Greta: Time for 49ers to Cut Kaepernick: http://video.foxnews.com/v/5109160761001
He has rights. Fans have rights. And fans pay the bills. Fuck this loser. Race-baiting should not be considered a religion in America, but for some reason the loon left has elevated it above pretty much all else. On Friday, September 2, 2016 at 10:17:38 AM UTC-4, MJ wrote: > > > > > *"If we wanted proof of the robustness of American civil religion -- with > its totem of a flag and hymn-like national anthem -- the public flare-up > that greeted Kaepernick’s dissent offers a powerful reminder." *AUGUST > 31, 2016 > > *WHY KAEPERNICK’S REFUSAL TO STAND WAS AN ACT OF RELIGIOUS DISSENT *BY > BENJAMIN E. ZELLER > > This past Friday night, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick > made the audacious choice to remain seated > <http://www.businessinsider.com/colin-kaepernick-protests-national-anthem-2016-8> > > during the playing of the national anthem as a form of political protest > against police violence and racism in America. > > The response against him has been swift, angry, and in many cases ugly. A > series of commentatorsmostly in the athletic and political sphereslined > up to rebuke him. So did the general public. For a taste of the sort of > vitriol Kaepernick’s action inspired, simply scan the comments from online > news reports, which call him un-American, selfish, naïve, treasonous, and > dangerous. > > Donald Trump even laid into him > <https://soundcloud.com/buzzfeedandrew/trump-criticizes-kaepernick>, “I > think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country > that works better for him.” > > As a scholar of religion what interests me in this instance is the power > of the flag as symbolparticularly in the way that people have reacted. To > help understand this level of outrage, I turn to theorist of religion Émile > Durkheim (1858-1917) who foretold this sort of controversy over a hundred > years ago in his famous text, *The Elementary Forms of Religious Life* > <https://books.google.com/books/about/Elementary_Forms_Of_The_Religious_Life.html?id=oeRxqlTiAmsC> > . > > Rightly or wrongly, Durkheim centered his model of religion on the concept > of the totem, “the material representation of the clan,” which over time > becomes a sacred object and center of a tribal religion. > > Within this model of religion, the totem serves as the preeminent symbol > of the group. “Thus the god of the clan […] can be none other than the clan > itself, but the clan transfigured and imagined in the form of the plant or > animal that serves as totem.” What plants or animals did for ancient > societies, flags do today. The totemic symbol of America, the American > flag, represents the nation state as a sacred entityit serves as symbolic > referent point for the nation’s self-worship. > > From this perspective, what else is the national anthem but a hymn to the > nation, and what else did Kaepernick do but thumb his nose at American > civil religion <http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm> by sitting > down in church while the choir sung. > > For his part, Kaepernick was clear about why he opted not to stand. He > released > a statement > <http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem>through > > the official NFL Media wing: > > I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that > oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than > football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There > are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away > with murder. > > In a very Durkheimian manner, Kaepernick intentionally violated the taboos > against sittingor if one prefers, the ritual of standingassociated with > the national totem. > > We can read the response through Durkheim too. This early nineteenth > century theorist warned of the power of the totem in massive social > settings wherein the people’s collective passions, what he called > “effervescence,” could lead individuals to act with emotional abandon, what > we today might call extremism. > > To threaten the totem, particularly in front of large groups (such as on > national television!), is to call into question the foundations of society. > “When a belief is shared unanimously by a people, to touch itthat is, to > deny or question itis forbidden,” Durkheim wrote. People kill or die for > their symbols. > > Durkheim wrote, > > The soldier who dies for his flag dies for his country, but the idea of > the flag is actually in the foreground of his consciousness […] Although > the country will not be lost if a solitary flag remains in the hands of the > enemy or won if it is regained, the soldier is killed retaking it. He > forgets that the flag is only a symbol that has no value in itself… > > Had Durkheim written today, he might have invoked the imagery of the raising > of the flag over Iwa Jima > <http://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=223>, one > of the most important iconographic representations of the American nation > state at heroic war; or he might have considered debates over flag burning > and desecration, and the uncountable dollars and hours of time spent in > court battles over what is “only” a piece of cloth. > > Or he might have invoked Kaepernick, who dared to challenge the meaning of > the flag and in doing so challenged the “reality” behind it. > > So as some wonder why Kaepernick couldn’t just stand up quietly during the > national anthem, or why the response to his actions was so heated and even > hateful, Durkheim’s theory of religion looms large. > > If we wanted proof of the robustness of American civil religionwith its > totem of a flag and hymn-like national anthemthe public flare-up that > greeted Kaepernick’s dissent offers a powerful reminder. > > > > http://religiondispatches.org/why-kaepernicks-refusal-to-stand-was-an-act-of-religious-dissent/?utm_source=Religion+Dispatches+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5d46ea8585-RD_Daily_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_742d86f519-5d46ea8585-42432413 > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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