I’m jumping back in the poisonous political pool again.
As I’ve said many times, when I see or hear something that is factually inaccurate, I will call it out. Opinions are one thing – you can have any fashion you want and no proof or documentation is needed. But when you state something as fact, you had better be prepared to back it up.
I’m referring here to the hijacked “Take A Knee” movement, and the inaccurate comments by ESPN reporter Jamele Hill.
First, the “Take A Knee” movement. By itself, Collin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem before a game last year was definitely unique. He wanted to call attention to the suppression some blacks & other minorities are still under in America. I fully understand the playing field is still not level, that minorities still have to battle stereotypes and prejudices in addition to competing with others for things they want. I want the field level as much as anyone, and I understand what he was trying to do, even though I was never a fan of his choice of venue. It was certainly better than the violent protests seen here in Charlotte in September 2016. And even when some other NFL players chose to make the same protest, it wasn’t a big deal to me. However, once it had been done 2 or 3 times, his mission was accomplished. The issue had been brought to the forefront. At that time, real solutions were needed, not continuation of the protest. Kaepernick, possibly with the help of the players’ union, could have capitalized on the attention and organized some task forces, fundraising, service projects, or other things to address the oppression he was protesting. It should be noted he pledged a big chunk of money to help. If there were others that did so, that got lost in the shuffle. Rather than true action, the players just simply continued the protest, even though it was very objectionable to a large swath of the American public.
The protests continued into this NFL season. President Trump had enough and called for the NFL owners to take action against this interminable protest. That weekend, the “Take A Knee” movement was fully hijacked. No longer was it a protest against oppression of blacks, it was a statement of defiance to a President many people hate. It has now gone so far off the rails that in the minds of too many people, anyone who stands for the anthem is deemed to be all-in on everything Trump does and says.
If you want to hate him, by all means, go ahead. I personally do not hate him, but I have been very disappointed in his presidency to this point – nothing is getting done, Senator Bob Corker is right that the White House has become an adult day care center, and the President desperately needs to let someone else do his tweeting for him. And, contrary to the insane tweets Jamele Hill posted, he is not a white supremacist. This is where the factual inaccuracy must be called out.
Anyone who thinks Trump is a white supremacist has absolutely no idea whatsoever what a white supremacist is. The white supremacist does not merely hate other ethnicities. He believes being of western European heritage literally makes him a higher life form than others. It’s not just “I’m better than you.” Do you know who Clay Hopper is? He was the manager of the minor-league Montreal Royals, top affiliate for the Brooklyn Dodgers, in 1946. Montreal had player that year you may have heard of – Jackie Robinson. Hopper begged Dodgers GM Branch Rickey to put Robinson anywhere but Montreal. “Do you think this will work,” Hopper asked Rickey. “Are you sure this nigger is a human being?” THAT is white supremacy – believing other races aren’t really human beings. Someone who lives by this code will never associate with the ethnic groups he believes to be non-human. Simply being in the same space with another race for more than a few seconds will send the white supremacist into a rage. Go find someone of a minority background who is more than 75 years old and ask them about how they were treated as kids and young adults. What you will hear more than anything is the desire for them to be kept as far away from whites as possible.
So why do I bring up this dark period in our history? To provide context for the nonsensical notion that President Trump is a white supremacist. It’s one of the dumbest notions I have ever heard. If he were a true white supremacist, there is no possible way that Ben Carson and Elaine Chao could be in his cabinet. Again, true white supremacists would never even want to be in the same room as a black man or an Asian woman. They could never fake it and associate with them to look good for others. They don’t care about the perception of others. They only care about keeping what they believe is the one human race separate and above all others.
The closest thing to “evidence” people have for Trump being a white supremacist is that a whole slew of white supremacy groups had really big celebration parties after Trump won the election. But just because someone likes you doesn’t mean you stand for the same things. If I know someone who had robbed a convenience store, and that person thinks I am awesome, does that make me pro-robbery? If I know someone who got busted for DUI, and that person wrote a letter of reference for me to attach to a job application, does that mean I’m in favor of drinking & driving? Of course not. So just because white supremacists like Trump, that does not prove Trump is a white supremacist.
So, Jamele Hill is factually inaccurate. She wrote that Trump is a white supremacist, and that is false. I found this very disheartening. I used to like her. Since I don’t work Fridays, I used to regularly watch her and Michael Smith do their ESPN program “His & Hers.” They played well off each other. They dated many moons ago, and they worked that into some of their discussions. They talked junk. It was very entertaining. To hear her go so low, without facts or justification, was disappointing.
She made it worse and doubled down on her brand of racism by going all-in on the “Take A Knee” movement being an anti-Trump movement. But she mixed that with the original intent when she called out Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who issued an edict before their October 8 game against Green Bay that anyone who did not stand for the anthem would be forbidden from playing in the game. It appears that Jones, like many others, have “Take A Knee Fatigue” and wants to move on. Hill wrote that Jones had basically told his black players to take a long walk off a short pier, and fans should boycott the team’s corporate sponsors. The problem with that is that many of the Cowboys team sponsors are also ESPN corporate sponsors. ESPN had no choice but to suspend Hill for 2 weeks. ESPN, which along with ABC is owned by Disney, wanted to give her a pass. Disney CEO Bob Iger is a devout liberal, and is considering running for the Democrat presidential nomination in 2020. Like the other traditional media outlets, the top of ABC and ESPN org charts are overwhelmingly Democrat, and conservatives are treated with contempt. Anchor/reporter Sage Steele is a known conservative, and she made the mistake of stating her beliefs recently. ESPN banished her from the anchor desk and relegated her to an obscure role as punishment. If Hill had not called for a boycott that would have robbed the company of much-needed revenue, she would have faced no discipline for her brand of racism, because she is a very vocal liberal.
As much trouble as we are having coming together as people despite race & cultural differences, we don’t need lies making it even more challenging. When putting your opinion out there, no problem. But when you claim facts, bring the proof.
Recent Comments