Protest and the 1st Amendment

The "Take a Knee" protest was started in 2106 by Colin Kaepernick as a statement against police violence against minorities. He originally sat during the pre-game National Anthem but, at the suggestion of Green Beret Nate Boyer, changed to kneeling on one knee to continue the protest while still showing respect for the Anthem and the flag.

Here is Kaepernick's statement about his protest:

I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.

In September, 2017, at a rally to promote his ill-fated choice in an Alabama special primary, Donald Trump, while ignoring a horrific humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico but then eventually tweeting something about "massive debt" that "must be dealt with", said, in words beneath the office he so often embarrasses, that the NFL should fire any player not standing for the Anthem . He took an oath to protect and serve the Constitution of the United States, yet seems completely ignorant of the very first amendment to the document that guarantees our right of free speech, which has been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to also include actions. Every war fought for our country has been fought to preserve these rights, and in this situation those rights include the right to stand, or to not stand. We have the right to peacefully protest and it is supposed to be guaranteed by the 1st Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America.

The United States, as a country, was started as a protest against a tyrannical king. "Take a Knee" started as a protest against police violence on minorities but has since evolved into a protest against a president who thinks he is a king -- a king who demands loyalty to Trump but refuses to honor our most sacred document that guarantees everyone the right to protest when a right has not only not been given, but has been and is still being torn away from anyone who doesn't look like the king.You have the right to disagree with the kneeling protesters. The kneeling protesters also have the right to their form of protest. Donald Trump does not have the right to criticize any form of peaceful protest. Yet he does so in a blatant violation of a document the he has sworn to honor and to protect. The outrage should be at our president for desecrating the meaning of the flag and the Anthem.

JLF