Don't Stand, Don't Kneel, Don't Protest, Don't Breathe: The White Community Responds to NFL Protests

Why does the overwhelming white majority feel they can tell the black community what kneeling during the National Anthem REALLY means? "That's disrespectful. That's like giving our soldiers the middle finger". Black people are speaking clearly and loudly and we need to listen. The American flag, that symbol of freedom which protects life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness does not represent the black communities of America.

Why does the white community get to tell the black community what is an appropriate response to injustice? “Your protest are offensive to police. You shouldn’t gather like this. You shouldn’t kneel during the National Anthem, you hate this country and you hate our soldiers”.  Black people can’t assemble and protect, black people can’t protest the flag of the United States, the very symbol of freedom that the majority of black communities have yet to benefit from. Black people can’t stand, black people can’t kneel, black people can’t talk. Then violence breaks out! People then say ,”My Lord! How did it come to this?”

I was driving to my doctor’s appointment this morning thinking about the vehement response from the offended white community. We talk about how this protest is disrespecting the flag and our nation, yet I didn’t see a single American flag in the neighborhoods I drove through. NOT A SINGLE FLAG!!! The only time I have stood for the National Anthem was at sporting events, which may have been a total of 8 times in the last 10 years. I don’t do it at home and I have rarely seen it done in other people’s homes. Why have I not been called out on dishonoring our sodiers? Because, not standing, not owning a flag, not singing the anthem doesn't mean I hate American and I hate our soldiers.

Why is the white community offended? Because a black man, (Colin Kaepernick) started a movement. He took a stand that echoes in the hearts of the majority of blacks in this country. It has challenged the status quo. It has challenged the belief “that I’m not a racist” may not be true. It has pierced our hearts! Instead of falling to our knees and asking God for forgiveness, we have stood proud and arrogantly in the face of the oppressed black community and said, “YOUR OPPRESSION IS NOT REAL! YOUR FEELINGS ARE INVALID! YOU MUST NOT DO THIS! YOU ARE BEHAVING IN AN EVIL WAY!

We need to take a serious introspective look into our utterly depraved and deceitful hearts. We need to listen to the black community and stop telling them what they can and can’t do. We need to stop justifying our false belief that what the black community is saying is not really happening. We need to listen and trust that what we are being told by the black community is the truth and we MUST seek justice and stand beside them.

When I was in Houston, helping with the flood relief efforts, I saw white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and all sorts of Americans helping out their fellow man. Why does it take a natural disaster for us to come together? When the flood happened I read posts that said, “See racism isn’t real. We are working together”. No, we were distracted and now that we have settled back into comfort, we pick up our political propaganda and march to the drum of bigotry.

I love this response, "My ancestors are Irish, Jewish, Italian (other historically oppressed groups) and they experienced slavery, hardship, bigotry, etc. Yes, that is true about many generations of Americans. Yet these groups have recovered and Black Americans have not. Why? 

Stop it. It's a straw man.

White community, stop telling black people how they should feel. Stop telling black people how to express their feelings of injustice. Stop changing the narrative to fit what you want things to mean. JUST STOP!

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, he responded, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

We are all up in our emotions, yet we do not perceive or understand things. God wants us to love and follow him with our hearts, yes. But, he also wants us to love him with our intellect. There is a warning in the Bible and we need to take heed. “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (1 John 4:20).

And the response from the white community is, “We love our black brothers and sisters”. But we do not want them speaking into our lives, we do not believe their anguish. "It’s all a farce, an ill perceived fallacy." You fear your brother and you hate what you do not understand.

God save us.