Kneel and Heal and be Thankful

Our Black athletes have started taking a knee during the national anthem. President Trump and his (white) followers claim the flag is being insulted, our nation is being insulted, these athletes should be fired. 

President Trump and his followers don't wake up in the morning, check the mirror to verify they are still Black, and remember the mantra, "know where you are at all times, smile at the cop, don't act belligerent, ignore the racial slur....". You think I'm crazy. There's no such mantra! Ask your Black friends. Seriously. Ask them. If you don't have any, find a white friend who has some Black friends and have her ask them. Seriously. Ask them. If you really can't find a Black person to talk to, catch one of Don Lemon's CNN broadcasts. He's a level headed, fair minded Black newsman who tries to include many sides to a question, but who keeps people honest too. If you try to tell him that racism is over in America, he'll call you on it.

No one is trying to insult the flag or our soldiers. They are ever so gently pricking our conscience. Are you really insulted by the kneeling during our Star Spangled Banner? Really? 

And how insulted are you by the 4,000 Blacks lynched between 1875 and 1965? Are those affronts too far in the past for you? 

Is racism really over? Two years, three months and 15 days ago, on June 17, 2015, a white supremacist slaughtered nine parishioners in a prayer service at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Do you find that insulting? 

Fifty-two days ago a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resulted in another death and a national discussion of white supremacy, as the President of the United States was slow to denounce it. 

I am far more insulted by people ignoring injustice, yea even condoning it, than I am by people calling it out, calling it out I might add in an incredibly respectful manner. So when I see an athlete question by kneeling the greatness of this country, greatness the Star Spangled Banner is meant to praise, my first question is not where are his manners? My first question is what healing does his kneeling require. Only when I can find no national illness in need of healing, will I ask about his manners.

We are a great nation, but we are not immune to sickness. The first step in any illness is to recognize the disease. Racism is a disease and America has it. Our Black athletes have started the healing. Don't squander their effort. Rather, give thanks for their courage.