It's been rather funny to see the reaction to President Trump's statement that players in professional sports who won't stand for the national anthem should be fired. These are multi-millionaires who refuse to stand for the anthem because of the supposedly unfair society that surrounds them. It's hard to feel sorry for them given all the luxury and wealth that the "unfair" society has given them. Still, they certainly have every right to refuse to stand for The Star Spangled Banner. But guess what? Everyone else has the right to react to their "statement". Free speech doesn't mean no consequences for what you say, and it certainly doesn't mean others cannot disagree. Free speech is only a limit on the government. Indeed, were an owner of an NFL team to fire players who refuse to stand for the anthem, it is not a violation of anyone's rights (although it could be a violation of the relevant contracts.) Remember, by refusing to stand, the players are insulting a great many of the fans who come to NFL games or watch them on TV. It might make business sense for the owners to get rid of these players.
So what is the response from the NFL? The commissioner of the league said that the President's remarks were "divisive" and "inappropriate". The commissioner thinks that everyone has to adopt a practice of non-response to protests of this sort. Why? Why do the athletes get to make their point but if anyone else responds, it's divisive. It's no more divisive than what the athletes are doing. In fact, the response is probably less divisive because it is only a response.
For many decades, the media and the liberal establishment have always operated under the dogma that left wing protest was unassailable. If a hundred leftists want to shut down traffic on a main road, we are supposed to accept that and live with it. On the other hand, the same rules call for a clear response to conservative protests. When the Tea Party rallies in 2010 denounced runaway spending by the Obama Administration, we were told they were racists. When the IRS illegallyt targeted those Tea Party groups, we were told nothing was going on. Now, with Trump in the White House, the liberals are being subjected to a new paradigm under which there are responses to their protests. These are not violent responses like the crazies at Antifa. Rather, they are simply clear oral responses clearly opposing what the lefties have to say. As a result, the heads on the left are exploding as I write this.
None of this is divisive. All that has happened is that there is a full debate going on once again in the USA. The monopoly of propriety claimed by the left and its protesters has been blown away by reality. That's a good thing, not a bad one.
So what is the response from the NFL? The commissioner of the league said that the President's remarks were "divisive" and "inappropriate". The commissioner thinks that everyone has to adopt a practice of non-response to protests of this sort. Why? Why do the athletes get to make their point but if anyone else responds, it's divisive. It's no more divisive than what the athletes are doing. In fact, the response is probably less divisive because it is only a response.
For many decades, the media and the liberal establishment have always operated under the dogma that left wing protest was unassailable. If a hundred leftists want to shut down traffic on a main road, we are supposed to accept that and live with it. On the other hand, the same rules call for a clear response to conservative protests. When the Tea Party rallies in 2010 denounced runaway spending by the Obama Administration, we were told they were racists. When the IRS illegallyt targeted those Tea Party groups, we were told nothing was going on. Now, with Trump in the White House, the liberals are being subjected to a new paradigm under which there are responses to their protests. These are not violent responses like the crazies at Antifa. Rather, they are simply clear oral responses clearly opposing what the lefties have to say. As a result, the heads on the left are exploding as I write this.
None of this is divisive. All that has happened is that there is a full debate going on once again in the USA. The monopoly of propriety claimed by the left and its protesters has been blown away by reality. That's a good thing, not a bad one.
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