What Are NFL Player/Protesters Really Protesting?
When Colin Kaepernick began the protests during the national anthem last year, he said,
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Let us be clear about what he is saying. He is not saying that random acts of of oppression by individuals occur – something like that would not justify a protest against the country. What he is saying is that there is an ongoing, systematic oppression of blacks and people of color.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem
After the game, in the dressing room, Kaepernick listed the names of black people who have died in police custody over the past few years.
“I can’t see another Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Walter Scott, Eric Garner,” he said. “At what point do we take a stand and, as a people, say this isn’t right? You [the police] have a badge and you’re supposed to be protecting us, not murdering us.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/09/18/colin-kaepernick-nfl-black-lives-matter-protests-recall-rebellio/
Colin Kaepernick’s charge is that the foregoing are instances of ongoing, systematic “oppression.”
After being stopped for a very minor traffic violation, and altercation between officer Brian Encinia and Sandra Bland led to her arrest, and a three day jail sentence. Encinia was later placed on administrative leave for failing to follow proper traffic stop procedures.
Sandra Bland, a black woman, was found dead in her jail cell serving a three-day sentence for a traffic violation. Her death was ruled a suicide, an act that, under the circumstances, seemed very unlikely. On the other hand, notwithstanding a motion sensor camera in front of her cell, there was no evidence any other explanation, either. Bland’s death was investigated by Texas authorities and the FBI, which found violations of procedure, but no alternative explanation. Presumably on this basis, Bland’s family settled with the municipality for $1.9 million. In describing his explanation for his arrest of Bland, Encinia, was found to have committed perjury, and was fired.
Does this account support a charge of ongoing, systematic oppression of people of color? No, for the following reasons:
1 – Encinia failed to follow proper traffic stop procedures.
2 – Encinia, surely aware of the potential penalties for perjury, nonetheless, in describing the reason for the arrest, committed perjury.
3 – Due to his perjury regarding the traffic stop, Encinia was fired from the Texas state troopers.
4 – Because, presumably, of the jail procedure violations, the municipality settled with Bland’s family for $1.9 million.
In short, it appears that, based on a false statement by Encinia, Bland was unjustly arrested. Beyond that, the municipality was lax and some of its procedures. It paid a $1.9 million penalty for those procedures. And the arresting officer paid with his job. Such facts do not suggest a system of ongoing, systematic racial oppression.
5 – Moreover, because Kaepernick says that America oppresses “blacks and people of color” – leaving only whites as the supposed oppressors – it must be noted that Encinia identified himself on voting rolls as Hispanic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Sandra_Bland#Incarceration_and_death
Tamir Rice
A 9-1-1 caller, who was sitting in a nearby gazebo, reported that someone, possibly a juvenile, was pointing “a pistol” at random people… The caller twice said that the gun was “probably fake”.[22] According to police spokesmen, it was initially unclear whether or not that information had been relayed to the dispatched officers, Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback, and it was later revealed that the dispatcher had not elaborated beyond referencing “a gun”. [It’s debatable whether the dispatcher should be faulted for this; as a rule, policemen can hardly ignore a weapon pointed toward them on the probability that it is fake in any case.
Rice was 5’7″, 195 pounds. When told to raise his hands, Rice appeared to be drawing out the pistol, which appeared to be genuine, Loehmann shot Rice twice, and he later died. The city paid the family $6 million.
On discovery that the shooting officer, Timothy Loehmann had not left his prior employment as a police officer in another municipality for “personal reasons,” but because the municipality’s Police Department I determined that Loemann
“an inability to emotionally function” as an officer.
Does this support a charge of ongoing and systematic oppression of blacks and people of color? No:
1 – Rice was described by the caller as “probably a juvenile,” which meant it was not clear he was a juvenile – which, at 5’7″, 195 pounds – would not be clear.
2 – The pistol he had appeared to be genuine.
3 – Loehmann failed to disclose that he had been terminated from his prior employment as a police officer due to emotional instability.
4 – The family received $6 million. Even though the city had no culpability, it required taxpayers were required to pay the family $6 million.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice
Walter Scott
Walter Scott was stopped for a traffic violation, and ran away from the police officer, .
Police officer Michael Slager stopped Walter Scott for a traffic violation. Scott ran away, and Slager pursued, firing both his Taser cartridges. Behind the pawnshop, the two became involved in a physical altercation. Slater tased Scott, and Scott started running away again. Slager shot 8 times, hitting Scott 5, including three in the back, leading to Scott’s death. There is no doubt that Slager committed murder. There is also no doubt that his position as a police officer gave him authority to do so. Slager was tried for murder in state court but, due to an 11-1 hung jury, was not convicted, and the judge declared a mistrial. A new trial was scheduled, but was dropped when, under a plea bargain, Slager pled guilty to a federal charge, with the penalty of up to life imprisonment.
Although the city had no culpability, it agreed, in an out-of-court settlement, to pay Scott’s family $6.5 million.
Does this support Kaepernick’s charge of ongoing, systematic oppression that would justify his protest?
Even though the city had no culpability, it required taxpayers were required to pay the family $6 million.
Do these facts support Kaepernick’s charge? No.
1 – Scott ran away; became involved in a physical altercation with Slager, and ran away again. And Slager murdered him. But did he murder him because he was a person of color? If that had been his purpose, once they were behind the pawnshop, he could have murdered Scott before there was any altercation, or second attempt at escape. So we have to conclude that that altercation and the second attempt was the reason.
Of course, this does raise the question, would Slater have done the same thing if it were a white man ran away, got in a physical altercation with the policeman, and then ran away again. We really do not know the answer to that question.
2 – Slager was charged for murder. When the first trial was declared a mistrial, a second trial was scheduled. And in the circumvention of double jeopardy, he was charged by the federal government on other charges, but which were still sufficient to put him away for life.
This is reminiscent of the trial of O.J. Simpson, a black man who was also clearly guilty, but which the jury did not convict. But there was no mistrial declared, and the federal government did not step in to convict Simpson of related charges. Simpson’s victims, which included his wife, were white.
3 – Although there was no culpability by the city of Charleston, it required its taxpayers to pay Scott’s family $6.1 million. (Why does this not, not as some random act, but as a matter of law, constitute oppression against taxpayers? And if these taxpayers are disproportionately white, then why would that not be racial oppression?)
Eric Garner
[Police Officer Daniel] Pantaleo approached Eric Garner from behind and attempted to handcuff him, Garner swatted his arms away, saying “Don’t touch me, please.”[25] Pantaleo then put Garner in a chokehold—which is prohibited by NYPD regulations—from behind.[26] Pantaleo then pulled Garner backward in an attempt to bring him to the ground;[27]… After 15 seconds,[28] the video showed Pantaleo had removed his arm from around Garner’s neck; Pantaleo then used his hands to push Garner’s face[27] into the sidewalk.[29] Garner is heard saying “I can’t breathe” eleven times while lying facedown on the sidewalk.[30] The arrest was supervised by a female African-American NYPD sergeant, Kizzy Adoni, who did not intercede.[31] Adoni was quoted in the original police report as stating, “The perpetrator’s condition did not seem serious and he did not appear to get worse.”
When an ambulance arrived on scene, two medics and two EMTs inside the ambulance did not administer any emergency medical aid[40] or promptly place him on a stretcher.[40] According to police, Garner had a heart attack while being transported to Richmond University Medical Center.[41] He was pronounced dead at the hospital one hour later.[42]
Garner’s death was found by the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office to be a result of “compression of neck (choke hold), compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police”.[50][51][52] Asthma, heart disease, and obesity were cited as contributing factors.[53] There was no damage to the windpipe or neckbones.[54]
In an interview with CNN, Garner’s daughter Erica felt that it was pride and not racism that led to the officer choking her father. She continued: “It was about the officer’s pride. It was about my father being 6’4” and 350 pounds and he wants to be the top cop that brings a man down.”[97]
A grand jury was empaneled, but decided not to charge Pantaleo. He was moved to desk duty,
In October 2014, Garner’s family announced their intention to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of New York, the police department, and several police officers, seeking $75 million in damages.[129] The parties announced a $5.9-million out-of-court settlement on July 13, 2015.[130][131]
As a result of Garner’s death, Police Commissioner William Bratton ordered an extensive review of the NYPD’s training procedures, specifically focusing on the appropriate amount of force that can be used while detaining a suspect.[89] An unnamed NYPD official quoted in the New York Post said that the $35 million retraining efforts were ineffective and a “waste of time.”[90]
On December 3, 2014, after the grand jury decided not to indict Pantaleo, the United States Department of Justice announced it would conduct an independent investigation.[3][133][134] In January 2015 it was reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Field Office was reviewing the incident and events thereafter.[135] The investigation was overseen by local United States Attorney Loretta Lynch until she became the United States Attorney General[136] The local FBI investigators and federal prosecutors determined that charges should not be brought in the case, prompting strong disagreement from attorneys in the Washington, D.C. office of the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.[136] In October 2016, Attorney General Lynch removed the local FBI agents and federal prosecutors from the case, replacing them with agents from outside New York.[136] Lynch’s intervention has been called “highly unusual”.[136]
On December 20, two NYPD officers were killed in an ambush in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The suspected gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, cited Garner’s death at the hands of police (as well as that of Michael Brown) as reasons to kill police officers.[81] Brinsley then entered the New York City Subway and committed suicide.[82][83][84]
Garner’s death has been cited as one of several police killings of African Americans protested by the Black Lives Matter movement.[85][86][87][88]
Does this support Kaepernick’s charge? No. Pantaleo used excessive force, but presumably did not realize that he was doing so. Garner’s death cost the city of New York over $40 million, and almost certainly the lives of two or more police officers. Police officers are often in highly vulnerable situations, and have no incentive to antagonize the public; quite the opposite. But they have to enforce the law.
So, covering a span of about two years in a nation of over 300 million, this is the best that Kaepernick can come up with? These instances don’t prove his charge; they disprove it.
T was before he 49ers issued a statement about Kaepernick’s decision: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem
In any of the NFL protests, players refuse to stand for the flag during the national anthem, but they say they are not disrespecting the flag, they are only protesting “police brutality” and “racial injustice.” (So to speak. Actually (as there are no such public charges of ongoing, systematic police brutality when whites, Hispanics, or Asians are injured or killed by police, but only when it occurs against blacks) what the protesters are really charging is “police brutality against blacks.”
(Coupling this charge with the vague charge of “racial injustice “ – not a charge addressing injustices that, based on race, might occur against any race – whites, blacks, Asians and (usually) Hispanics – but only those against blacks, the implicit “police brutality against blacks, and blacks alone, i tacitly re-inforced.”)
By the same token, the protesters aren’t using the term “racial injustice” to charge racially-based injustices against whites or Asians, but rather to charge such injustices when committed against blacks and sometimes Hispanics. Putting the two together, the charge seems to be ) ji protesting against injustice toward whites, Asians, and Hispnacepublic demonstrations when whites are shot by they appear to be protThat is to say, presumaLeaving the merit of those two accusations aside, the protesters seem to be operating under the belief that no other Americans – those who stand for the anthem, have any deep concerns and objections themselves about things that are happening in this country.
But that belief is incorrect; they do. But, the problems and shortcomings of America notwithstanding, they stand for the anthem anyway. They stand because, the problems and shortcomings notwithstanding, the anthem and the flag stand for something more – for the ideals of a nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” They stand, out of devotion to those ideals. And they stand in honor of those who have sacrificed, and those who have fallen, in order to preserve and advance them. When they stand, they acknowledge that, notwithstanding the deficiencies of America, it still stands for these ideals, and that we still sacrifice, and some still fall, to preserve them.
Not everyone believes this. And if a person does not, then he or she should not stand for the anthem and flag. In this country, such persons would be free to do so. That’s one of the reasons America is great. But if such persons do not stand, they should not then turn around and say “Oh, I wasn’t protesting the country; I was protesting something else.” The protesters can’t have it both ways.
One Team’s Solution