The Long, Proud History of the National Anthem at Sporting Events
If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL,or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
...our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017
The man-child-in-chief has some very strong, and stupid, opinions about people making peaceful protests at sporting events.
To be fair, there is a "long tradition" at NFL games to consider.
It's a tribute to the NFL's ability to drape itself in the flag that nobody even realizes that – prior to 2009 – players being on the field for the national anthem wasn't even standard practice.
...
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed this morning the practice began in 2009, adding, 'As you know, the NFL has a long tradition of patriotism. Players are encouraged but not required to stand for the anthem.'Add in the fact that the NFL received millions of taxpayer dollars from the Department of Defense and the National Guard for patriotic displays, and it puts the entire Kaepernick hullabaloo in a different light. "Fans should have confidence that their hometown heroes are being honored because of their honorable military service, not as a marketing ploy," Senator John McCain, the Vietnam War veteran and P.O.W., saidin a statement last year coinciding with "Tackling Paid Patriotism," a joint oversight report released by McCain and his fellow Arizona Republican Senator John Flake.
In fact, it's been overlooked that this "Paid Patriotism" scandal resulted in the NFL returning a small amount of that taxpayer money last year.
This is the perfect reply to those who think you should "keep politics out of sports", as if professional sports is somehow sacred. Eliminate taxpayer-funded F14 flyovers and military bands and then we'll talk about getting politics out of sports.
The Star-Spangled banner wasn't played at baseball games until the 1918 World Series, and it wasn't played at regular season games until WWII.
While the Star-Spangled banner was not designated by the president as the national anthem until 1916, and not by Congress until 1931, the anthem was long favored by the military.
Even after WWII things didn't always go in one direction.
In the 1950s, the Baltimore Orioles, of all teams, decided that playing "The Banner" before every game cheapened its impact. The general manager at the time decided that he was going to only play it during special occasions.
The Chicago Cubs owner felt the same way. And he did not play "The Banner" before every game until the '60s, during the Vietnam War. And even in the 1960s, the Chicago White Sox experimented with substituting "God Bless America."
While Colin Kaepernick's protest is known to all, the truth is that professional athletes protesting during the National Anthem is not a new thing.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, and Carlos Delgado have all made statements, and paid for them.
Then there is that sacred song itself. How many people actually know all the words?
"The Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 about the American victory at the Battle of Fort McHenry. We only sing the first verse, but Key penned three more. This is the third verse:And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.The mere mention of "slave" is not entirely remarkable; slavery was alive and well in the United States in 1814. Key himself owned slaves, was an anti-abolitionist and once called his African brethren "a distinct and inferior race of people."
Some interpretations of these lyrics contend Key was, in fact, taking pleasure in the deaths of freed black slaves who had fought with the British against the United States.
So yeah. We should show respect for a song that celebrates killing slaves who fight for their freedom.
Comments
I have trouble with
people losing their jobs because of their opinions and expressing their opinions at work.
However, I believe it has been decided (for now) by the courts that one does not have free speech at work, and these players are at work.
dfarrah
It doesn't matter,
no employer can legally make you stand for the national anthem as a job requirement.
Except the military I suppose.
Actually I don't know, I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
Either way, the national anthem shouldn't even be played at pro sporting events. What's the fucking purpose?
Ya, we all know what the purpose is, to keep the lemmings in their little places with their heads firmly up their asses.
yep. n/t
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.
Hmmmm. Interesting
points.....
dfarrah
To be specific
The terms of the NFL players employment is governed by a collective bargaining agreement between the Players' union and the NFL. They are not at will employees like so many other Americans. They belong to a union.
Maybe more people should unionize. Just sayin ....
"You can't just leave those who created the problem in charge of the solution."---Tyree Scott
Good point.
I have a huge problem with "no free speech zones"
Not to mention taxpayer-funded, employer-enforced patriotism.
Exactly
Also a good number of the stadiums were either fully or partially funded by tax payer dollars to be built in the first place.
@gjohnsit
For which they're apparently not being paid anymore. Wasn't it stated in that clip that the later-instituted Coast Guard funding expired a few years ago?
Edit: unless the payments are continuing, but out of some black budget to avoid discussion?
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
@gjohnsit just had a flashback of
just had a flashback of the nevada caucus
I'm wound up on this one, probably too much.
I'm really pissed. This fucking asshole in the white house is too much. I can't imagine what some people of color are thinking now.
Even my son was agreeing with Trump until I lectured him up one side and down another about freedom, the flag, this country, the illusions, the evils our government commits and what it must feel like right now to be black in this country.
Trump is a fucking draft dodging wimp ass bully who hides behind his money and power to stir shit up. It's unreal we've come to this place.
Protest spreads
Good.
That's a conversation I had with someone a couple weeks ago who said they were going to boycott the NFL because of Kapernick and others disrespecting the flag and making the games "political". I told on the contrary, playing the national anthem before every game was making shit political. He couldn't really argue but couldn't get his head around it, at least not then.
I don't think that kaep's intention is to
disrespect the flag. And this is what is getting lost in today's protests. People FEEL that he is disrespecting it and that's on them. He isn't making a political statement, he's making a personal statement and that is that police in this country are not being held accountable for their actions when they continue killing unarmed people, and Blacks especially. This is his opinion and no one has the right to take it from him.
I realize what you are saying about this becoming political, but it's other people's interpretations that are making it political. Especially the people who commented about this in Utah. They say that he should put his money where his mouth is, but don't realize that he has done that through his charity.
As for Trump. This is just another of his distractions that are about people in this country fighting each other instead of the people that are destroying it.
As the Green Bay Packers put it: "We will not participate in this side show and will be in the locker room when the anthem is played"
Steelers, not Packers
Packers attended their national anthem, arms linked in solidarity, while a few remained seated.
Packers President Mark Murphy:
"It's unfortunate that the President decided to use his immense platform to make divisive and offensive statements about our players and the NFL. We strongly believe that players are leaders in our communities and positive influences. They have achieved their positions through tremendous work and dedication and should be celebrated for their success and positive impact.
"We believe it is important to support any of our players who choose to peacefully express themselves with the hope of change for good. As Americans, we are fortunate to be able to speak openly and freely."
"If I sit silently, I have sinned." - Mossadegh
Hmmmm. I wonder what
school would say if players started carrying signs around about this or that during a game.
dfarrah
Not protests
The first thing we should do is avoid buying into the talking point that this non-participation is a protest. It should not be lost on anyone that today, protest is purposely equated with property-destruction, violence and terrorism.
Murphy's statement evades this rhetorical trap by characterizing players who decline to participate in an optional political ceremony as "players who choose to peacefully express themselves". Let's follow that sensible lead and correct those who just want to escalate the tension with imagery of organized marches, confrontations with counter-protesters and violence. This is not at all the same.
"If I sit silently, I have sinned." - Mossadegh
We should avoid
conflating peaceful protest with violent protest.
dfarrah
Also...
http://q13fox.com/2016/09/16/entire-seattle-high-school-team-kneels-duri...
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
And --
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2017/09/24/ravens-jaguars-players-kneel-du...
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
and...
http://myfox8.com/2017/09/19/8-year-old-football-players-kneel-during-na...
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I'm hearing a very strong echo
of Oh, Jeremy Corbyn.
I've never cared much for sports but they are a mass phenomenon, and this is the second major instance where it appears that the general public is a lot more aware of what the problems are than anyone in DC. Curious where the fire will move next.
Somewhere at the Guardian I was struck by the the words of a player speaking of how it felt, at age 5, to watch his mother being stopped by police as she was driving him to the babysitter.
Poison like that isn't cured by posture, gesture, or anthems.
There's definitely a mass phenomenon here.
No doubt about that.
The ruling classes need an extra party to make the rest of us feel as if we participate in democracy. That's what the Democrats are for. They make the US more durable than the Soviet Union was.
I agree with Stevie Wonder
Kneel down to express non-compliance. Show the world (since you are a media target) that disagreement with TPTB is where it's at. When too many famous people display this simple act of resistance, it will become a focus. Inequality is the problem, kneeling puts it in their face.
question everything
Curious.
NFL viewership is down this year and the owners and broadcasters are clutching their pearls. Suddenly, Trump makes this an issue and viewership skyrockets. It's almost like there's collusion with Trump to pull team owners fat out of the fire through a ginned-up nontroversy.
Wait. Wut?
Collusion? You mean Russians? Shit, they're everywhere....
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
@EdMass
Check your jock strap before putting it on... oh, wait, it's the US government crawling up everyone's ass with a recording device...
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
I'm afraid that Kaep's message is getting lost
He started this protest because of the number of cops who got away with murdering Blacks. And he has paid the price for doing it. I think that the NFL owners wanted to make sure that if anyone else decided to join him, they would see the consequences of doing it.
Where were all the people who are protesting this today when it took lots of guts to do it? Those that are involved in the protests today have lot of cover because everyone is doing it.
The only other person who took a knee during the anthem was the player from the Oakland A's and he just did it this week.
The people who are doing this today are basically protesting against Trump, not for the reason that Kaep did.
Yes it's great to see everyone taking a stand against Trump, but let's not forget that the reason why Kaep started it was because of what this country has let the cops get away with.
Right on cue...
I don't believe for a second that's coincidence. Like, for instance, the Democrats spinning the DNC email leaks from what was in them to whodunnit?, I think this is the MSM/TPTB way of deflecting the actual issue behind the protest and making it about the person protesting. I'm actually kind of shocked that many in the NFL seem to be supporting Kaepernick, but even then, it seems like it's become all about him (not through his design or intention) and sidestepping the actual issue that inspired him. It's become a distraction which everyone can talk about and pick a side and feel self-righteous about without actually doing anything to change the situation.
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@Dr. John Carpenter
Yeah, nobody seems to be mentioning police murders in conjunction with this, just the freaking flag, regarding which it seems no other country makes such a big deal about rituals surrounding theirs. Especially not for the apparent purpose of programming blind allegiance to whoever happens to be in public office at the time. Started with Bush 2, didn't it? All of the frantic OMG, must wear that flag pin nonsense? Or was that only when I noticed it?
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Anti-flag burning hysteria was in the 80s
but even then, I don’t remember this kind of unironic “AMERICA FUCK YEAH” as a pushback. This fetishizing of the military/you’re a traitor if you disagree with America ever thing sure seems to me to have been a byproduct of W Bush and 9/11.
(Sorry for the late response. Work has been killing me.)
Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.
@Dr. John Carpenter
Thanks for the response - and I hope that things at work become more reasonable soon!
Edit: I suspect that Cheney mentoring Vice President Pence may have something to do with this secondary outbreak of Bush-era-enforced Nazi-style flag fetishism working up to increased fascist imposition on and the instilling of worsening militarism among the American population, for the purpose of increasing the current active targets in the War on the World. They do the same things over and over, expecting the same things to happen, as far as manipulating the American public, every time. Still works on some, but the rest know better by now, it seems.
And it also seems that some of the rest of the world is, at long last, beginning to draw together in self-defense against the endless targeting and destruction of other nations, while generally attempting to do so less by military means than by such as withdrawing financial support from the US corporate structure, as with the shift away from the petrodollar and US-corporate-controlled trade and an apparent attempt to break away from the (increasing-by-conquest) current fossil fuel monopolies.
There seems to be more than enough fossil fuel remaining to destroy the habitability of the planet many times over, merely involving even more poisonous procedures than ever. And the same with nukes. There has to be a way to get the psychopathic madmen currently running the asylum they have us penned in where they belong...
I really like that 'comfortably isolate them all on an island where they can't harm the rest of the world' idea, although even god wouldn't want to know what they'd get up with each other when they no longer had anyone else to abuse...
Just adding these in, as they seemed interesting, regarding 9/11; can't vouch for anything in them, of course, but they do make sense. Which the official claims never did.
Lengthy and built of details uncovered over years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7md2QzNsAe4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcxZcwIhp7M
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
But...but...but...
USA - USA - USA
Oh, and "Lock Her Up"!
Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!
Firesign Theater
Stop the War!
The NASCAR response
link
Sad, isn't it?
The last person who gave his life for this country died two centuries ago. People don't bother to think how any other country could take out rights away from us.
Smedley tried to warn us, but too many people have swallowed the government's propaganda and have been well trained starting during their school years.
Wish there was a way for this to go viral
Yep the terrorists won...
That's what I've been telling everyone - they hate me...
Peace - too late I guess
FN
"Democracy is technique and the ability of power not to be understood as oppressor. Capitalism is the boss and democracy is its spokesperson." Peace - FN
This is showing the ignorance and brainwashing we're up
against. It's in some ways encouraging in that some things are being brought into the open, but discouraging to see how fucking divided the country is. It almost shoots the 99% thing right out of the water.
Shooting the 99% out of the water
is their main goal, but having us fighting with each other is their secondary plan.
First it was the Russian propaganda that both sides took a position on. Then it was the alt-right and the alt-left fights and now this new pseudo fight about whether people have a right to sit or kneel during their national anthem. This started as a totally different protest against police brutality and the new Jim Crow lynching, but this too was co-opted into whether people had the right to not worship the flag.
What part of this is untrue?
This seems to go over many people's heads because what has been happening in the last 40 some odd years isn't the fairytale ending. This is what Kaep is trying to tell people. It's not that hard.
Yeah, and a hey was surprised to see this though...
From Dale Jr.
That is the problem
with the players picking the game as a venue to protest police treatment.
Now, everyone is off talking about the flag and patriotism.
What a way to screw up a message.
dfarrah
Food for though, the NFL Players Association response
"Trump and friends are stirring up patriotism, standing up for the flag, the anthem, and America. Once he's whipped up the people in a nationalistic frenzy, he can go to war with North Korea, or Iran, or Venezuela etc. This is an obvious and purposeful tactic, which seems to have eluded most of the dumbed down US population."
-attributed to passdasalt
O.k. When is the next meeting for the revolution?
-FuturePassed on Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:22 p.m.
How, exactly, is it freedom?
That's what I rhetorically asked on my last Facebook post after being told to go to hell by a relative - actually, he said anyone who didn't agree with his belief about the fucking dumbass uproar about the goddamn sports people, could "GO TO HELL". He did, after all, defend our freedom before retiring from the air force. (Despite really wanting to ask exactly how he did that, I refrained.)
I did try to get him to see the bigger picture before I signed off. I did provide a quote and a link to an article about how a veteran had convinced Kaep to kneel instead of sit.
He replied by saying, "They should protest something else!"
I asked if he would actually see them in a different venue - because when they march they're called thugs and then some assholes start breaking shit and then they all get considered rioters. At the end I said of his boycott, don't get me wrong. I despise all organized sports and said if we were going to force them to be robots we should ban all sports and use the money for education and infrastructure. (Gasp!)
He didn't read the article. He refused to see or understand that the protest originally began over police brutality and killing of Black people. He refused to even try to see that it had nothing to do with a song, a flag, veterans or a country. All he could see was Merkan Freedumb. And he was being fed by all the Hell Yeahs, and Fuck em! They need to leave this country comments.
He didn't respond, but did post a meme with John Kerry (?) and Jane Fonda that said, "In America Traitors become Democrats."
So, I guess he sees me as not only a Democrat, but a traitor. Bet he doesn't know his cousin, my dad, voted dem more often than not.
If I hadn't wanted to find the owners or a home for a couple of Harvey refugees or dump off dogs, I wouldn't have even been on that god awful shit hole of hate. Yuck!