Meditations on Using a military song to protest civilian matters

[AngelFlightPilot224]

Dear all,

I'd like to express my opinions on the recent NFL matters and proposed injustices going on in this country:

First, Martin Luther King would be sad that this is happening. His MO was ALL lives matter and no violence. There was no violence from Antifa, BLM etc. They locked arms with whites, browns, blacks, marched for equality and freedom and for all intents and purposes won that freedom and ended the vast majority of segregation. The MLK movement was vastly successful and it was done without violence or rhetoric or immaturity or gangs or drugs or thugs. Do we not have Black CEOs? Black presidents? Black military generals? Black Police officers? the list goes on. When are we going to talk about the fact that 70% of black babies are born without the dad around? What about all the entitlements? Welfare culture? Laziness? No accountability for one’s actions or choices?.

Really whatever anyone's message is matters not, all citizens have right under the 1st amendment to PEACEABLY assemble and express themselves. Key word is PEACABLY. doesn't matter black, white, brown, purple, if they aren't peaceable, they are in violation of law and our constitution. That right must be protected if the protest is peaceful. The minute you take away the first amendment from any peaceful group, you have the shadow of fascism and the gestapo and the doorstep.

That being said, I don't understand why the NFL players have chosen to protest using a song that was born from the military in order to honor all of our militaries sacrifices and hardships. The song was born out of the war of 1812, written on September 14, 1814 after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the royal navy in Baltimore harbor during the battle of Baltimore in the war of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory over further encroachment from tyranny and oppression of the then constitutional monarchy of Great Britain. The song itself, is a symbol of courage, freedom, bravery, and protest / rebellion. If anything, I would think the NFL players would honor it even more, yet they sat for the American national anthem, and yet stood for "God save the Queen" which is a song that honors an absolute monarch (undemocratic). So, the bottom line is, why are they using a military song to protest civilian matters? trashing an 1812 war song that we sing to honor our military who protects our amendments and thank them for their protection of our constitution and the freedoms it gives us to voice our 1st amendment rights like Kaepernick did. Bashing the very lives of those lost that made him and all of us free! This is all simply highly unintelligent and uneducated protesting, causing mass misunderstanding, miscommunication, and more twitter babbling from trump who doesn't know his ass from his elbow about anything other than real estate. To protest the very thing that is giving them the ability to protest is simply the apex of asinine stupidity and someone really needs to get that across to them before the misunderstandings and miscommunications spiral out of control.

 

[Sketcher]

Key was a civilian.

 

[AngelFlightPilot224]

Key was a civilian.

Right and as a civilian he honored our military after their heroic defense of our citizens, country, constitution, and way of life.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover. It may have had a "Civilian" birth, however It is an official military song, not civilian.

 

[Sketcher]

Right and as a civilian he honored our military after their heroic defense of our citizens, country, constitution, and way of life.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" was recognized for official use by the United States Navy in 1889, and by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in 1916, and was made the national anthem by a congressional resolution on March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 U.S.C. § 301), which was signed by President Herbert Hoover. It may have had a "Civilian" birth, however It is an official military song, not civilian.

And it was a civilian song before that.

 

[AngelFlightPilot224]

And it was a civilian song before that.

What is your point? That it was a song with civilian roots at one point long, long ago? What does that have to do with anything? It is not a civilian song, and has not been for longer than we've been disengaged from battling Nazi's. And whether it was a civilian song or not what does that really matter? Is it not clear from the lyrics who it is honoring? Can you explain to me in an intelligent, sound, and logical manner why they are protesting the very thing that enables them to protest? Why not do something more rational and logical like on their own time if its so important to them kneel and lock hands standing in front of all the non military, - civilian - police departments that are supposedly so heinous towards black people and that they're supposedly upset with? I guarantee you as surely as Christ sets you free that they're be just as much media coverage to get their protest out there watching 30 Cowboys or 30 Ravens kneel in protest in front of a police department as there is on Monday night football. Sitting, Kneeling, being absent from the national anthem and then proceeding to throw a football around and make 25 million a year is an outrageously lazy, entitled, ungrateful, insulting, unintelligent, and asinine way of getting a message out there about civil strife.

 

[Sketcher]

What is your point? That it was a song with civilian roots at one point long, long ago? What does that have to do with anything? It is not a civilian song, and has not been for longer than we've been disengaged from battling Nazi's.

It never ceased to be a civilian song after it was adopted by the military or as the national anthem. It's an American song.

Can you explain to me in an intelligent, sound, and logical manner why they are protesting the very thing that enables them to protest?

It's the First Amendment that allows them to do that, not the flag or the anthem. I haven't heard that they're protesting the First Amendment. And if they were, I would let someone sympathetic to them (I am not) do the explaining.

Sitting, Kneeling, being absent from the national anthem and then proceeding to throw a football around and make 25 million a year is an outrageously lazy, entitled, ungrateful, insulting, unintelligent, and asinine way of getting a message out there about civil strife.

I never agreed with the protest - many black athletes had stood and honored the flag and the anthem before this, and they would have had at least as much reason to protest back then as they do now - but they didn't.

 

[FreeinChrist]

MOD HAT

This thread was moved from Current News & Events to The Junk Drawer. Threads in Current News & Events need a link to a credible news story. This forum is for all kinds of threads.

 

[AngelFlightPilot224]

It never ceased to be a civilian song after it was adopted by the military or as the national anthem. It's an American song.

It is coded in United states federal law as the official military national anthem of the United States, perhaps I could concede that it may still be considered a civilian song as well, but it is still clear who it honors in my mind.


It's the First Amendment that allows them to do that, not the flag or the anthem. I haven't heard that they're protesting the First Amendment. And if they were, I would let someone sympathetic to them (I am not) do the explaining.

That's one of my points though, perception is reality, and actions are louder than words so - how ridiculous is it to "look like" they're protesting a song honoring the very thing that - through blood, sweat, many tears, hardships, and laying down life so that others may live in freedom - gives us the right to protest and was itself a song about protesting and rebellion? Their method and medium of protest is simply unsound is it not? It makes no sense and has caused probably more negative and wrong attention than it has on fixing any potential issues there actually may be.


I never agreed with the protest - many black athletes had stood and honored the flag and the anthem before this, and they would have had at least as much reason to protest back then as they do now - but they didn't.

Right, well some don't care. Some just want to play ball. And Some people whatever their "color" simply have intelligence, respect, tact, appreciation, accountability, rationality, maturity, sound thinking and are able to point the finger in the direction that it actually needs to be pointed and in a constructive way. - like Martin Luther King.

 

[Dave-W]

First, Martin Luther King would be sad that this is happening. His MO was ALL lives matter and no violence. There was no violence from Antifa, BLM etc. They locked arms with whites, browns, blacks, marched for equality and freedom and for all intents and purposes won that freedom and ended the vast majority of segregation. The MLK movement was vastly successful and it was done without violence or rhetoric or immaturity or gangs or drugs or thugs.

MLK was somewhat of an aberation in the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. His message of non-violence stood in stark contrast to that of the Black Panthers and the Black Muslims (Malcolm X). His assassination elevated him to sainthood in the CR movement.