Blowing Up #TakeAKnee

Posted on September 27, 2017 by mjgranger

If I spit in your face do you really want to hear what I have to say?

Of course not.

The same tactics used by the Alt-Left, ANTIFA, Democrats and Leftists of all shapes, colors, sizes and genders are taking hold in the National Football League.

Please don’t be confused. NFL players are not self-motivated to #TakeAKnee. They are tools of the Alt-Left.

This is the same Alt-Left who attacked through the entertainment industry at the 2016 Academy Awards, infecting many black actors and entertainers who chose to boycott the award ceremony.

One black actor who chose to attend, despite the hubbub, was Oscar Winner Louis Gossett, Jr., who, when asked on the red carpet before the ceremony what he thought of the protest, simply said, “We are all part of the same family, the American family.”

I have a feeling that if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were alive today he just might say something similar. Although Dr. King was famous for civil disobedience, he never shamed his country by taking a knee in anything other than prayer.

I can’t help but recall Dr. King’s famous quip: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

The content of their character.

Dr. King’s dream may not be yet fully realized, but it won’t get there any quicker by what’s going on in the NFL today.

There was a time when the American flag represented freedom and liberty to all Americans. Dr. King never marched without it, and it was a symbol of love, togetherness and justice for all.

Adrian Cronauer, American Entertainer once said: “Martin Luther King, Jr., didn’t carry just a piece of cloth to symbolize his belief in racial equality, he carried the American flag.”

But the objective of the Alt-Left is to divide and conquer.

Now that everyone is in the middle of visceral and passionate responses to #TakeAKnee, few can see clearly to help us understand and then pull us out of our collective cultural nose dive.

Like any politically charged issue, we are talking past each other and not to or with each other, and no one is listening because everyone is right, in their own subset of political thought.

When someone pushes, there is push back. When someone is told what to do, they resist. Exactly what the Alt-Left thrives on.

Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys (a.k.a. “America’s Team”) tried the linked arm, #TakeAKnee before the National Anthem, and then stand for the Anthem ploy. Nope. We weren’t having it. Compromise did not work. Who is more important, your players or your fans? Because you can’t have it both ways.

Mike Tomlin, Head Coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, tried sequestering his team for the Anthem. Nope. Alejandro Villanueva (Address: P.O. Box 6763, Pittsburgh, PA, 15212), a former Bronze Star decorated US Army Ranger snuck out of the tunnel, put his hand over his heart and sung. He sung like a hero, a patriot, a true American.

Coach Tomlin’s goal of trying to protect his players from having to make a political choice (“Do I stand or do I kneel?”) by keeping them inside during the National Anthem was based on a false premise: that standing for the Anthem is a political statement. It is not; it is a patriotic statement.

Trouble was, the Alt-Left influenced Tomlin, who promptly made Villanueva apologize for not being a good teammate or player, and for being so personally selfish as to color outside the lines of what is acceptable . . . to the Alt-Left. The forced apology reminded me of fake confessions produced by ISIS and al Qaeda of their captives before beheading them.

Villanueva’s Pittsburgh Steelers football jersey (#78) is now the number one seller among all NFL jerseys (let’s all keep it that way), even better than Odell Beckham, Jr.’s, jersey. That’s right, OBJ, the multi-millionaire twenty-something superstar receiver for the New York Giants, who, after scoring a touchdown recently got on all fours like a dog and then lifted a hind leg as if to take a pee. He said it was in defiance of a statement made by President Trump.

In contrast, last year, during the Colin Kaepernick controversy, Rashad Jennings, a black athlete who plays for the NFL’s New York Giants, channeled Frederick Douglass (who loved to play the Star Spangled Banner on his violin) in his support for the National Anthem and the American flag. Jennings told the Daily News he was “proud to stand” for the song.

President Trump at a speech in Alabama, wondered aloud what a patriotic NFL owner might say to a “son-of-a-bitch” football player who disrespected the flag and Anthem. “He’s Fired,” he said, “He’s FIRED!”

That of course threw gasoline on the Alt-Left fire.

No one who supported Trump before that statement had much bad to say about it. No one who hated Trump before he said that had much surprising to say about it. But emotions and rhetoric erupted. NFL ratings went down.

It used to be that the NFL went to commercial during the National Anthem. Then things changed after the attacks of September 11, 2001, which included a rule that said everyone would stand, helmet in the left hand and right hand over the heart, facing the flag, not talking and showing respect. In fact, NFL Rule A62-63 states just that.

As a business model it’s never a good idea to alienate your customers. But it appears that the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell (and the Owners) are betting the fans will return after all of this blows over. If they alienate their players they may strike, refuse to play, or refuse to play well. Then they would lose . . . money. And losing money would be very bad for business.

Remember, standing for the National Anthem to honor America is not a political statement, and it’s not about oppression, free speech or Donald Trump, it is a display of patriotism, togetherness, you know, like the national motto: “E Pluribus Unim;” From Many, One.

The Civil Rights battle was won. Civil Rights law was passed in 1964. That doesn’t mean that everything is perfect, or ever will be, but if we take a phrase from our own Declaration of Independence, “In order to form a more perfect Union,” we understand that the Framers knew that striving for perfection, aiming for excellence, would force us to keep getting better. And that’s what we’ve done, despite the forces of evil that oppose our progress.

There is one culture in the United States, the American culture. And anyone who would divide us for any reason is un-American.

Unfortunately, the Alt-Left has a history of shunning the American flag and patriotism. Opening night at the 2016 Democrat National Convention (DNC) saw not one US flag on display. Not until that fact hit the national news and social media like late summer hurricane did several flags finally appear on the DNC stage, but virtually nowhere else. Not one delegate displayed the flag nor were there any flag-like clothing or hats worn, nor any flags on signs or posters. The flag has always been about politics to the Alt-Left.

In contrast, there was hardly a corner of the 2016 Republican National Convention without a US flag, and various versions of red, white and blue seemed to be everywhere.

Message imagery.

To the Alt-Left, the American flag has become a symbol of the Right, by default; another tactic of the Alt-Left to easily identify the enemy. That’s right, law abiding, gun toting, bible thumping, flag waving Americans are the enemy to the Alt-Left. If you wear the flag in any form you are a target.

Our battle is a moral battle, it’s right or wrong, good vs. evil, not black or white.

In solidarity – black, white, brown; man, woman; young, old – stand proudly for the flag and Anthem. After that, speak with your American brothers and sisters about whatever you want. Just please avoid spitting in their face or peeing on their shoe to get their attention.

True Americans are better than that.

Politicizing standing for or properly respecting the National Anthem, our flag or any patriotic public tradition is simply part of the manipulative agenda of the Alt-Left aimed at controlling the thinking of the People. Not this time, and not these People.

The Alt-Left says you have to pick a side, a “Yes” or a “No.” I say, be like Louis Gossett, Jr., and remember who you are, a member of the American Family. You are not who the Alt-Left says you are or should be. We’ve all come too far for anything else to make sense.

Of Flags and Football

Posted on September 13, 2017 by mjgranger

Marcus Peters

Imagine that you invite me over for dinner, and we’re going to relax in the living room before the meal. You tell me I can sit anywhere I like, except for the big easy chair in the corner, because you say, that was your deceased father’s chair, and no one has sat in it since his passing.

I walk over and then sit in your father’s chair.

You are in shock. Then you are incredulous.

“I asked you not to sit in that chair!” you say.

“I know,” I say, “but this is a free country, and I have a right to sit wherever I like.”

I continue, “When I was growing up my father had an easy chair just like this that he never let us kids sit in, and I’m tired of people telling me where I can and cannot sit. There’s no law against me sitting here, is there?”

You get the point.

In fact there is a law that says we “should stand” for the National Anthem:

36 US Code, Section 301 – National Anthem

(a) Designation.— The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.

(b) Conduct During Playing.—During a rendition of the national anthem—

(1) when the flag is displayed—

(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;

(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and

(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and

(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.

(Pub. L. 105–225, Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1263; Pub. L. 110–417, [div. A], title V, § 595, Oct. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 4475.)

Although the law does not specify a criminal charge nor penalties for not standing for the Anthem, it is nonetheless illegal to sit for it.

So who would enforce this affront to national patriotism? Local governments may pass ordinances that establish penalties if they so choose. What a rude awakening it would be if, for example, Kansas City Chief’s cornerback, Marcus Peters, who sat for the Anthem in a Thursday night NFL football game, was arrested on enforcement of a Massachusetts ordinance requiring adherence to the law.

Who would come out of the woodwork to bay in his defense? How many other NFL players or Hollywood stars would come out and offer to pay his bail?

In my humble opinion, jail would be too easy for him and others who pretend to be disgruntled over this or that. A public mocking, me thinks, would be in order. Put them in the public square in stocks! Make them work in veterans outreach programs, or clean toilets at the VA. Something that might get their attention as to why people like me may have had a violent reaction to his antics that fateful Thursday night.

There I was, watching the end of the pre-game show, nestling up to the almighty tube, in the comfort of my own home, my castle, my abode, when the music of one of the most beautiful songs a veteran can hear began to play. A song that still brings a tear to my eye, as the music and the flag bring me back to deployments at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Iraq.

While the music plays I can’t help but reflect on my and the sacrifices of millions of Americans, today and in years past, of my own ancestors who fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War. I think about those who died on December 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor, or those who were killed storming the beaches of Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. I think of the Koren War veterans, the Vietnam veterans, the Desert Storm, Enduring and Iraqi Freedom veterans, and today’s proud and wonderful volunteers.

As this is going through my mind, and I am anticipating a really good football game, I see this scum-of-the-earth, two-bit wannabe, sitting on the bench with his helmet on! It’s bad enough you can’t stand, but you double-down and keep your head covered as well?

I had the worst Post Traumatic Stress episode I can remember.

I served 22 years in the Army, National Guard and Reserve, from October 1986 to December 2008. I was an enlisted combat medic for five years and then became a Medical Service Corps officer and finished as a major in rank. I spent about 2 1/2 years away from my family for three deployments between 9/11 2001 to December 2005.

I was angry for a time because it seemed like no one even knew or cared that there was a war going on. Then it hit me. that’s why we do what we do, we oathkeepers and sheep dogs. We do it so that everyone at home can go about their daily lives, unafraid and free.

I had some difficulty adjusting after Gitmo, and then after returning from a 14 month Iraq tour. I wanted to drive in the middle of the road. I shook and jumped at loud noises and fireworks. I have tinnitus. I didn’t sleep well.

All in all, it wasn’t that bad though, and the symptoms didn’t last that long. My loving and devoted family were always there for me. I am truly blessed that way.

I wrote a book for catharsis, and then had it published. My friends and colleagues and Tweeple are all so very kind and supportive. I am truly blessed, and every day is a blessing.

Until I saw number 22 sitting down during the playing of the National Anthem I was happy, relaxed and excited about the game.

Until I saw number 22 sitting down during the playing of the National Anthem I loved professional football, head injuries and last season’s nonsense with Colin Kaeprinck notwithstanding.

Until I saw number 22 sitting down during the playing of the National Anthem I had my stuff together.

Then, it happened.

I lost it. Literally lost it.

I jumped up and started cursing uncontrollably. It was just me and my wife in the room, so I don’t think the kids heard anything. I was lit!

I turned the TV off, cursed the player, whose name I did not know until after the Anthem was over and NBC Sports announced it. I had turned the TV back on in hopes of taking a photograph of the player. They showed him again at the end, standing, looking around for some approval or recognition from someone, anyone. Nope. “You’re on your own, buddy,” I thought.

I turned the TV off again and then fumed.

How dare he? How could he? Doesn’t he realized countless American patriots, including African Americans and all races, creeds religions and color DIED so that he could defy US Code and sit on his brains during the Anthem?

I shook, I blathered, I spat, I paced, I sweat, I breathed fire.

I didn’t even react that way when Kaepernick pulled his stunts last year. He went from knee to sitting out of “respect” for the military? Not good enough. I boycotted the San Francisco 49ers. Not hard to do in New York.

A few other players did similar stunts, but now it’s gotten wide-spread with the Seahawks, Packers, Rams, 49ers, Raiders, Eagles, Browns and Chiefs all having at least one player sit, eat a banana or show some other sign of protest (disrespect) during the National Anthem.

Let me explain to you just why I had that reaction. I have figured it out. We watch football in our homes. And like the “My Father’s Chair” scenario I painted for you in the beginning of this piece, our home is our personal, private domain, where we control everything that happens. We invite the NFL into our living rooms, dens and bedrooms for our own pleasure and entertainment. So when some knucklehead SITS for our National Anthem on TV, it is happening in OUR HOME.

That is offensive and disrespectful, just as if I had told Marcus Peters not to sit in my fathers chair . . . not only did he sit in it . . . he defiled it.

If any of these guys called for a press conference to discuss their pity-party snowflake fake news butt hurt NO ONE would come, and NO ONE would listen. They are a privileged few.

Less than one percent of all high school football players ever play football on scholarship in college. Less than one percent of all college football scholarship players ever make it on an NFL team. Who are they kidding? Who do they say they represent when they sit? Why can’t they start a fund, or a charity? Donate time and money to causes they care about. Why disrespect all patriotic Americans on national TV?

It’s a drive-by assault on American values.

And the NFL? Completely complicit. The NFL FINES players for wearing the wrong SOCKS on game day. And if a player SITS during the national Anthem? Nothing. Whose values do the Commissioner of the NFL and NFL owners (who are also complicit) pretend to represent when they allow players to SIT for the National Anthem?

The NBA has it right. They require players to stand for the National Anthem. But for how long?

If anyone doubts that standing and showing respect for our National Anthem isn’t the internationally respected norm, witness this video of world champion Jamaican, Usain Bolt, interrupt an interview to show his class and respect for our Anthem.

Usain-Bolt-Stops-Interview-For-National-Anthem

There was a college basketball coach who invited some veterans to a practice one day, and then told the players how and why they will stand for the National Anthem. Watch it. Have your kids watch it. Send it to your favorite NFL football player.

Of flags and football. It’s about RESPECT.

Saving Grace at Guantanamo Bay

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Blowing Up #TakeAKnee

Of Flags and Football