(09-11-2020 08:14 AM)umbluegray Wrote: (09-10-2020 08:36 PM)Chappy Wrote: I gotta say, I still don’t get the anger at kneeling. Kneeling is not sitting. People stand or kneel before the cross when they pray. Nobody complains about that being disrespectful.
Tradition is to stand in respect for your nation.
Intentionally kneeling is a gesture intended to show that you do not respect your nation. People connect the motivation for the lack of respect to several things including hatred toward this county, hatred and disrespect of people who served/are serving this nation in the military and the various first responders positions, a hatred of law and justice, and, frankly, an acceptance of marxism and its attempt to overthrow everything we hold dear.
Kneeling when worshiping God is understood to be reverent and humble before our Creator and Savior.
In my opinion, kneeling is kneeling and a sign of respect.
This is from an interview with the veteran who advised Colin to kneel in the first place:
MARTIN: So take us back. How did you get to talk with Colin Kaepernick to begin with? How did your conversation ensue?
BOYER: You know, this was two years ago, 2016 during the preseason. And he, you know, had sat on the bench. And I think it was actually his third time he'd sat on the bench. But it was the first time it had received national attention. And, you know, he got questioned about it, and he said, well, I'm not going to stand for the flag of a country that oppresses black people and people of color. And then he talked about, you know, social injustices and police brutality and why he thought, you know, he shouldn't be standing for the anthem.
And it struck a chord with me, of course, and it struck a chord with a lot of people - a lot of people in the veteran community as well - because obviously the flag and the anthem and what that stuff stands for means something, you know, very different to us. And I was pretty upset, you know, just because I felt like he didn't understand what those symbols really represent. And - but instead of letting my anger overwhelm me, I decided to relax a little bit, and I wrote this open letter that was just explaining my experiences, my relationship to the flag.
And Colin actually reached out, said he wanted to meet with me. And we sat in the lobby of the team hotel, discussed our situation, our different opinions and feelings about all this. And I suggested him taking a knee instead of sitting even though I wanted him to stand, and he wanted to sit. And it was, like, this compromise that we sort of came to. And that's where the kneeling began.
MARTIN: How did the idea of taking a knee come to you?
BOYER: I thought - at that time I said, look, I think your point has definitely been made that everyone's listening. Like, let's make a plan of attack now. And, you know, let's work on action for it. But he said, you know, what I've committed to this, and - I'm not going to do it until I start to see these changes I want to see. And, you know, I respected that decision and opinion. And I thought kneeling - personally, so I don't speak for everybody, I don't speak for every veteran. I've been told that numerous times by many people. But I thought kneeling was more respectful, and I will say that being alongside his teammates was the biggest thing for me.
And, you know, people - in my opinions and in my experience, kneeling's never been in our history really seen as a disrespectful act. I mean, people kneel when they get knighted. You kneel to propose to your wife, and you take a knee to pray. And soldiers often take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave to pay respects. So I thought, if anything, besides standing, that was the most respectful. But, of course, that's just my opinion.
