Keeping Kaepernick Out

COLIN KAEPERNICK, the first but not the latest to kneel in protest during the anthem before NFL games, the catalyst of a social upheaval which refuses to die away and instead threatens to shake the very foundations of American society, is going to have his day in court. Huzzah. So declared the arbitrator, who ruled that the talented but unemployed former NFL quarterback has sufficient grounds upon which to pursue his case for collusion against the league and its team owners, who allegedly conspired to withhold employment because of his protest. The arbitrator himself will hear the case, in which Kaepernick, who knelt to protests police brutality against African-Americans, motivated many other players to do the same. This would seem to indicate that he has a case with merit, and a chance to win. The burden of proof is on him, and the standard is high - he must prove beyond any doubt that at least two owners overtly entered into an agreement to keep him out of the league. To have a heart is to hope that Kaepernick wins, and takes the hypocritical owners to the cleaners. To wish otherwise is to have no heart, or to be a billionaire hypocrite. Hypocritical, because the NFL owners do not care one iota whether their employee players are patriotic, respect the anthem, the flag, or whether they protest against racism in America. What they care about is the proverbial bottom line. Actually, nobody in America cares whether somebody stands, kneel, or sits during the national anthem. Various religious groups do not stand, and are not punished for it. What we the American people care about is whether we fuel our self esteem by presenting ourselves to others as patriotic. Oh, ye generation of hypocrites. Boycott the NFL, show off your love of country, like praying in public. What we really care about is being entertained by vicarious violence and excitement. Patriotism, which literally means love of and obedience to the fatherland, corrupts history, in its extreme form. Sieg Heil, and all of that. patriotism is a form of religious fervor, when in extreme form. the more religiously patriotic we perceive ourselves to be, the greater our self esteem, so, why not show it off by turning off the telly when Monday night football comes on? In the midst of all this posturing and posing, kneel a young man who is tired of living in a country which has always been, and remains, deeply racist. he does not disrespect the anthem, nor the flag, nor apple pie. He disrespects a society in which his value is measured by his athletic ability, and the color of his skin, rather than by the content of his character.