Even On The Simplist Of Issues, Trump Displays Ignorance

The short of the battle between Trump and the NFL players is this (click here):

1. Those who who kneel during the playing of the national anthem should at least be fired if they haven't yet left the country. Such protests, according to Trump shows too much disrespect for our flag and nation
    
2. The NFL's rules regarding concussions makes the game too soft. Thus, the rules regarding concussions are ruining the game.

Trump's ignorance is overwhelming here and it is difficult to say which statement displays more ignorance. People are not kneeling during the anthem in order to express how they feel about the flag or the nation. They are kneeling because of the horrible racism that still plagues our nation. And since that racism is being expressed by those with authority, some players are kneeling during the playing of the national anthem in order to draw attention to our problem with racism. That minorities have for a long time been the victims of racial profiling and abusive violence at the hands of the police is unquestionable. There is a question of whether the police shooting of Blacks indicates a problem with racism. But that question is based solely on numbers and not on comparative circumstances.

In addition, Trump stated that the new rules regarding concussions is hurting the game. One might ask if Trump's concern for the players, those who produce the product that the NFL sells, is similar to his concern for victims of racism. After all, according to the movie Concussion, it was the medical community, despite the efforts of the NFL, that first drew attention to the problem of brain injuries in former football players. Is Trump privy to new medical information on concussions that needs to be shared with the world? Should we the public delight in the hardest hitting football action regardless of the price these players must pay afterwards? Are our thrills more important than their lives?

Trump's concern for victims here is less than underwhelming. Regarding racism, he seems to think that it pales in comparison to standing at attention during the playing of the national anthem. That somehow, when racism reigns, that that does not exercise disrespect toward our nation and its flag. Instead, and speaking to, for his purposes, the right crowd, the patriotism Trump calls people to show goes beyond the bounds of what could be considered healthy. From a Christian perspective, it seems that the patriotism Trump encourages has become a form of idolatry. From a psychological perspective, the form of patriotism that pleases Trump has become a group narcissism.

In a statement that could be summarized as saying, "I can't believe we are still protesting this stuff," Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote the following (click here):

What should horrify Americans is not Kaepernick’s choice to remain seated during the national anthem, but that nearly 50 years after Ali was banned from boxing for his stance and Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s raised fists caused public ostracization and numerous death threats, we still need to call attention to the same racial inequities. Failure to fix this problem is what’s really un-American here.

 What makes Trump so wrong in his tirade against protesting players is not the mere criticism of their form of protesting. For example, Jim Brown, former NFL star, disagrees with protesting today's racism by kneeling for the national anthem. He states that such concerns do not justify showing disrespect for our flag and nation (click here). Brown's criticisms do not show an ignorance of our nation's problem with racism. And though I disagree with his criticisms, I respect him for what he said.

But Trump, as well as some who voted for and still support him, has done is to call for the punishment of players who peacefully expressed opposition to a national problem. By kneeling for the national anthem, they are trying to draw the nation's attention to its problem with racism. Why would we want to punish people for such actions just because some might think that their protest illustrates  bad form? Why would not showing respect for the flag be more important to such people than racially based violence exercised by those in authority?

To Trump and all those who want to punish the NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, I say FU. And by FU I mean Fly United as when you are dragged off the plane because the airlines overbooked the flight. Your form of patriotism has ventured into both idolatry and narcissism. And you are calling for people to suffer because you want to wear you patriotism on your sleeve. Try making room for others and their viewpoints. After all, that is what the First Amendment is all about. And isn't it patriotic to respect the First Amendment?