard to figure out what to do against something many people believe is systematic. How can Kaepernick say "here's what we can do about police brutality" when even government leaders can't? Right now, the only thing one can do is raise awareness, as dissent leads to problem-solving, not dissent is problem-solving.
DeleteSolid answer. I cant really disagree with anything here. Anything past this would be an argument of "Is there systemic, or systematic oppression of minority groups.
DeleteHey Eliya! I love how you started off with an interesting hook that tied into a current issue and related it with what we discussed in class! The pictures were funny and supported your informal tone... which was awesome. Your post also reminded me of "A Partly Cloudy Patriot" which mainly talked about what is the "correct" form of patriotism, which your blog also addresses. Overall, I loved your post!
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Eliya! I love how you connected Thoreau's piece with #TakeAKnee. I really like how you acknowledged both sides of the debate. Also, these gifs are iconic.
ReplyDeleteI really like how your voice really shows through, just as it does in all of your writings. Your stance was very well developed and I liked how you tied it in to current events!
ReplyDeleteI actually really loved your post and the techniques you used to draw your reader in. The humor used in the beginning and the rhetorical questions you used at the end show that you put a lot of thought into you delivery of the important topic.
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