# Why is it offensive to kneel during the anthem? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2017, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435 "2017-09-27T16:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/81 "2017-09-28T15:03:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > so it’s OK for black people to kill innocent cops? There is no logical way you can come to that conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/82 "2017-09-28T15:11:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s a tradition in this country. Protesting it is disrespectful and offensive. “Git yer hands off’n my truhdishuns!” It’s funny how folks don’t have a problem mocking and disrespecting the traditions of other societies and cultures. Americans revel in making fun of other people’s traditions. In general, we like it when people in other places rebel against their indigenous cultures and “modernize.” In the context of other countries, we seem to be able to recognize that only uneducated sheeple follow traditions just for the sake it. But conservative white American traditions are considered sacrosanct. Not only that, but we have to pretend that those traditions are American, not “conservative white American.” Well, I don’t belong to this demographic. I don’t aspire to be a part of this demographic. I wish conservative whites would stop acting like this country is exclusively theirs. It isn’t. A lot of us grew up singing [this national anthem](http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-black-national-anthem-lyrics-james-weldon-johnson.html) because its lyrics actually inspire us all to keep making this country better. It doesn’t simply glorify the past and make war sound like a beautiful thing. This shit might appeal to conservatives, but not to folks who are truly idealistic. Our country was founded by idealists. Not by people who cleave to silly traditions. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/83 "2017-09-28T15:30:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s a tradition in this country. Protesting it is disrespectful and offensive. You say that like those are bad things. This country is seriously fucked up. Almost half of voters thought Trump should be president, and still do. \* That’s\* offensive. And most cops can’t find it in their hearts to condemn the [shooting of a 12 year old kid](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice) with a toy gun by “trained” police officers who had just 2 seconds of analysis and reflection before employing lethal force. You’ll love this part, “Neither Loehmann nor Garmback administered any first aid to Rice after the shooting.” [I wonder if he was a white kid or a black kid] and this: > [@](#): > > A second video obtained by the Northeast Ohio Media Group and released on January 7, 2015, shows Rice’s 14-year-old sister being forced to the ground, handcuffed and placed in a patrol car after she ran toward her brother about two minutes after the shooting. It also shows that police waited for four minutes before providing any first aid to Rice wondering how the story ends? > [@](#): > > On December 28, 2015, the grand jury returned its decision declining to indict the police officers It’s time to get disrespectful and offensive. The shit is getting real. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/84 "2017-09-28T15:33:19Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I’m not a big fan of this country; especially now - at this moment in time. But I’ll stand and I would hope others do the same in honor of all the people who have died trying to make it better. From soldiers in battle to the Freedom Marchers to everyone else. I won’t be horribly offended if you don’t but I will notice and form opinions. What can I say? I’m kind of human like that. I don’t understand why people keep linking the flag with the military. I was taught the flag represents the country. Its people, its culture, and yes, the military. But not exclusively the military. Or first responders. 9/11 showed that all of us can be sacrificed for our country’s policies and actions. Wearing a uniform does not make anyone a “supercitizen”. I pay my taxes and carry out my civic duties. The flag belongs to me just as much as it belongs to someone who joined the armed forces just so he could escape Bumfuck Iowa. Let’s be real: No one would join the military if they truly believed they were goibg to die for their country. The military and first responders are not above reproach. We should be able to criticize them–both as individuals and as institutions–without our patriotism being questioned. And it is a shame that the flag is being used to gag people now. I don’t care that you have opinions about people who don’t worship a song or flag the same way you do. I just wish we could stop using symbols to guilt-trip people into conforming to mindless rituals. When people stand just so that others won’t judge them harshly, they aren’t showing patriotism. They are showing cowardice. Why is this honorable? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/85 "2017-09-28T15:34:19Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I don’t even understand the concept of how a flag can be disrespected. Idolatry isn’t my bag. Yep. There is a reason I couldn’t be a Mason. Also, if I decided to go to church, I could never be a Catholic, Lutheran, etc. Idols, rituals, etc all make me cringe. Same with worshiping a flag. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/86 "2017-09-28T16:14:00Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Personally I think your protests should take place on your own time rather than on the company’s time. I can’t think of any other job in which protests, particularly of sponcers, are allowed during business hours. Especially in front of customers. > > Can you imagine if a Wal-Mart employee started handing out anti-globalization pamphlets at the checkout stand? Or a McDonald’s employee trying to push PETA/Veganism on customers? Your analogy would make sense if the players were protesting in the middle of the game instead of playing. They’re just choosing to kneel and quietly do nothing when quietly doing nothing is what they’re supposed to be doing. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/87 "2017-09-28T16:27:17Z")
On one side we have people who want to bring to light the issue of killing of minorities by the police. On the other we have people who want to turn it into a discussion about etiquette. It takes a lot of white privilege to make those two equivalent. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/88 "2017-09-28T16:27:45Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > Your analogy would make sense if the players were protesting in the middle of the game instead of playing. They’re just choosing to kneel and quietly do nothing when quietly doing nothing is what they’re supposed to be doing. Not really, they’re there to put on a show which includes any moment they’re in the public eye, especially inside the football stadium. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/89 "2017-09-28T18:34:50Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > “Git yer hands off’n my truhdishuns!” really? This is the level you want to stoop to? You felt the need to misspell words in order to project your prejudices onto other people. Imagine how that would look to you in the reverse. Kaepernick was clear about his reasons for kneeling during the national anthem. They had nothing to do with football and many people found it offensive. His actions reflected poorly on his employer and it’s costing everyone around him money for no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/90 "2017-09-28T18:44:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > really? This is the level you want to stoop to? You felt the need to misspell words in order to project your prejudices onto other people. Imagine how that would look to you in the reverse. > > Kaepernick was clear about his reasons for kneeling during the national anthem. They had nothing to do with football and many people found it offensive. > > His actions reflected poorly on his employer and it’s costing everyone around him money for no good reason. Says you. He thinks he had a good reason. I don’t even like the guy, and I think he had a good reason. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/91 "2017-09-28T19:09:59Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Says you. He thinks he had a good reason. I don’t even like the guy, and I think he had a good reason. Not “says me”. there are stadiums full of people booing this nonsense. As for whether he felt he had a windmill to chase is irrelevant to the stadium location which had nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/92 "2017-09-28T19:56:17Z")
“…stadiums FULL of people…” ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/93 "2017-09-28T21:21:59Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > It’s a tradition in this country. So? It still has nothing to do with football. It didn’t the first time, and it won’t 10 yrs from now. He didn’t protest _during the game_, nor did he disrupt the anthem at all. IF your argument is that his protest had nothing to do with football, then you should be for not playing the anthem and getting straight to the football, no? > [@](#): > > Protesting it is disrespectful and offensive. A) This land was built on protest. Peacefully protesting the flag is honoring the system it stands for. But more importantly B) Perhaps he thought there is something going on in this land the he loves that is even more disrespectful and offensive… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/94 "2017-09-28T21:24:43Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > A) This land was built on protest. Oh, yeah? Then why isn’t there anything in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights that says it’s OK to protest? Huh? Smart Guy? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/95 "2017-09-28T21:33:01Z")
Stadiums full of people booed when the slaves were emancipated. Stadiums full of people booed when black people were given citizenship. Stadiums full of people booed when black people were given the right to vote. Stadiums full of people booed when seperate but equal was struck down by the courts. Stadiums full of people booed when the first black president was elected. You know what’s an American tradition? Big mobs of people who boo civil rights and racial equality. They have existed in every single American generation. Weirdly, every generation seems to think they are more enlightened than the previous one. Yet they keep filling those stadiums so they can boo. **Magiver** , earlier you appealed to tradition. Now you seem to be appealing to the bandwagon. The road to hell is paved in both of these things. If you don’t want me to mock your arguments, come up with something better. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/96 "2017-09-28T21:38:52Z")
Duplicate. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/97 "2017-09-28T21:42:21Z")
Duplicate. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![greenmario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/97f17d/32.png) [@greenmario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenmario)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/98 "2017-09-28T22:01:06Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > “Git yer hands off’n my truhdishuns!” > > It’s funny how folks don’t have a problem mocking and disrespecting the traditions of other societies and cultures. Americans revel in making fun of other people’s traditions. In general, we like it when people in other places rebel against their indigenous cultures and “modernize.” In the context of other countries, we seem to be able to recognize that only uneducated sheeple follow traditions just for the sake it. Can you provide some examples of this? ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/99 "2017-09-29T01:06:30Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > You know what’s an American tradition? Big mobs of people ho boo civil rights and racial equality. and it was also an American tradition to right the wrongs of history and wage a war over it. 360,000 people died in the Civil War defending that principle. Kneeling during the national anthem pisses on their graves. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435/100 "2017-09-29T01:09:29Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > and it was also an American tradition to right the wrongs of history and wage a war over it. 360,000 people died in the Civil War defending that principle. Kneeling during the national anthem pisses on their graves. Except for the fact they died protecting our right to free speech and protest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-offensive-to-kneel-during-the-anthem/797435.md?page=6)