Take a Knee

I grew up believing that people of color had all the same opportunities that I did. Black students who worked just as hard as I did could go to college. If they didn't take advantage of those opportunities, they were clearly just lazy. They could even get scholarships that I couldn’t, just because they were black! How fair is that?

Let’s rewind. First of all, I’m going to be frank: I did not work very hard. Ever. I was gifted in many, many ways, and I squandered just about every opportunity that was ever presented to me. I was the lazy one.

The difference was that I lived in a system designed to let me succeed anyway.

I was very fortunate that I had parents who could afford to not let my failures ruin my life.

I was the very definition of white privilege.

I was also very fortunate along the way to have invaluable friends of color who would patiently encourage me to see other views.  Friends who, when I would proudly proclaim, “But I don’t believe THAT, I believe THIS!” and consider myself so very open-minded, would gently remind me, “No. That’s still racism.” Thank you, friends. You know who you are.

So here’s what I think about this #takeaknee protest:

I see black athletes taking advantage of their positions as professional athletes to make a statement. They are using their God-given gifts to maybe, hopefully make a difference for those less fortunate than they are.

Fat, happy middle-class white people like me are bothered by this for a couple of reasons. First off, they’re bothered because veterans fought and died for their right to protest in such a manner.

EXACTLY.

For over 240 years, veterans of this country have fought to defend our country, our flag, and our constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech. THANK YOU.

American veterans fought for the right to protest peacefully, and that’s exactly what these young men of the NFL are doing. They are not spoiled. They are not entitled. They are not teaching black children that it is okay to disrespect the flag.  They are teaching black children that there are other, more peaceful ways to protest a broken system than standing in traffic, or looting stores, or shooting cops.

But white people who are bothered by such a “display” don’t think that NFL players should use their position as an athlete as a platform to protest.

If the players shouldn’t, who should? Who’s going to notice if a team of inner city teens protests in the same manner? Not EVERYONE. NFL players are taking a knee because they want EVERYBODY to see that they feel the system is failing people like them who maybe didn’t have the same opportunities that they did.

White people don’t like this because we don’t want to believe that maybe the system that treats us pretty good doesn’t treat everybody pretty good. That maybe there’s more we can do and should be doing as we strive to become a true nation of equality.

I know that, on my part, this was not a comfortable realization to come to.

But you know what? Change isn’t supposed to be comfortable. And neither are protests.

If a protest does not make someone uncomfortable, it’s not being done correctly.