Kneeling Kaep

At the beginning of this controversy I was disappointed a person making $19 million annually couldn’t find a better way to publicize his concerns over violence in black neighborhoods, or suspected police violence against the black community. At the time I felt he disrespected something more fundamental in our lives.

I was wrong.

I have always believed black lives matter; all other lives, too, including those in blue who are entrusted to protect and serve us all. For me, that was a stumbling point.

However, when I observed the horrendous national outcry in retaliation of his symbolic gesture, I realized that racism was much more prevalent in our society than I had suspected. I had thought – and hoped – that much of that was behind us. Many of us fought over 60 years ago to end racism. We didn’t succeed.

Kaepernick’s odyssey in this matter has informed the nation that racism is alive and well in America. That makes America very sick. And we need to do something about that now.

Our nation needs an awakening. If Charlottesville last year didn’t persuade you we have a problem, then the Charleston church massacre should have; the removal of the Confederate flag from state houses in the southland; and the removal of Civil War statuary; all have sparked nasty public displays of racism.

Even the trump rallies do the same. Exclusionary, all white, and racist language to boot. Shameful but illuminating.

America has a problem with race. Still. It is ugly and beneath our dignity. We must solve this awful problem. It is a cancer that will destroy us. It is already destroying us.

Kaepernick’s kneel has become our Achilles Heel.

He has signaled a problem for the nation to take care of. In response the signal is blatantly repurposed to signal contempt for a national symbol. A symbol, that stands for equality, freedom of speech, expression, religion, assembly and all the rest. But the symbol is hollow if free speech and inequality are rejected as a problem.

There is no doubt that America’s black citizens suffer disproportionate violence, gun death, discrimination, marginalization and poverty in our country. Saying we are equal does not make it so. We must live that equality every day for it to be real.

Kaepernick reminds us of our promise to one another. He simply states the promise is not being kept.

That is a message we all need to attend to.

The issue of police violence is real. How large a problem I do not know. There is prima facie evidence of police brutality and gun violence against black citizens at the hands of police. The full scope of the problem has yet to be probed and adjudicated. Anecdotal support is not proof for all suspected events. We must be careful here.

Police are called on to serve in dangerous situations at a moment’s notice. The conditions of the area or neighborhood may be a prime causal element for the violence in the first place. Neighborhoods are not only the scene of these events, they also are the culture of them. Why does the culture stop collaboration with authorities to solve the underlying issues? Why is trust such a barrier in these situations? What do we do to get beyond this point?

Violence begets violence over time. But what caused the violence in the first place? That is what needs a solution, not the policing that attempts to keep the peace and protect the innocent public. In this case policing is a symptom.

Racism to me is the primary cause of what ails America. Solve that and I think much more will be solved as well.

If the Civil Rights Movement of the 50’s and 60’s didn’t solve the problem, then let’s do it again and get it right this time!

September 10, 2018