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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."

Common Dreams staff

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:

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