TAKE A STAND, MAN. - PLEASE, MAN, TAKE A
STAND.
All of you are probably familiar
with the name, Colin Kaepernick, and most of us know that he is/was a football
player in the National Football League.
I want to take a few minutes to address the treatment of and responses
to his taking a stand against the unjust killing and torturing of Black people
in this country at the hands of police officers in various cities.
Although one would normally start
this conversation with “I couldn’t believe this was happening in this point in
time”. But for me, the most bothersome issue was not that the injustices were
happening (and being filmed), but that no one was being held accountable. And,
the fact that no one was being held accountable, seemed to be “ok” to the citizens
and the government of this country. Thank you, Mr. Kaepernick, for picking up
the ball and carrying it. There may be others that I am not aware of but he is
certainly one of the most notable leaders.
And he is a leader simply because
he decided to take a stand (kneeling). Thank God for such a wonderful display
of Strength (through Humility). I could spend a lot of time going over the
insensitive reactions to Mr. Kaepernick, but I would rather make another point
today.
I still am struggling with trying to
deal with the “almost” non-issue this has become in our society. Most people
seem to just ignore the injustice and its lack of accountability. It’s just
business as usual, even with my Brothers and Sisters. I can, and did, say at
the onset, “why don’t somebody do something”. “Doesn’t anybody care about Black
People in this country?” “Don’t Black People care about Black People, in this
country?” Have we somehow taken the Rodney King statement, “can we all just get
along”, and cloaked ourselves in it as a covering for whatever unpleasant thing
we don’t want to face?
Why is Mr. Kaepernick taking this
stand, almost all alone? Do the rest of the Black players in the NFL see what’s
happening, both to the victims on the street and to Mr. Kaepernick? Do they
value human life and welfare less than a dollar? If they are having a problems
joining such a quiet, peaceful protest as this, God help us if something more
strenuous is needed. I then wondered why there seems to be no support from or
concern by Black players in the other major sports. But then, it finally hit me
… What about ME? Why am I not expressing much concern? Why have
I been so silent? Why am I not talking to the fellow citizens, my sons, my
nephews, friends and others about the injustices? Is there something that we,
as ordinary citizens, can do?
Yes, there is something that we can
do and we should do. We don’t need to just ask the NFL players to take a gamble
with their paychecks, we need to sacrifice the enjoyment and pleasurable life
styles that we have sunken into from year to year. The 2017-18 football season
will kick-off in a few days. Unfortunately, we are hearing the usual banter
from the fans about our hopes and expectations for my team(s). We act as
though everything is all right and happy days are here again. Why don’t we put
aside all this talk about and attentiveness to the ball game? What would
it do to the game if we take just one year, just one 12-month period, free from
professional football? We don’t need to attend any games. We don’t need to
watch any televised games. We don’t even need to talk about the games each
week, as if they have some importance in our world or national affairs.
Let’s treat football (and any other
sport, if you choose) like what it is, or at least what it should be, just a
game. Can we all get along for at least
one season without participating in this sport, called professional
football? I know it’s not much, but at least it’s a start. And right now, it is
all I could think of. If someone has a better idea or suggestion, please share.
But I believe that something should be done, by all of us.
