I would like to begin this statement by saying that everybody has the right to protest whatever cause they like. I would like to reaffirm that I support the freedom of speech even when I do not agree with the message. I would not only fight for your right to say what you want but I would die for it if the time came that it were necessary. I hope that this time is not ever going to be a real threat to the American way of life but if it is I will answer the call with a mighty battle cry on my way to protect your civil liberties.
That said, I would like to say some things about the players choosing to take a knee on the football field before every game when the National Anthem is played. First, I would like to know exactly what it is that they are protesting because I do not get a single answer when I ask about what they are protesting. People that I have talked to state that they are fighting against racial inequality. I have had some people state that they are protesting police brutality. Some others say that they are protesting the National Anthem as a racist song. Many say that they are protesting Donald Trump. The truth is that there is a varied response when you ask the question.
I absolutely appreciate these individuals that are truly trying to make a difference in a positive and constructive way. I do not agree with their approach to the matter but I am sympathetic to their cause. Some people might argue that the NFL has some pretty nasty characters in it. They might wonder if they are the right social justice warriors for the fight considering the abuses of illegal drugs, alcohol, domestic relationships and so forth. I know that you can’t cast them all in with the same lot. Just because some of the people in the NFL are rotten tomatoes does not mean that they all are. You can’t hold one mans sins against another. Others might argue that they are fighting for racial equality when they themselves are significantly better off than many people of Caucasian persuasion. I will not even argue for that point even though it does in my opinion hold water on its own.
I simply make my argument that in the civil war there were approximately 60,000 amputee surgeries. That is about 3/4 of all the surgeries performed. I would say that on average you would think that half of those were men in the Union Army and half were legs, maybe more… The Union Army was 90% white men. That leaves my count at 15,000 white men that went to the Civil War and lost a leg to free black slaves. That does not even account for the number of men that lost their life. Please stand up.