Are the national anthem protests justified? (On Colin Kaepernick)
From the Colorado Springs Gazette, October 9, 2016. My take on Colin Kaepernick. I love this writing more than anything I’ve ever written before or since.
Question: Are the national anthem protests justified?
By Roger Butts
Not only are the national anthem protests justified, they are important.
The American experiment is established on the idea of “out of many, one.” The national anthem protests are an attempt by one part of the many to cry out to the rest of us that something is amiss. When such protests occur, it is incumbent upon the rest of us to do all in our power to listen, to stay open and say, “Tell me about your experience.” Then, our many will be one.
LeBron James and I both have 12-year-old sons. LeBron James says that he worries about his son driving and being stopped by a police officer and what may happen as a result. That experience is very different from mine. My worries extend only to my son’s ability to drive with care, for his sake and those around him.
As a white person, I need to hear Lebron James’s worry. I need to listen well. The protests point to this inequity and say, “America, we can do better.”
We all have our internal biases. We all have blind spots. But these protests are shedding light on systemic racism and violence our citizens are experiencing every day of their lives.
Humility, awareness, and political imagination are required. But first we need a dose of honesty about the situation we are facing.
We live in the time of the new Jim Crow, established with the ill-fated War on Drugs. Michelle Alexander writes, “Rather than combat drug activity, the War on Drugs has served as a deliberate strategy to control people of color and remove them from the political process.”
America is now the world’s leading jailer; we have approximately 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its prisoners. Felons are discriminated against in many ways and kept out of the political process. 33 percent of black men can expect to be incarcerated at some point in their lifetime. This number is only 5 percent for white men.
We have never had so many Americans deprived of their liberty in our entire history, and those are disproportionately persons of color.
We live in a time of police militarization and police brutality. More than 800 have died this year alone from police shootings. Many of them were black and brown, unarmed and mentally ill. Most alarming in this increase is the number of officers who have received no punishment.
These things call to be protested. When folks kneel during the national anthem, they are begging America to listen, to pay attention. “Please,” they say, “listen to a part of the population that feels abused and unheard.” The silent protests shout at us to listen. They cry out regarding crucially important matters.
In September, Officer Betty Shelby in Tulsa shot an unarmed man. She says in that moment she was deaf. It seems the perfect metaphor.
America has gone deaf about police violence. The protests are begging us — all of us — to listen. May we listen well. And in listening, become out of many, one.
