I've been looking at Facebook and all of the comments about the NFL and kneeling during the presentation of the colors. There are many different postings concerning this so I decided to add my feelings to those others in my blog.
I believe in standing, having my hand over my heart, and singing "The Stars Spangled Banner" and/or reciting the Pledge of allegiance when the flag of the United States is presented. However, I respect other's rights to not do so.
The thing that I find so interesting, is that these football players were respectful in their protest. I didn't see any of them swinging posters, using microphones to be able to be heard, using guns to show their strength. I didn't see any fighting because of a disagreement with those not kneeling. I didn't see policemen being called in, dressed in their combat uniforms, swinging billy clubs and spraying participants with pepper spray, because that wasn't necessary. I didn't see anyone breaking windows on shop windows, turning cars upside down, starting fires on police cars, and being hauled off to jail. From what I could see, there was no shouting or shoving or trying to get anyone else to do what they were doing.
Are we so enamored in violence that we have to criticize a peaceful demonstration? Do we want to create violence by insisting that all players by fired, that we put up protests outside of the playing field?.
Maybe we all need to take a step back and think about our reaction to this. Are we being drawn into a crowd mentality wanting more action, more excitement, more deaths, more media coverage? Is social media helping to incite these types of feelings? Are people in authority helping to incite these destructive behaviors?
I respect everyone's right to their opinion, even if it differs from mine. I respect their right to protest and I especially admire those who protest peacefully.
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