I see President Trump is off flapping his lips again.
Source: SBNATION
President Donald Trump criticized some in the National Football League Friday night at a rally for Alabama Republican Senate candidate Luther Strange, saying team owners should fire players for taking a knee during the national anthem.
Trump added that if fans would “leave the stadium” when players kneel in protest during the national anthem, “I guarantee, things will stop.”
Trump said NFL owners should respond to the players by saying, “Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!” [CNN]
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In a way, this reflects Trump’s views of how his Administration should be treated – no criticism, the institution is far too important to be criticized. In the same way that some think the flag is far too sacrosanct to be made part of a national conversation on how the black minority should be treated by everyone else, Trump’s view of these matters is reflected in his remarks: if the players are indicating that not everything is hunky-dory, then bloody well fire them because it reflects poorly on the institution, and the institution is all. In that way, Trump is protected.
With such sentiments is the path to stagnation and failure paved. Criticism is a way forward, not a way backward.
If President Trump is terrified of having that conversation regarding the treatment of our black citizens by the police, then at least let him have the guts to say he’s terrified. Distractions such as the flag issue or kneeling during the national anthem are just that: distractions. They should be ignored by those who are serious about the future of this nation.
And when will the Vikings wise up and bring in Kaepernick, the guy who started this kneeling during the national anthem, to replace the injured Bradford? Or do they think the current backup is going to be effective? I didn’t watch any of the games so far, but judging from the score in the Pittsburgh game, he was not effective. One data point is not a trend, of course….
