Thursday

To Knee or not to Knee: What's it about – THAT’S the question!

The United States or American is full of people telling it like it is. That’s fine, it’s written in our rights. Have you EVER read the First Amendment? 
As from the US Courts website: 

The First Amendment states, in relevant part, that:
“Congress shall make no law...abridging freedom of speech.”
Freedom of speech includes the right:
  • Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag).
  • West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).
  • Of students to wear black armbands to school to protest a war (“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.”).
  • Tinker v. Des Moines, 393 U.S. 503 (1969).
  • To use certain offensive words and phrases to convey political messages.
  • Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15 (1971).
  • To contribute money (under certain circumstances) to political campaigns.
  • Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
  • To advertise commercial products and professional services (with some restrictions).
  • Virginia Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Consumer Council, 425 U.S. 748 (1976); Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, 433 U.S. 350 (1977).
  • To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest).
  • Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).
Freedom of speech does not include the right:
  • To incite actions that would harm others (e.g., “[S]hout[ing] ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”).
  • Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919).
  • To make or distribute obscene materials.
  • Roth v. United States, 354 U.S. 476 (1957).
  • To burn draft cards as an anti-war protest.
  • United States v. O’Brien, 391 U.S. 367 (1968).
  • To permit students to print articles in a school newspaper over the objections of the school administration. 
  • Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, 484 U.S. 260 (1988).
  • Of students to make an obscene speech at a school-sponsored event.
  • Bethel School District #43 v. Fraser, 478 U.S. 675 (1986).
  • Of students to advocate illegal drug use at a school-sponsored event.
  • Morse v. Frederick, __ U.S. __ (2007).

Credit
As you can see people have expressed their opinions in different ways. Protests about different things peaceful as well as violent. Some peaceful ones are:
  • The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — August 28, 1963
  • An anti-Vietnam War protest in Washington DC — November 15, 1969
  • The Solidarity Day march in Washington, DC — September 19, 1981
  • The Anti-Nuclear March in New York City’s Central Park — June 12, 1982
  • The Million Man March in Washington, DC — October 16, 1995
  • The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation — April 25, 1993
  • The Million Woman March in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — October 25, 1997
  • Protests against the Iraq war in America's largest cities— February 15-16, 2003
  • The March for Women’s Lives in Washington DC — April 25, 2004
  • Montgomery Bus Boycott - Montgomery, Ala.- 1955
  • Delano Grape Boycott - Delano, California - late 1960s
Yes, sometimes it’s gotten violent, but then people have come out to calm them down. Here are some violent ones: 
  • Police militarization and the death of an unarmed teen sparked riots in Ferguson, Missouri - August 9, 2014
  • The LA riots were the largest and most well-chronicled in American history - April 29, 1992
  • The little known riot of 1835 that shaped the American political landscape - August 1835
  • The Democratic National Convention riots that forever changed the public's perception of government Chicago, Illinois - summer of 1968
  • The Watts riots of 1965 were a pivotal point in the African-American Civil Rights Movement - August 1965 
  • The riots that paved the way for LGBT rights Greenwich Village   - June 28, 1969
  • The "Battle In Seattle" that was the precursor to the Occupy movement - November 1999
  • The riots that were a turning point for Latino culture in America  East LA - June 1943
  • Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 Wilmington, North Carolina - November 10, 1898
  • New York City Draft Riots New York - July 13, 1863
  • Battle of Blair Mountain southwest West Virginia  - August 1921
  • Richmond Bread Riots Richmond, Virginia - April 2, 1863
  • Battle of Athens Athens, Tennessee - August 1, 1946
  • Shays’ Rebellion  Springfield, Massachusetts - January 1787
All of these are because a group of people had something to protest against. In later years, usually within hours the president comes out and as people usually look up to him and agree the violence went too far but eventually it stops. 


With Trump? Nope. He tells us fault is on both sides even if one side wasn’t violent and had come looking for the nonviolent side.  Then he goes on to almost praise white supremacists? (Credit for first video below is from Time)


When Trump’s coming out didn’t seem to do anything but fuel this on, he spoke out again (see Trump's Twitter account for credit).


And this, as you can tell, is a scripted Trump. On many sides...hmmm what sides are they?
Since then, you can tell if it’s scripted he still gets his point across but its hidden. When it’s not scripted? Anything can happen.

Kneeling Protest
The latest thing Trump decided to take on was the kneeling in the NFL. In 2015, it was widely brought up when one of the players knelt in protest against rights he wanted to draw people’s attention to.

Credit Pictured is Colin Kaepernick, right, and Eric Reid of the San Francisco 49ers kneel in protest
People went up in arms and it was talked about. It was brought up as being disrespectful. However, it’s within our rights as American citizens.

The First Protest which Becomes Kneeling

Did you know the first protest was not kneeling, but sittingon the bench? It wasn’t noticed for 2 weeks. Yes, 2 weeks. Kaepernick (pictured above) did it for two weeks before being asked about it. He reasoning, which hasn’t changed, was due to how certain races were being treated and he was doing it in protest. He talked to his team and it was decided kneeling would be more respectful than sitting on the bench, so the next time he knelt, which is where the picture above was taken in Week 1 of the 2016 NFL season.

When Kneeling becomes political
Throughout the 2016 NFL season it was talked about, but people could see where he was coming from and it wasn’t violent or flashed in people’s faces. In fact, the only reason why it was brought up was because someone asked the question about why he did it.

Now we come to the 2017 NFL season. No one was talking about kneeling or anything until….



And then another followup.

This appeared. Then things went haywire. All of a sudden a calm, silent protest went to un-American and unpatriotic to say a few of them.  Now kneeling meant you didn’t respect the men and women who serve the country or the country itself. What the hell? It was never meant a protest or anything to do with the USA.

The kneeling thing was due to rights of a certain group of people moron. All it takes is a bit of research instead of spouting off at the mouth without looking it up or talking to the person who started it all. 

It was NEVER to do with America or the services of the USA. However, because of Trump’s tweet, and how uneducated and how forgetful people are, the so called president has made into this firestorm that never SHOULD have been.

In fact, my father, I and my family have all served in the military. My father, nephews, and uncles went in and signed up and did the time, but it was my family who kept the household going and dealt with moving, and all of their emotional crap when they got home. In fact, even after serving my father is still like he’s in the Navy, by the way it controls life, what he says and does. The way I look at it my father got out after serving his 20, but he’s in it for life.

Guess what? His family, even though we never signed on, is in it for life too. Trump did get one thing mostly right in a tweet. 


I've said this before, although the US has had some problems (but what people/country don't?), America was great and didn't have to become it again. It WAS great until Trump got in. 

By having Trump come out and say what he did? He dirtied that institution and everyone, including its families, which have served as much as the soldiers which signed on.

In a past blog, I’ve asked, when do you draw a line in thesand and stated I had enough with giving into the chances. If I hadn’t drawn a line then, I would now.  

Nothing should touch the soldiers, submariners, SEALs and many others which have freely given their lives and the families who have given up their loved ones either by death or by service, like mine has. Nothing. You use them to make a point felt, like this person has, and it’s a cheap shot that didn’t need to be done.

I thought I was the only one that felt this way…until others let their blood cool and spoke out as well.


Credit


From Facebook
My hat’s off to these people and I would gladly stand beside them in honor. Trump? I will never stand beside him. Ever.

Trump and laws on hiring/firing

Then Trump went even further in one of his next tweets. Misleading people as to the real reason why the kneeling was happening. 


Seriously? Fire people for protesting? And the main public servant is using his position to influence businesses? Crazy. I had to close my eyes, shake my head at this one. Then I asked myself could he do this? Was it against the law?

This is where it gets tricky. Why? Because Trump is playing with those First Amendment rights I've outlined at the start. To use a political magazine who deals with the law:
"If the president’s words are designed to trigger the legal suppression of citizen speech, he may likely be violating the First Amendment."
Then it goes on to say: 
"The president has also engaged in a verbal campaign designed to suppress speech that offends him. We know that speech cannot be censored merely because it is offensive."
This is the tricky part. Is he trying to censor speech (in a way) to limit the treatments of minorities? Or how the author of the article puts it:
"In some ways, Trump’s behavior is even worse than the Rhode Island commission’s. Whereas the commission aimed to suppress obscenity, a category of expression without legal protection, Trump’s ire is directed at core political speech protesting law enforcement’s unfair treatment of minorities. Trump’s allies have already begun organizing boycotts (for example, a “Turn off the NFL” campaign) to give teeth to the president’s intemperate attacks."
And what Trump IS doing IS working. I cringe again. What IS saving him?
"For all Trump’s braggadocio, there is no indication that he is invoking the law enforcement apparatus of the federal government to harass or sanction NFL players who are taking a knee."
Instead he's turning to the sports - NFL, NASCAR, Golf, etc to do his dirty work for him. Trump is using his marketing skills, and people's emotions, to get them to do his bidding. Its not law enforcement but business enforcement and marketing he's using. I wonder if in the future, he'll start awarding contracts to businesses, which are investigated (they are when dealing with the government) but will have an added line which is - did they kneel or how did they feel about it added in. Using this will be an excuse not do business, and in turn means costing businesses money, with them. Great influencer and its all done behind the scenes where no one will see it. 

I suggest more about this topic, read the article or else this would be even longer. 

For now, I turn on the news and start to see waves of people kneeling. Why? They are supporting their colleagues' freedom of speech. Again it’s within their rights. This does change the reason why people started the whole kneeling thing, but still the overall idea of why the kneeling started – in protest.
Credit

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What people have taken it as?

Some think it disrespects the flag, anthem and its soldiers and again I cringe. Other's say this is what they, the veteran's, fought for - to have rights. 

The people who think this is disrespectful are just so wrong, but they are following a person, who by rights we should respect and follow but in this instance that doesn’t deserve the respect or to be followed – Trump.

In fact, LeBron James couldn't have said it any better.

There IS always this outlook to this whole situation as well (Credit):

Respect
People have even said, Trump deserves our respect. Really? First we have to start with what respect is. 
The definition of respect is:
  • a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
  • due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others.
  • have due regard for (someone's feelings, wishes, or rights).
  •  a way of treating or thinking about something or someone. If you respect your teacher, you admire her and treat her well.

And I was brought up that respect is earned. This person does NOT fit within the definition of respect and certainly hasn’t earned it.

Why put this on here?
Why do I put my opinion here? Because I've been verbally attacked and abused over social media. People do NOT what to hear facts, they want to hear what Trump, the salesperson and marketer tells people. He makes a play on people's emotions and not the facts. His facts are always tissue paper thin, but he gets away with it because he then insults people and plays on others emotions. He's done this for years in business, which is the way its done. Government, as he's finding out, is another ballpark altogether. 
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