The Kaepernick Controversy

What's interesting about the Colin Kaepernick issue, and somewhat insulting, is that instead of addressing the reason why the 49er's QB chose not to stand for the Anthem, we've engaged in distortion and misdirection; to ad hominem attacks and circular arguments. We're not talking about the real issue, that being the total disrespect of African American men.

The battle that's taking place instead is, who decides what the conversation is about, how we are 'allowed' to discuss or debate the terms of what's happening in this country. The public outcry is, "now is not the time," or, the use of the National Anthem as a method of protest, is "not the way to go." Really?

From a historical perspective, it's never a good time for the minority to ask for neutrality or mutual respect from the majority.

Before the writer exposes the duplicity around waving the 'patriotic banner' in our faces when it's really not about that, let me share this little nugget with the reader about the U.S. Military.

Every member of the U.S. Armed forces, past and present, like it or not, is paid and awarded benefits to kill innocent men, women, and children abroad, under the clandestine guise of "protecting our borders." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Rape and mass murder are the norm in combat (see the article, "Global Bullying - A Short List of U.S. Military Corruption"). Murdered civilians are considered, "casualties of war." Don't forget the hired mercenaries; U.S. companies are paying civilians with absolutely no experience to fight overseas. And tell me, with no experience whatsoever, who determines who is an ISIS member (an organization created by the U.S., by the way), rather than a mom or dad trying to protect their offspring? It's not like they have signs stamped on their foreheads: 'ISIS TEAM'.

The Kaepernick conversation has been steered toward the flag, patriotism and the National Anthem. Is it just me? Am I the only one who views the third verse of the anthem - "Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution" - as an affront to all people of color?

News flash: It's part of the song, even though the singing of the Anthem is about the first verse, the third stanza is still part of the song. It should be deleted because it is blatantly disrespectful to every African American in this country.

"No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave..."

It's one of the verses of a song that is supposed to be patriotic for all Americans. However, it's not patriotic if you're Black.. plain and simple. Doesn't matter that no one pays attention to the verse.. IT'S PART OF THE SONG... REMOVE IT!

The majority of White Americans who have vilified Kaepernick, are not concerned about the reason why he's taking his stance. He's talking about one specific issue. When pundits speak about the terms of the conversation, you don't hear the defenders of the Anthem talking about police brutality in the African American community, which is what Colin's protest is about.

Kaepernick is not discussing al Queda, ISIS, Drone Strikes, or the Second Amendment (right of the people to keep and bear arms), he's protesting for unarmed Black men to be taken to jail instead of being taken to the morgue.

The message is intentionally being lost primarily because the majority of White Americans have no problem with police brutality against unarmed Black men... no problem whatsoever.

Therefore, their 'patriotic' counter protest is nothing but distortion; nothing but static designed to mask the real problem, which is the "problem of the 20th [and 21st] century, the problem of the color-line" (W.E.B. DuBois, "The Soul of Black Folks).

Astonishingly, the song itself was clearly not written for people of color, it was initially a poem written by Francis Scott Key. American slaves, after being promised their freedom by Great Britain, decided to join forces with the British in the War of 1812. Key was perturbed because Black soldiers, along with the British infantry, got the best of them. To top it off, when the treaty was signed, America had the gall to ask for their "property" back - meaning the 6,000 or so slaves who joined forces with the British.

Fortunately, Great Britain did not hand over the 'former' slaves, because we all know that every last one of those 6,000 or so brave souls, would have been beaten, publicly humiliated (as an example to other enslaved people), hung and their bodies burned.

Therefore, if you want to cherry pick around the real issue - POLICE BRUTALITY - make damn sure you go back to the beginning which unveils the true nature of the Anthem and what it's really about.

Ironically, the first Sunday of the 2016 NFL Season takes place on September 11th. The defenders of the flag are really in a tizzy over the 'fortunate' timing of the start of the season and Kaep's protest. I say 'fortunate' because it will force us to focus on the serious matter at hand - Murdered Black Men - once we cipher through the bullshit. Furthermore, if you do any research on the tragic events of 9/11, guess what, you'll clearly see that it was an 'Inside Job' orchestrated by the Bush Administration and the International Banking Cartels.

What most of Black America wants to see change for the better, is the relationship between minorities and the police. Instead, we're talking about this amorphous concept of patriotism. Calling those who support Colin Kaepernick unpatriotic is nothing but a red herring, a false argument designed to cloud the subject of racial equality and respect for African American people in general.

You've forced us to stop saying "Black Lives Matter" because "White Lives Matter" too. Well, that goes without saying as you've made that brutally clear since the first Klansman pulled a hood over his head on December 24, 1865.

So lets get to the crux of the issue America; lets talk about the real deal. And if you want us to respect the Anthem, remove the third stanza and APOLOGIZE.

Of course, cow's will fly before Black America ever gets an apology from White America, but that's OK, just stop trying to undermine our collective intelligence with your nonsensical doublespeak.

In closing, the writer will leave the reader with a quote from the character, Melvin Udall (played by Jack Nicholson) in the movie, "As Good As It Gets"...

"Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City "Sailor wanna hump-hump" bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey?"

"Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here."