As I was scrolling through the Room For Debates I came across a very thought-provoking topic: Americans and Their Flag. Americans obsession with putting the flag on every aspect of their lives has been seen for decades. Sometimes I wonder if they know being American isn't a personality trait. Anyway, many believe that the flag and all national symbols are sacred and deserve the up most respect and praise from everyone, and I mean every single living person. Patriotic American's enormous entitlement is quite humorous. Nevertheless they also demand respect for their national symbols from the Americans who have been oppressed, excluded, and unwanted since the beginning of the "great" United States of America to this very day.
In 2016 former 49er's quarterback Collin Kaepernick began a movement of kneeling during the national anthem because he wanted to protest the injustices that were happening to Black people and POC across the nation. This sparked gigantic controversy among the entire country. We all know how the patriotic American's reacted: in complete disgust and anger that someone would not stand during the national anthem, completely ignored the reason he was kneeling. All they chose to see was disrespect and disloyalty towards America. Kaepernick received dangerous backlash and threats but still stands behind his beliefs to this day and believes his movement is bigger than football.
This display of protest from a professional sports player created a wave of argument and skepticism of the U.S. among young people who previously never cared for politics. This made people listen and see that, and I know this will hurt some of you, the U.S. has never been as great as we've all claimed. Including me. I'm now much more politically aware and proudly stand with Kaepernick and his cause because he's sacrificed for Black and Brown people when most won't go beyond an angry Tweet.
As a Latina who is also American I can identify with the protest against America for the injustices POC face every day. America is not a country I recognize as being great as it's never truly been great for non-white people. Justice, freedom, and equality has never been fully applied to POC so why should we respect a country that doesn't respect our existence or human rights. The truth of the matter is that America was built on white male supremacy and has created a system that oppresses POC and empowers white people in every aspect of life. Some argue that it's also disrespecting soldiers and veterans, however that is not what the protest is against and never has been, many soldiers have also said they fight for Kaepernick's right to the First Amendment. The bottom line is that white Americans have no right to tell the oppressed people of the U.S. to stand for a country that has allowed injustice, mistreatment, and inequality of said people for hundreds of years and still does.
Furthermore, do you believe everyone should respect America and its national symbols no matter the circumstance ?
- Gia Torres
There is a pervasive implication within this post that America possesses a unique history of prejudice or distinct racial animus. Of course, the historical systemic oppression of non-whites in the United States is an undeniable fact. However, it would be relevant to understand that such policies were at one point universal in the Western world. This is not a justification for their enaction, but rather a provision of critical context of the social environment that existed at the time. Also, the assertion that these laws continue to affect people of color on a systemic level frankly has no basis in objective reality. Undoubtedly the economic impact of policies such as redlining and state segregation have had generational longevity and will most likely continue to inhibit the lives of American minorities. Yet, the fact that these policies have been repealed on a constitutional level indicates the progress we have made as a nation. Under a legal analysis, all citizens are equal in the United States. The genuine upholding of these rights, especially in areas historically characterized by deep prejudice, is another multifaceted topic. The explicit legal framework is the relevant issue, and for most, the reason patriotism is adopted.
ReplyDeleteGrouping people as simply “white Americans” is disingenuous to them both as individuals capable of rational thought and to the ideas which they propose. To negate their input simply because of your perception of their ancestral background is a prejudice in it of itself. To hold the son as culpable for the sins of the father, the father’s father, or even older is a gross injustice. Millions have flocked to American shores from every corner of the world, and millions of “white Americans” have welcomed them with open arms. Proclaiming that those who wish to take pride in this fact must not because of the actions of men long dead is a truly peculiar position. Your disavowal of civic nationalism seems grounded not in a distaste for our country’s values, but for the corruption of them that some have adopted throughout history.
On the topic of misplaced outrage, you seem to hold issue with “inequality” as an amorphous concept but fail to outline instances of said phenomena or to describe how it manifests in any form. Even if you were to provide a definition, I believe your problem would be more properly directed towards inequity, the concept of discrepancies between opportunity rather than outcome. Minorities in the United States are innately disadvantaged as a result of the aforementioned historical remnants, yes. But as far as opportunity for success goes, there are no legal barriers for them. We have even taken steps to combat their setbacks in the form of policy such as affirmative action. The attempts to level the playing field against the “[empowerment] of white people in every aspect of life” should again point towards the strides we have taken to reverse the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and to develop the dispassionate legal system we have constructed. (comment continued in reply due to character limit)
There is also a notable lack of suggestions for methods to combat said “inequality.” Reparations are the primary contemporary suggestion that comes to mind, which is a debate that can be had. Regardless, clamoring against the supposed injustice non-whites feel in what you seem to portray as a constant sense is ineffective to solving real issues. How minorities are not given “respect” for their “existence or human rights” would first need to be established, and then a political proposition to alleviate this intolerance. Both are strikingly absent from this evaluation.
DeleteThe “bottom line” is that while Colin Kaepernick’s goals are admirable, his method of bringing awareness has been received as disrespectful rather than constructive for a variety of reasons. Personally, I do not see his kneeling as an egregious act, and certainly not something to be banned. You would be hard-pressed to find those calling for a repeal of Kaepernick’s First Amendment rights he utilized in his symbolic petition outside of vocal extremists. What I do recognize is that the overwhelming majority of those that pledge allegiance to our flag do so in total opposition to discriminatory action and stand for ubiquitous freedom. The “truth of the matter” is that they strive to pave the way for an equitable America. Discrediting these pursuits because of the echoes of an abandoned system runs counter to your goal, and unnecessarily reintroduces the problem when it has progressively declined in modern times. I am in total, comprehensive support of rebuilding and supporting minority communities in our country, but also in favor of approaching these problems in a realistic and honest manner.
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ReplyDeleteColin Kaepernick's act of kneeling was not so much of a sacrifice but merely getting word out and resulted in some backlash. His act put nothing on the line to deem it a sacrifice. If he were to actually do something positive and sacrifice something, it could be things such as pushing for legislative reforms or interviewing black people. Instead his act was no better than making a tweet.
ReplyDeleteThis performance does not serve anyone good as it is completely and utterly regressive. Kaepernick kneeling only serves to polarize people in their values of pride in their nation. This creates pointless conflict and does not help anyone move forward to achieve anything. Instead he should be trying to unify people to actually try and solve the many problems that minorities face.
Your opinion on the matter is your opinion I'm not completely discrediting it, however to say that Kaepernick hasn't sacrificed or done anything positive is simply not true. He's been black listed since 2016, meaning no team will sign him because of his political views and the backlash that they will receive. Of course the NFL would never admit to this but it has been agreed upon by many professionals as Kaepernick has demonstrated he's more than capable of playing at a professional level. He could have easily been signed by a team if he apologized and stopped kneeling, however he chose to continue his protest.
DeleteSince his time out pf the league it's reported that he's donated $1 million to several different charities and organizations, and recruited other professional sports players to donate as well. He also created his own campaign Know Your Rights which aims to "raise awareness on higher education, self-empowerment, and instruction to properly interact with law enforcement in various scenarios."
Therefore he clearly did sacrifice a big part of his life as it's said he'll probably never be signed by an NFL team again. His activism has shown he's dedicated to helping causes, most of which minorities face, and teaching youth to better educate and protect themselves.
That in my eyes is "actually doing something positive"
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DeleteWhile Kaepernick started the Know Your Rights campaign to teach people better education, self empowerment and law enforcement, it fails to make big strides in long term meaningful impacts to help minorities. This campaign only serves to teach people and it should be trying to push for reforms that would be impactful to many people who do not even know the existence of this campaign. In his 10 rights that he stands by, they are not constructive as it does not do or say much at all.
DeleteAlso, Kaepernick still is not really making much of a sacrifice from his cause by not being able to play professional football and donating a bit over 1 million to charity. His career made him well over 40 million so he can still live his life in luxury and is set for life as 1 million is merely extra money for him. While this act, which is hard to even call a sacrifice, can be seen as positive, it undeniably does not outweigh the negative of polarizing people.
I agree that disparities between the lives of American residents by race and ethnicity is an issue, but what you have presented here is an over exaggeration of the situation. As Tyler Brunson mentioned, stereotyping and racist beliefs were once commonplace in the Western world and countries are still facing challenges in moving forward from the societal remnants of such outdated thinking. Regardless, the 2018 Social Progress Index places the US at 25th place with personal rights being one of its strongest points overall. 25 might not be a particularly exceptional rank in the global landscape but it is a major improvement over the quality of life provided by most countries that minorities are typically from.
ReplyDeleteTo say that the US “doesn’t respect our existence or human rights” is a blatant denial of facts and a substantial overstatement. These words would better describe the conditions in Rwanda or South Africa in the late twentieth century or nineteenth century America. Also, there is no corroboration behind the assertion that the US “empowers white people in every aspect of life.” Again, I do believe that the issue of inequality exists at some level but making erroneous generalizations about groups of people like ‘white males’ will not aid the cause.
This comment replying to the counterarguments is much overdue, my comments kept disappearing. Anyways I still stand behind everything I wrote in the post it's not an exaggeration nor misplaced outrage. I agree that I should have included examples of injustice and inequality as some might not be aware. Firstly, yes discrimination, racism, and slavery was a worldwide accepted concept many years ago and now it's not, we know that. Clearly there would be no laws directly targeting POC and minorities in modern society, as you've all said we've progressed beyond that. However that doesn't deter from the fact that in many lawful situations POC are treated very unfairly to their white counterparts. For example, there have been several viral videos of police brutality against mostly Black people, many ending in unnecessary shooting and assault. When most of these police brutality cases are taken to trial, if they are taken there, the police men and/or women, who are majority of the time white, are acquitted or given leniency. Also it's important to note that African Americans are incarcerated five times the rate of white people. African Americans are imprisoned for drug charges nearly six times the rate of white people and both use drugs at similar rates. This is racial disparity. This is injustice that has been recorded with much evidence in the past decade. So as I said the U.S. has [created] a [system] that empowers whites and oppressed POC; the U.S. obviously doesn't directly empower them, but they continue to let white privilege thrive by not sufficiently treating everyone equally as the law should do.
ReplyDeleteAlso Tyler Brunson mentioned how "Millions have flocked to American shores from every corner of the world, and millions of white Americans have welcomed them with open arms." I'm having confusion with this comment because of the current immigration issue we have right now. When the U.S. was created yes white Americans allowed other white immigrants to come from other countries and live their lives without question. However in today's society Latino/Black immigrants are not welcome, our own president has made that abundantly clear. Immigrants, majority who want a better life for themselves and their children, are torn from their families, put in detention centers that have had several reports of inhumane conditions, and forced back to their country. Even though they aren't citizens they are still humans who's human rights have been greatly disrespected. Children are ripped from their parents, they all are put in cages where they're left to sleep on the floor with foil blankets, it's been reported that they don't provide food or showers for continuous amount of days. It was reported that ICE "lost" over 1,500 immigrant children because once they leave them with sponsors, awaiting their court hearing, they have no way to track them and maintain their welfare. It's been said the children could very well be in human trafficking or worse. Recently ICE has been arresting citizens because they believe their identification was falsified, illegally detaining and holding them when they had the proof that they were American citizens. They were Latino, even more reason to believe this new immigration policy is more about race than it is about immigrants. There have been many videos of white ICE agents illegally arresting Latino immigrants in their own homes by not providing a judge-signed warrant, they use illegal force and violence. When it comes to Latino or other POC immigrants they're not "welcomed with open arms".
Also the President's travel ban that has been enacted since 2017 which is widely regarded as the Muslim ban because it bans travelers and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries. Its supposed purpose was to protect the U.S. from terrorist activities but all it did was support the stereotypes around Muslims and increase Islamophobia.
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DeleteNot to forget that Native Americans, the only non-immigrants in this country, still face their reservations and sacred burial lands being intruded on by the President's plan for a border wall.
These are just some of the ways that POC do in fact face injustice and equality through our own justice system and government. This is why the people that don't have to face these issues, which are white Americans since they're not persecuted or targeted for their skin color, ethnic background, or religion it's the truth not prejudice, do not have the right to tell the POC who do face these along with many other issues to be patriotic. This is not to polarize people or discuss issues without giving solutions, but to simply demonstrate why POC in America don't wish or have to be patriotic.
The underlying assumption in this response is that I tried to portray the image that minority groups do not face unique discrimination within our justice system. I conceded in my first paragraph that this is an unfortunately present phenomena. The claim I am making is that the problem is not systemic, and our government does not “continue to let white privilege thrive by not sufficiently treating everyone equally as the law should do.” The issue is that, as I said, in certain communities that have had histories of racial stigma these attitudes persist into the modern day. A judge by judge and jury by jury problem is not something that has an easy systematic remedy. It is absolutely a matter that should be attended to promptly, but by the local governances in their respective counties. Protests and activism should target the areas that experience this disproportionate prejudice rather than the already adjusted national system. Under federal law, all ethnicities are legally equivalent.
DeleteAs to your point on the supposed inaccuracy of my claim, the actions of a president who did not win the popular vote, especially in an election when nearly half of the national constituency did not vote, does not represent the demeanor of the nation overall. However, I totally agree that the border detention centers are severely defunded (perhaps not to the extent that certain hyperbolic and anecdotal “reports” would convey, but seriously in need nonetheless) and that profiling of American citizens is an imperative concern. Regardless, all of these things represent the actions of ICE as a non-democratic organization, their decisions not being decided by the American people. Patriotism is very rarely a proclamation of support for the totality of a nation’s policy, but rather an avowal of the values that the nation is built on. The “Muslim ban” is also an absurd decision, again an executive action put in place by a man who received 26% of the vote from eligible citizens.
Your assertion that Native Americans are the “only non-immigrants in this country” seems somewhat ill-informed. “Native Americans” crossed into this continent through the landmass that once covered the Bering Strait near Alaska. While they have of course been here far longer than white Americans, to trace back the first inhabitants of every land and concede the territory back to them would be both impractical and ridiculous. Again, I am of course opposed to constructions impeding on sacred Native American sites. Yet I must continue to point out that these proposed policies are not reflective of the general constituency, representing barely over a quarter (also assuming that all Trump voters support this policy). There are many dilemmas that migrants face in the U.S., but none of them come from a democratically enacted federal level. I am certainly not saying that minorities have to or even should pledge allegiance to this country, I am only pointing out some flaws in particular lines of reasoning and the rebuttals one might raise against vivacious condemnations of the nation.