The Anthem Protests & the Big Lie that Most Vets Fought to Defend Freedom

[video:https://youtu.be/mmur9gsR4ss]

My take on the Anthem Protests ... (essay below)

the demands of so-called patriots that failure to stand for the anthem, say the pledge of allegiance or wave the flag, disrespects our military, and the true history of who and what our vets fought for in America's wars.

All those objecting to the NFL national anthem protests on the basis that anyone who refuses to stand for the anthem is disrespecting the flag, our country and our military veterans who fought to "defend our freedoms" are full of it. My YouTube video at Steven D Speaks lays out a brief history of America's wars and argues that rarely have our armed forces been used to defend our freedoms, rights, liberties, etc. Indeed, quite the opposite. Our armed forces have been used as pawns to protect the interests of the rich and powerful, of corporate interests overseas and after WWII, the interests of the military-industrial complex.

As highly decorated US Marine General Smedley Butler once said, "War is a racket.” And the rich, our powerful corporations and financial interests and entrenched interests in the Defense and Intelligence Community have been the primary beneficiary of the wars fought by our veterans. In our history, it has been a rare event when our government sent our veterans to fight a war to defend the freedoms of Americans. Most of America’s wars were fought to advance America’s imperial ambitions and to protect powerful economic interests, and did little if anything to advance the freedoms and rights of American citizens. Indeed, our wars have generally been used to stifle dissent at home and limit the rights granted to us under the US Constitution.

You want to respect and support our veterans? Provide them better healthcare and pensions. And don't send them to fight and risk their lives for corporate interests of the financial, defense and fossil fuel industries, the MIC, and/or despotic regimes like Saudi Arabia that represses the rights of their own people and actively promotes international terrorism, genocide and general mayhem. But don't claim that protesting the flag or the anthem is unpatriotic because it disrespects veterans and our military unless you prefer fascism as the basis for our government.

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Alligator Ed's picture

General Smedley Butler is indeed an anomaly in our history. He twice won the Congressional Medal of honor, only one of two men to do so--and survived. He also alerted FDR to the coup planned before WW2 by the nation's wealthiest people, including Henry Ford, to overthrow the government--all during the time that Ford et al. were making tons of money helping Nazi Germany re-arm in preparation for WW2.

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Big Al's picture

"They Died for that Flag!" - No They didn't, They Died for Rich People" saying about the same thing.

This is a big problem, huge problem, in that no one is talking about this angle. It's mind numbingly accepted when people robotically say this shit about veterans and those in the military. When it fact, it should be even more central to the protest thang than police brutality against blacks.

It's interesting watching hypocrites slobber all over vets against these protests or those like Villanueva the Pittsburgh NFL player who went out himself to stand for the flag, and point to him and other vets like him as some kind of patriotic creatures, but when a vet like me says I support the protests and in fact would take it further, it's like I'm not even a vet. Then it doesn't matter that I'm a vet because I'm not fitting their purpose.

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detroitmechworks's picture

I sure as hell didn't fight so everybody would, in unison, mouth words that are sent down from the PTB, as our daily confession of faith.

I saw enough of that shit in Iraq and Kuwait, thank you very much. Military bases already are pushing it with the twice a day salutes, I don't need to have it rammed up my civilian life as well.

Hell, at this point, I'm half tempted to do a Kazoo protest... Every time they play it...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q1Di4AcGJ4]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

@detroitmechworks to the asshole you know will confront you. God I'd love to see one of them stunned into silence, although I'm probably being terribly idealistic that they would be silent.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Citizen Of Earth's picture

Which group did President Dummkopf attack for exercising their right to protest?

Charlottesville White Supremisists?

Or NFL Players protesting Social Injustice?

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Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

Wink's picture

@Citizen Of Earth
any stripe, income level stand for the anthem of a country that's done nuthin' but fuck them every which way and twice on Sunday is a good question. And why anyone would wonder why some African Americans choose to take a knee rather than stand and salute their own oppression tells us all we need to know about those that wonder.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

mimi's picture

@Citizen Of Earth
did the guy really carry a swastika flag?

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Citizen Of Earth's picture

@mimi It's a Huff Post image

so I assume it is not retouched.

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Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

mimi's picture

@Citizen Of Earth

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Citizen Of Earth's picture

@mimi How's That

GBCW workin out for ya? HAHAHAA.

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Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.

mimi's picture

@Citizen Of Earth
I need the world around me, cruel or not. Smile

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mimi's picture

@mimi
for carrying that flag. I tried to look for more pictures and it seems there are hundreds of them. I can't stand it when they don't say who took the photos. Nevermind.

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We both knew that, both accepted it, but did not DARE say it around a military base. All those young wives in our apartment complex would not have wanted to hear that unvarnished truth, especially from the likes of me, childless and a college student at the time. I was already weird to those people and they would have argued with every fiber of their being that I was wrong.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Cassiodorus's picture

-- at football games --

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

Cassiodorus's picture

@Cassiodorus they should sing this one:

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

snoopydawg's picture

the troops are fighting for. The other thing that has been left off all the lists of who the troops are/were fighting for.
The banks. They have made sure that all their bets are covered by supporting both sides in their wars.
Then there are the families such as Bush, Rockefeller and Rothschild to name a few.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Pluto's Republic's picture

@snoopydawg

Real estate, Riches, Resources, and Religion.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
riverlover's picture

@Pluto's Republic Resources, Riches, Real Estate and Religion.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

snoopydawg's picture

This idiot thinks that he is hurting the Baltimore Ravens by burning his Ravens memorabilia because they took a knee during the anthem. I wonder how he is going to feel next year about burning his stuff when this whole controversy is over?

There are other videos of others burning their jerseys and other memorabilia and swearing at who knows who.

NFL jerseys are going up like torches, just like fans said they would

The anger over the theatrical protests is beyond stupid. People are being played by Trump and the NFL owners. Does anyone believe that the owners care about anything that their players or Trump think? I bet they care as much as the Saudis care about the people who have AIDS when they donated money to Hillary's foundation.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Cassiodorus's picture

@snoopydawg https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jerry-jones-leads-cowboys-taking-kn...

They're capitalists and all to be sure, but beyond that...

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

@snoopydawg He's really, really hurting the entire NFL by burning his $400 dollar jacket, is he not? Jesus, you just can't fix that level of stupid.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

Daenerys's picture

@lizzyh7 banned books, Harry Potter for one notable example, just to burn them. It's so stupid I can't even really be mad.

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This shit is bananas.