After a host of complications, Archy winds up selling his stake in the record store to go sell real estate and Gwen becomes a nurse at a normal hospital. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but it seemed pretty awkward that you have a well-to-do white guy writing that these poor black people should just give up on their dreams and take "respectable" jobs. It echoes a part in the book where a white doctor tells Gwen she should get her hair straightened and stop practicing "voodoo." I think we'd all agree the doctor shouldn't say that, so why should the author essentially be telling us the same thing?
And Chabon is a liberal academic about as far removed from Trump or Rush or Alex Jones as you can get and yet subconsciously most of us white people are still guilty of letting our privilege show and telling minorities they need to conform to what we think is right.
That's the heart of this NFL kerfuffle. You have a rich(ish)
My take has been and continues to be: I don't give a shit. Kneel before, during, and after the anthem if you want. It's no skin off my ass. And as a middle-aged white guy, even if I'm not rich, it's not my business to tell black athletes how they should express themselves, so long as no one is being hurt.
Of course a lot of people getting butt hurt about this are buying into the Trumpian, Fox "News," Info Wars lies. This isn't about hating on the anthem or the flag or veterans; it's about protesting racial injustice like all those police shootings in places like Ferguson. One of those greet thoughts being Tweeted about is that saying this is about the anthem is like saying Rosa Parks was protesting the bus or black people at lunch counters were protesting the food. It's completely missing the point, but then with Trump when isn't he missing the point?
White people, starting with Trump, need to just STFU because they honestly have no fucking clue what they're talking about. Instead of whining about the precious anthem (during which time half of the people in most stadiums are usually in the bathroom or concession lines anyway) we should be focusing on fixing the inherent problem so athletes don't feel they have to protest.
5 comments:
I was thinking about the last point and...yeah...it's time for the anthem and most people grudgingly stand up, a few take off their hats or put their hand on their heart or salute (as appropriate), a couple sing along...as with many things these days we have lost the respect for tradition we once had and don't want to care enough to slow down getting what we want. The same applies to another terrible example of the same: stores open on Thanksgiving. And then there's Memorial Day and July 4th; even Christmas isn't immune. We sacrifice tradition for self-satisfaction. Why take a couple minutes to respect the country during the anthem when you can order hot dogs and beer.
With regard to the protests; let them do it. That's the point of being an American...you don't like something, you can make your opinion known without fear of reprisal...it's kind of in the rules...
Kneeling has never before been considered an act of disrespect. And I don't consider it an act of disrespect in this instant. It's silent, non-violent protest. Gandhi would be proud, as would Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and Thoreau. I think this is America at its best.
I don't agree that kneeling (or its variations) is an acceptable protest, given that there's a segment of the population (the military and its families) that will absolutely not understand. How is protesting a whole country solving anything? I understand the symbolic gesture. It would actually be more effective to hold a complete media blackout, since it's the media, the so-called bastion of social transparency, that allows corruption and inequality to flourish. But these athletes can't admit that, because they rely on the media to connect with fans, make more money. So they change the subject.
No form of protest is going to be OK with everyone. Players get fined for not speaking with the media.
That story sounds boring. What is the point if the main characters don't reach their goals and settle for less? Unless it's a tragedy, but I don't like tragedies. We have enough of those in real life.
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