SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Wide recceivers Chris Moore and Breshad Perriman of the Baltimore Ravens kneel in prayer prior to kickoff during the NFL match between The Jacksonville Jaguars and The Baltimore Ravens at Wembley Stadium on September 24, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo: Mitchell Gunn/Getty Images)
10 Clarifying #TakeaKnee Tweets to Beat Back Idiotic Arguments by Right-Wingers
Backlash, says one commentator, "very much about setting limits in US for how our rights 'should' be exercised, and by whom."
Sep 24, 2017
With #TakeaKnee going viral on Sunday as NFL players push back against threats by President Donald Trump, those who support the president's position that professional athletes--and especially black or brown professional athletes--should just do as they are told and not speak their minds were infecting the social media hashtag with a variety of racist and otherwise ill-considered arguments about why "millionaire players" shouldn't have or express political views. (Also, it's all about the flag and misguided pro-war patriotism, aka freedom.)
Here are ten tweets chosen not at random to help refute at least a little bit of the circulating hatefulness and wrongheadedness:
\u201c(1) Right-wing backlash against #TakeTheKnee very much about setting limits in US for how our rights "should" be exercised, and by whom.\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506264886
\u201cKaep kneeled to call attention to the systemic racism in our criminal justice system, Trump wants to silence protest to racism! #TakeAKnee https://t.co/biZh4mCIl0\u201d— ColorOfChange (@ColorOfChange) 1506262752
\u201cNFL players aren't protesting the anthem, they're protesting police brutality. That's like saying hunger strikes are against food #TakeAKnee\u201d— Orli Matlow (@Orli Matlow) 1506193961
\u201cStatement from Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin. Maybe my favorite response thus far.\u201d— Dave Zirin (@Dave Zirin) 1506206469
\u201cNFL players who #TakeAKnee are sons of Justice, taking their place in the river of resistance that has brought us thus far on our way.\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1506217709
\u201cDon't confuse #TakeAKnee for disrespect. Respect and love for America doesn't require blindness to its failures. https://t.co/UMAYWNgzsC\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1506267532
\u201cPretty interesting how in commentary about NFL protests "our troops" are presumed to be white and have no personal stake in racial equality.\u201d— Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d (@Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d) 1506254081
\u201cFunny how "making millions of dollars" excludes you from commenting on US when you're black, but enables you when you're white. #TakeTheKnee https://t.co/9YCvYe7tqO\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506251018
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With #TakeaKnee going viral on Sunday as NFL players push back against threats by President Donald Trump, those who support the president's position that professional athletes--and especially black or brown professional athletes--should just do as they are told and not speak their minds were infecting the social media hashtag with a variety of racist and otherwise ill-considered arguments about why "millionaire players" shouldn't have or express political views. (Also, it's all about the flag and misguided pro-war patriotism, aka freedom.)
Here are ten tweets chosen not at random to help refute at least a little bit of the circulating hatefulness and wrongheadedness:
\u201c(1) Right-wing backlash against #TakeTheKnee very much about setting limits in US for how our rights "should" be exercised, and by whom.\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506264886
\u201cKaep kneeled to call attention to the systemic racism in our criminal justice system, Trump wants to silence protest to racism! #TakeAKnee https://t.co/biZh4mCIl0\u201d— ColorOfChange (@ColorOfChange) 1506262752
\u201cNFL players aren't protesting the anthem, they're protesting police brutality. That's like saying hunger strikes are against food #TakeAKnee\u201d— Orli Matlow (@Orli Matlow) 1506193961
\u201cStatement from Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin. Maybe my favorite response thus far.\u201d— Dave Zirin (@Dave Zirin) 1506206469
\u201cNFL players who #TakeAKnee are sons of Justice, taking their place in the river of resistance that has brought us thus far on our way.\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1506217709
\u201cDon't confuse #TakeAKnee for disrespect. Respect and love for America doesn't require blindness to its failures. https://t.co/UMAYWNgzsC\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1506267532
\u201cPretty interesting how in commentary about NFL protests "our troops" are presumed to be white and have no personal stake in racial equality.\u201d— Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d (@Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d) 1506254081
\u201cFunny how "making millions of dollars" excludes you from commenting on US when you're black, but enables you when you're white. #TakeTheKnee https://t.co/9YCvYe7tqO\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506251018
With #TakeaKnee going viral on Sunday as NFL players push back against threats by President Donald Trump, those who support the president's position that professional athletes--and especially black or brown professional athletes--should just do as they are told and not speak their minds were infecting the social media hashtag with a variety of racist and otherwise ill-considered arguments about why "millionaire players" shouldn't have or express political views. (Also, it's all about the flag and misguided pro-war patriotism, aka freedom.)
Here are ten tweets chosen not at random to help refute at least a little bit of the circulating hatefulness and wrongheadedness:
\u201c(1) Right-wing backlash against #TakeTheKnee very much about setting limits in US for how our rights "should" be exercised, and by whom.\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506264886
\u201cKaep kneeled to call attention to the systemic racism in our criminal justice system, Trump wants to silence protest to racism! #TakeAKnee https://t.co/biZh4mCIl0\u201d— ColorOfChange (@ColorOfChange) 1506262752
\u201cNFL players aren't protesting the anthem, they're protesting police brutality. That's like saying hunger strikes are against food #TakeAKnee\u201d— Orli Matlow (@Orli Matlow) 1506193961
\u201cStatement from Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin. Maybe my favorite response thus far.\u201d— Dave Zirin (@Dave Zirin) 1506206469
\u201cNFL players who #TakeAKnee are sons of Justice, taking their place in the river of resistance that has brought us thus far on our way.\u201d— Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II (@Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II) 1506217709
\u201cDon't confuse #TakeAKnee for disrespect. Respect and love for America doesn't require blindness to its failures. https://t.co/UMAYWNgzsC\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1506267532
\u201cPretty interesting how in commentary about NFL protests "our troops" are presumed to be white and have no personal stake in racial equality.\u201d— Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d (@Adam Serwer \ud83c\udf5d) 1506254081
\u201cFunny how "making millions of dollars" excludes you from commenting on US when you're black, but enables you when you're white. #TakeTheKnee https://t.co/9YCvYe7tqO\u201d— Christian Christensen (@Christian Christensen) 1506251018
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.