Just as important is that Colin WhuzHisName is basing his "Theory" of oppression of black people and people of color in the United States on a false narrative. The situation in Minneapolis, (Heard anything recently about this?) is a case in point.
On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 11:06 AM, 'Perplexed' via PoliticalForum < [email protected]> wrote: > > "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." > > This dumbass doesn't understand that in America, we are innocent until > proven guilty. He is not the judge nor the jury. He is nothing but an > obnoxious, ill-informed, race-baiting asswipe stirring up racial division > and hatred of cops to serve his own radical leftloon ideology. > > And the reason people are burning his jerseys and telling the 49ers to get > rid of him is also because he saw fit to wear his little "cops as pigs" > socks. > > Most Americans are sick to death of these disgusting BLM-led cop killings. > To have a spoiled, wealthy egomaniac using a football team to spew the same > leftwing hate and lies they do is not acceptable. > > I think/hope that if the 49ers don't get rid of this jerk they will lose > fans and money. And rightfully so. > > 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-sta >> nd-was-an-act-of-religious-dissent/?utm_source=Religion+Disp >> atches+Newsletter&utm_campaign=5d46ea8585-RD_Daily_Newslette >> r&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_742d86f519-5d46ea8585-42432413 >> > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
