Kneeling During the National Anthem: An Opinion Piece

Kneeling During the field Anthem An Opinion PieceA Bad CombinationThe NFL re enters The National Football League, which contains thirty-two professional Ameri move teams (NFL Football Teams, paratrooper 1). Over the by year to present time, in that respect has been a lot of controversy indoors the league concerning a major political issue with select NFL players kneel during the playing of the national hymn before kickoff. Kneeling is executed to represent a form of silent defy. The NFL players who are kneeling believe that thither are prevailing issues in the United States that need to be brought to the frequents attention. gibe to the philosopher, Boxill, protest is meant to not only stop the disadvantage from happening, but to also show disdain (Boxill, para 1). The injustices that the NFL players are silently protesting against during the playing of the national anthem, are law force brutality and racial inequalities occurring in the United States. The issues behin d the protest should be addressed, but the way the NFL is allowing players to kneel during a time which celebrates patriotism and the symbolic representation of our country, should not be allowed. The protest first began in the NFL when a player from the SanFrancisco 49ers sat on the benches during the playing of the national anthem atpreseason games (Mindock, para 3). Later in the season, he changed to kneelingduring the national anthem while his early(a) teammates remained standing (para 4).Ever since the first player, Colin Kaepernick, kneeled during the anthem, ithas bewildered a widespread protest support other players in the NFL to mating.The reasons behind the protest, such as police brutality and racialinequalities, are extensive issues in the United States. According to themapping of police violence, police nurse killed 1,079 race in the UnitedStates this year. Of these 1,079 people, 26 percent of those killed were of theAfrican American race, which represents 13 per cent of the American population(Mapping law of nature Violence). These statistics are well known and alarming tomost. The NFL players felt that something needed to be done in order to bringthe injustices to the publics attention. As mentioned above, the protestitself is genuine, but the way it is being executed is exceptionally wrong andtroubling. My first argumentation, is that the form of protest the NFL players areusing shows disrespect towards the members of the military and the Americanflag because the national anthem is played during sporting events to displaypatriotism for the wars that were fought. The national anthem was written byFrancis Scott Key during the War of 1812, which was a encounter between GreatBritain and the United States, killing roughly 15,000 Americans (Star SpangledBanner Lyrics, para 2). By kneeling, the players are demo a lack ofpatriotism for our country and this draws attention away from their concept ofprotesting. Under Title 36 in the United Stat es Code, Section 301 states, all other persons present should face the flag and standat attention with their right kick the bucket over the heart, and men not in uniform, ifapplicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it atthe left shoulder, the hand being over the heart (United States Code, para2). Although there is no federal punishment for violating the United Statescode, it shows boilers suit disrespect towards the country. Many soldiers have losttheir lives fighting for the independence of the United States, and to militarypersonnel, it may come off as very discourteous. The first argument not only enrages the majoritywho serve in the military, but it also upsets the fans. The disrespectfulnessfans perceive from the way the protest is performed, can lead to unintendedconsequences. Protesting in the public eye may lead to boycotts and un-peacefulevents. Ever since the protest began, much security has been needed at thegames to protect fans from vi olence that might occur due to the kneeling thattakes place (Refusing to Stand for the National Anthem, para 8). Also, fanshave been committing arson by burning the jerseys of players who promote theprotest to show dislike (para 8). Not only is the kneeling making the audiencefeel uneasy, but causing them to lash forth to also be heard. My second argument, is that not standing upduring the national anthem is a very ineffective way to promote a protest ofinjustice. Kneeling during the national anthem catches the viewers attention,but can be a major distraction (para 6). It can be a distraction to theirteammates and can also cause internal team controversy for those who dont total with the style of protest. Not standing for the national anthem beforethe game, can get in the way of the main message they are difficult to protest,which is police brutality and racial injustices. The national anthem stands formen and women who have fought for our country (para 5). Once people see aplayer kneel, it is hard for them to get past the perceived disrespect for themilitary personnel of the United States and listen to the deeper concerns ofthe protest. Many fans get distracted by the action the players are performing,not even realizing there is a bigger cause behind the action. Not only does itdistract the players and the audience, but it takes away from the overallfootball game starting minutes by and by the kneeling occurs. In addition, theprotest draws attention away from the actual reason people bought tickets,which was to view and enjoy the football game between two fence teams.There are manyobjections that you could use to rebuttal against the first argument. I thinkthe best objection is that if one believes the United States is not holding upthe foundations the country was established on, not standing during the playingof the national anthem is reasonable. The reason the protest was executed bykneeling, was because Kaepernick felt that his country wasnt showing ju sticefor all and was oppressing African Americans (para 3). He did not want to showpride in a country and flag that undermined police brutality and racialinjustices, acting like these were not issues in the United States. Many otherplayers now kneel during the national anthem for this reason. The players arenot purposely trying to offend the military, police, or others who find itdisrespectful, they are trying to bring recognition to the issues, so other people can be informed. Raisingawareness of accessible injustice is their main target, not dishonoring those whohave risked their lives for America (para 3). Another majorobjection to the first argument could be that kneeling during the nationalanthem is saved by the First Amendment. The football players are exercisingtheir fundamental lawal right to peacefully protest, bringing the issues of policebrutality and racial injustices to the publics attention. Legally, there wasnothing wrong with Kaepernicks form of protest. The player s of the NFL havethe right to speak aside and make a statement about something they believe isunfair. The First Amendment states, intercourse shall make no lawrespecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right ofthe people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redressof grievances (Staff, para 1). In addition, it is an individuals choicewhether or not he or she wishes to participate in standing for the nationalanthem. With the freedom of speech, comes the right to express your opinionpeacefully with either direct words or symbolic actions without diminution, andthats exactly what the NFL players are doing (WhatDoes forego Speech Mean?, para 1).The second argument emphasized that kneeling during thenational anthem is not an effective way to promote and protest the injusticeoccurring in the United States. A possible response to this argument could bethat kneeling i s an effective way to promote the issues because it easily matchspeoples eyes on a platform that is viewed by millions of Americans. Kneelingis an unexpected action taken by the NFL players and it shocks the audiencewhich makes them pay attention to the issues (para 6). This sparked otherplayers to join Kaepernick in the kneeling because they realized the publicwould react, good or bad. Also, it created a conversation on social media andin the news. The protest spread like wildfire, and people were widely talkingabout it. On social media, there were those who took the NFL players side andothers who did not agree with the form of protest. By grabbing the fansattention, they are able to speak out and voice their opinions on racial issuesthat needed to be displayed. Now that the public is more aware of the policebrutality and racial injustices, actions can be taken to try to prevent thoseinjustices from happening further. The objection to the first argument was that refusing tostand during the anthem was justified if you feel that your country is notholding up the ideals it was founded on. The other objection to the firstargument was that the right to peacefully protest is defend by the First Amendment.A response to these two objections could be that yes, NFL players are protectedby the First Amendment, but if they are going to protest it should be donerespectfully. The national anthem is repeatedly employ to honor those who losttheir lives or those who were injured while fighting for the United States. Itis not something that should be belittled by a protest against totally separateprevailing issues. You gain self-respect from protesting injustices done to you(para 1). Through this form of protest, the NFL players are gainingself-respect, but are alienating others such as select military personnel andviewers who dont agree with kneeling. The players are utilizing the First Amendmentto proceed with their protest, and therefore cant fully state that the United States is not holding up its ideals which is the reason why they kneel. As for the second argument, the objection was thatkneeling is an effective way to protest because it makes others notice and iswidely seen by many. A response to this could be that kneeling does grabpeoples attention, but it takes away from the game NFL players are paid toplay. Adding politics to a professional sport, creates even more tension andpossibly the injustice of fans. There are more effective ways to protest that aremore serene and reduce unintended consequences. The players could conduct aprotest that can be heard and seen outside of the football game, or even spreadthe issues another way during the game. Several other ways the NFL players canspeak out about the policebrutality and racial injustice in the United States couldbe by wearing a piece of clothing, making a speech, or dedicating a color tothe cause. Another alternative could be the NFL players kneeling before thenational anthem playing begi ns and then standing back up, which showssolidarity without being divisive. If they used one of the other waysmentioned, people would not feel disrespected and attention would still bedrawn to the present issues. The protest against police brutality and racial injustices began by one NFL player kneeling during the playing ofthe national anthem. This created tension between fans and the players. Now,there are over 200 players kneeling for these issues and the number of players move in the protest is growing. There are some who think the kneelingis justified and others who believe it is disrespecting our country and thosewho fought for the United States. police brutality and racial injustice aremajor issues occurring throughout the country, and it is important for othersto speak out on the issues they believe are corrupt. Due to the First Amendment,people have the right to freedom of speech with includes peaceful protest,which is what the NFL players are executing. Although protestin g by kneelingduring the national anthem is viewed by many as disrespectful and can causeviewers to have negative thoughts towards the NFL, players are proceeding withthe protest. There is a significant reason behind the cause, but the form ofprotest could be conducted in a more efficient and less controversial way. Thekneeling should not be allowed during the national anthem, so that there isless tension and miscommunication between the public and players. The protestshould be executed in a different way in order to only draw full attention tothe issues at hand. Works CitedBoxill, Bernard R. arrogance and Protest.Self-Respectand Protest, vol. 6, no. 1, 15 Feb. 2017, pp. 113. Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.NFL Football Teams Official Sites of all 32 NFL Teams.NFL.com,2017,www.nfl.com/teams. Accessed 12 Dec. 2017. Policehave killed 1,079 people in the U.S. this year.Mapping PoliceViolence, 4 Dec. 2017, mappingpoliceviolence.org/. Accessed 3Dec. 2017. Refusing to Standfor the National Anthem Top 3 Pros and Cons. ProConorg Headlines, Procon.org, 27 Sept. 2017, www.procon.org/headline.php?headlineID=005323.Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.Staff, LII. FirstAmendment.LII / LegalInformation Institute, 5 Feb. 2010, www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment. Accessed 3 Dec. 2017.Star SpangledBanner Lyrics. Star Spangled Banner Lyrics and Meaning ***, 2017, www.american-historama.org/1801-1828-evolution/star-spangled-banner-lyrics.htm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2017.Mindock, Clark. Taking aknee Why are NFL players protesting and when did they start to kneel?TheIndependent, Independent Digital News and Media, 25 Sept. 2017, www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/taking-a-knee-national-anthem-nfl-trump-why-meaning-origins-racism-us-colin-kaepernick-a7966961.html.Accessed 12 Dec. 2017. United States Code.OLRCHome, United States House of Representatives, uscode.house.gov/browse/emailprotected/subtitle1/partA/chapter3&edition=prelim. Accessed 3 Dec. 2017. What Does Free Speech Mean? U nited States Courts, www.uscourts.gov/about-federal courts/educational-resources/about-educational-outreach/activity-resources/what-does. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.