If I were a betting man, I would bet the bulk of people who use terms like “libtard” and “snowflake” to describe left-wing millennials are the same people that are triggered when they see someone kneel during the anthem.
“It took us [African Americans] 400 years to realize that white people’s weakness the whole time was kneeling during the national anthem,” Dave Chappelle said in his comedy special, “The Bird Revelation.”
“That’s a brittle spirit.”
Is kneeling during the anthem disrespectful? Maybe. As a 10-year Army veteran, however, I noticed any controversies which involve the flag immediately rope in the troops.
Kneeling for the anthem is disrespectful to the troops? You have to do some mental gymnastics to reach that conclusion. Using veterans as a shield to mask potential racial anxiety or as a lazy way of articulating a real grievance with people not brandishing their absolute patriotism is offensive.
But these protests were initially about the obvious systemic disadvantages African Americans have in the justice system.
Nike is not spitting in the face of veterans using Colin Kaepernick to sell shoes. It’s opportunistic capitalism. It’s corny at worst. But an offensive slight against the American spirit? That’s snowflake mentality.
To mock Nike’s “sacrifice everything” marketing slogan, a lot of people on social media drug out famous dead veterans like Pat Tillman and Chris Kyle, which we do not even know their opinions on the issue (for what it’s worth, Tillman’s biographer said, “Pat would have found Kaepernick an extremely admirable person for what he believed in. I have no doubt if he was in the NFL today, he would be the first to kneel.”) This is disgusting and I couldn’t imagine how my family would feel if others used my likeness and turned it into a meme to “own the libs” if I was killed in battle.
[Trump spikes Colin Kaepernick campaign: ‘I don’t like what Nike did’]
Veterans do not have special ownership over the flag and we should generally stop being treated as a special class of citizen when it comes to the daily outrage machine. Our opinions generally shouldn’t carry much weight outside of our personal experiences with war.
I argue conservatives who want to fight against big government should be on the kneelers side. What’s more big-bad government than an unfair justice system? And some so-called conservatives want to express undying loyalty to the federal government before sporting events?
It doesn’t even make sense for conservatives to have absolute loyalty to law enforcement. With all due respect to police officers, they perform a dangerous service to keep us safe. At the same time, from a right-wing lens, they essentially shake people down for tax revenue and pressure innocent and non-dangerous people to criminalize themselves in violation of the spirit of the Fifth Amendment.
Taking part in the pledge of allegiance is a fine way to pat yourself on the back and feel like a patriot. If you actually want to support the troops, just buy one a beer sometime.
Steve Beynon (@stevenbeynon) is the Washington Examiner’s senior digital engagement editor. He is an Afghanistan War veteran, serving over a decade as an infantryman and cavalry scout.
