Now THIS is insulting to our military, white people

I was at Kroger and I saw this:

So I left him this:

I hate cowards. So, of course,  I signed my name to it. Feel free to pass it around, maybe it’ll make its way to the jacka*s himself. As someone who idolized Louie Zamperini, this idiot has NO clue what it means to actually be in distress during defense of your nation.

Salute or don’t. However, just like burning a flag, it’s totally protected under the Constitution —  but so is my right to tell him what a douche that makes him. Get lost at sea for months, sir, then we can talk about a distress symbol. I can handle burning a flag, I can handle not saluting. But use your first amendment right to mock POW or injured in action because you don’t like a black POTUS, I’ll use mine to tell you that you’re a dick.

I hadn’t eaten anything other than chips or popcorn all week, and that man at Kroger made me so mad I need some damn chicken. Unlike Colin Kaepernick who is refusing to salute that flag in protest against the government until we do, in fact, provide justice for all, what that redneck is doing is specifically mimicking a symbol of our soldiers  when they are captured or in distress. That isn’t just about the government, then. You’re using what happens when soldiers — who put on that uniform to defend our freedoms — have been harmed and are in need of help, or when a nation falls in devastating peril to press back against a black president. THAT is insulting to our military. Your dislike of our commander-in-chief is not akin to  having your leg blown off or being captured by the enemy, nor is it any where near the actual equivalent of a nation under dire duress.

You’re Embarrassing Yourselves, White People

White people on Twitter. Nothing makes me need another shot of espresso like white people on Twitter.

Until the Titans kick off. Then,  I’ve just got to put the phone down and breathe. The combination of both stupidity from random white people on the internet, INTs by Mariota, and a bad showing by the Titans could be fatal.

But this girl gets retweeted by that Big Head Sports account where she says, “I want a day of football with absolutely no politics.”

What she means by that is no politics that aren’t mine. (Generically speaking, Donald Trump.)   People always want political statements when they’re their brand. They celebrate political declarations from athletes or coaches when they’re like Mike Ditka. But Cam Newton?

“Shut up, n*****, and play ball!”

Oh, wait? Are we still pretending certain white people don’t say that word in private?

* eye roll *

Immediately after saying she wants no politics, this woman tweets:  “I hope they ignore those dumb-ass kneelers.”

I had to tweet that those dumb-ass kneelers have every right to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms just like she did in her dumb-ass tweet,  and that the only thing truly dumb-ass about their protest is dismissing the message and willfully choosing to ignore it. 

The fact that she — a white woman —  can purposely turn a blindeye to systemic racism any day she feels like it is exactly why they’re in your face with their protests in the first place.  If white people stop acting like such intentionally oblivious assholes,  protests will stop.

You want the athletes to stand? Try paying attention to their cause. It’s telling that white people in this country would rather, instinctively, brand black men with a message a dumb-ass, than take the time to actually listen to his message.

Whether or not I would ever not stand for the anthem is irrelevant. In this nation, our forefathers fought and died to secure the right of protest against the government. You don’t get to decide which is the right way to exercise that protest. No, random, obnoxious white people on the internet, you are not the sole arbiter of how people exercise their constitutional freedom.

And your “It’s disrespectful to the military!” press-back has already been humiliatingly debunked by the military themselves. As well as by the Constitution. (You know, it’s that little thing that the Gold Star father, Mr. Khan, had in his pocket that he tried to lend Donald Trump?)

We cry for non-violent, peaceful protest and then when football players do that, the white people scream:  “No, not that way.”

You’re embarrassing yourselves, white people.

How the f-ck are we even still discussing whether or not men like Colin Kaepernick should stand during the anthem instead of discussing the reason he’s not standing in the first place?

Oh, I know. It’s so we don’t have to.

Forgot.

Feel free to pass on my anger. The only way we ever begin to successfully dismantle societal bias in this nation is when white people refuse to stay silent.

Refuse to stay silent.

Listen, Internet: The Only Thing Kaepernick HAS To Do Is Stay Brown And Die.

The internet is all, like: “Colin Kaepernick needs to stand up!”

“Colin Kaepernick needs to keep kneeling!”

I’m all, like:  “Colin Kaepernick needs to keep wearing his hair like that!”

Nothing against the fro, but it has to be hard to fit in a helmet.

Seriously, this is America. If you want a country where you dictate how others pledge allegiance to their flags or exercise their freedoms,  they have places like that — they’re called Cuba, North Korea, China.

Kaepernick can stand, kneel, sit. Makes no difference to me so long as he takes his shirt off and keeps his mouth shut. Cause that’s how I like my men.

Such gross overreaction to a black man exercising his constitutional rights. Perhaps, internet, you should pay more attention to places like Flint, Michigan, and athletes of color wouldn’t feel compelled to raise their fists in solidarity or take a knee during the anthem.

Colin Kaepernick’s cause is something that’s on my heart every single minute of every single day.  So to me, it doesn’t matter where he positions himself during the anthem — so long as it’s one in which I get a good look at those abs.

America has lost their minds over this — so as to intentionally miss his message. That’s why he’s kneeling in the first damn place.

#VeteransForKaepernick

I mentioned last week that Donald Trump running around telling everybody that this nation was a shithole with a weak military was way more insulting to those of us who know exactly what this nation stands for than Colin Kaepernick  exercising his right to protest ever could be.  This illustrates that perfectly:

I set on Twitter the other night and just boo-hooed at the amazing opportunity that is America and the outstanding men and women that not only defend our freedom, but understand it in a way that some can’t.  When I realized that not everyone got to enjoy the beautiful display of patriotism that was the hashtag #VeteransForKaepernick because not everybody does Twitter. So I pulled the best ones for you.

If this — Veterans who would give their lives to rescue this flag from enemy territory defending the right of one man who refuses to temporarily salute it in protest — doesn’t make you have pride in your nation and make you be greatful to be an American,  you’re probably a Trump voter.

(This one is so profound if it doesn’t hit you in the heart, you don’t have one.)

A great reminder ^^ of how young the men and women who defend our freedom actually are.  They certainly aren’t “boots on the ground.”

Wow.

Thank You! to all who serve.

I love my country.

The BEST nation on Earth.

We are so blessed.

Donald Trump, if you still doubt the power, ability, and awe that is the United States Military, maybe YOU should leave.

Let freedom ring…

From sea to shining sea…

For black and white and every color in between…

Let freedom ring.

THANK YOU American Military.

Thank you for your service, sacrifice, bravery. May God bless you and keep you safe always.

I love you all.

God bless America.

Ok, White People: About Kaepernick…

Boy, I  get riled up talking about Colin Kaepernick and I remember why I wanted to go to law school. My Aunt Glenna got me lit up just mentioning it. (Thanks, Aunt! As well as for the coffee.)

There’s two things you have to understand:

1. Freedom of speech cannot have limitations.

2. Freedom of speech does not mean you can make hateful comments about gay people and not lose any television contracts — it only applies to
the government.

It means you’re not going to be hung in town square or stoned to death for speaking out against the President, the nation,  or even the government. Which means that one absolutely has the right to protest the symbol of that government, which is a flag.

So, white people,  stop saying Colin Kaepernick needs to get out, find another country,  and, most importantly, stop he needs to stand up. 

What you need to say is: “I hate what Colin Kaepernick is doing.”

Or even, “His display disgusts me.”

At the same time, you have to acknowledge that he absolutely has the right. Otherwise, we might as well be North Korea where disrespecting Kim Jong-un and his government gets you 25 years hard labor.

And above all else, if you still think that soldiers died for a flag or a song, you fail to understand their sacrifice. They gave their life for the freedom of expression that goes along with the First Amendment, and soldiers gave their life and swore under oath to uphold and defend the Constitution — which grants said freedom of expression. The Supreme Court has ruled that burning a flag is actually protected under the First Amendment, if one — for whatever reason — wanted to do such.

It’s okay to not like what Kaepernick is doing — people didn’t like that Muhammad Ali refused military service either, but we now praise him — but what’s not okay is to tell Kap he  should “get out of this country” or cease his display.

I would never not salute the flag, but I damn sure don’t want to live in a nation that dictates it. It also amazes me that we’ve had white people disrespecting our president for years — loudly, and on television, and (most aggravating) from a position of power — and they don’t think they need to stop, but a black man disrespects the flag in protest and he needs to get the hell out.

And the nation loses its collective damn mind.

Freedom of speech doesn’t just go one way, white Conservative people.

Maybe — and here’s a radical idea — enraged white folks should care more about the injustices befallen on people of color like Tamir Rice, John Crawford, and Anthony Hill than they do a display of protest,  and then Kaepernick wouldn’t have a reason to need your attention in the first place.

Would he?

Just a thought.

* sigh *

(This is exactly why I quit reading Facebook News Feed years ago. Some white people give me heartburn.)

In Memory of Anthony Hill.

Like a lighthouse leading a lost ship home or a Northern Star, as you pull into my town, there is a flag that stands high in the sky that brightly calls you back home. Those of you that live here know I’m talking about the one by Captain D’s and in front of Kroger. It stands high in the sky for half the city to see. It is probably the biggest American flag that you can (or, at least, I can)  imagine. It always seems to be flapping in the wind, and late at night the light hits it and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think that it’s probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And there’s not a day that it doesn’t bring tears to my eyes. Out of gratitude for living in the United States of America  Mostly, it’s gratitude for those days it’s not flying at half staff. Because for the last few years, whether it’s a mass shooting inside our nation or a terrorist attack on foreign shores, or even the passing of a central figure here in United States,  it seems to be flying at half staff every other week.

But today as I passed by it, it seemed to call out with special meaning. Like most Americans, it doesn’t take much — a simple shot of the red white and blue — for me to become emotional. But if it’s possible for it to look even more beautiful than it was before, I think it was today.

Living in the emotional hangover that was staying up half the night and reading through (and responding with “Thank you for your service!”) the #VeteransForKaepernick on Twitter, I realize what it is that’s so gorgeous about that sight. It’s not the red or the blue or even the stars or the stripes that repeatedly take my breath away, it’s what that flag stands for.

There was no better example of that than witnessing soldiers that would give their lives and fight to the death for our right to protest against the government even if they don’t agree with what we were protesting, standing out on Twitter, tweeting pictures of themselves in their uniforms, and standing behind Colin Kaepernick. If that didn’t make your eyes fill with tears and your heart fill with so much pride you want to run down the street screaming, “Damnit, I love America!”  then, I don’t know,  Trump supporters, maybe YOU  should move to another nation — because it’s one of the biggest examples of patriotism I have ever witnessed.  And if it didn’t move you to tears, you’re clearly missing something. Pictures of soldiers in their uniforms standing in front of choppers that look like they cost more than the GDP of some small nations, supporting a man who cowards and faceless trolls on the internet have been pummeling  with racial slurs and was accusing of disrespecting our soldiers, saying, “No, sir, I serve for
your right to do just what you did. I didn’t fight for a flag or a song, I fought for the freedom to protest, and it’s not just for half of the country either. It’s for all.”

That is what that flag represents.  That is what’s so beautiful about the United States of America. It’s not some colors on a cloth or some bars of a song, it’s that, unlike North Korea, I’m not going to be imprisoned for 25 years if I want to press back against my leaders and demand accountability from my nation and ensure, as promised, that we do provide justice for all.

Anthony Hill was a veteran. He served in Iraq and whether he came back with a mental illness (that would have prevented him from even entering the service had we not lowered the required standards after 9/11) that was exacerbated by military service or whether he came back with a mental illness from PTSD, I can’t say.  I can only say in the middle of a psychotic break, scared, terrified, crying, unarmed and naked, he had crouched down inside a neighbor’s doorway outside of his apartment complex in Atlanta.  Unsure what to do, the neighbor called 9-1-1. So when the cops showed up, saw this unarmed, naked, crouching veteran, what did they do? 

They shot him 7 times.

No department heads rolled.  No accountability. I’m sure, to many, they simply saw a skin color and thought, “Oh well, another black crackhead dead.”

Was Anthony Hill a crackhead? Not to my knowledge. If he was, he was a crackhead who formally signed his life on the line to protect our freedom and then made good on that promise. But reality doesn’t seem to matter any more in America. And if it does, it doesn’t matter near as much as perception. What the cop saw when he looked at Anthony Hill is what most people saw — dark skin. And until we get to the day in America where we can only see a person who fought for me and you who is now in trouble, then we’re no where near where we need to be. 

Did the cops shoot Anthony Hill because he was mentally ill and they were afraid, or because he was black and they were afraid? I don’t know. I don’t know if the sole motivation for shooting Anthony Hill was because he was black, I just know that they got away with it because he was.

Now to be fair, Officer Olson, the cop that shot Anthony Hill, was eventually indicted and is awaiting trial, but in a city where there had  been (at the time of the indictment) 170 people shot by police officer in recent years, only one of those prior to Officer Olsen was ever indicted and the charges were eventually dropped, it’s highly unlikely  he will ever be truly held accountable, much less convicted for murder. And if there was a mass shake-up and shake-down in administration or overwheming changes in policy and protocol following this veteran’s City of Atlanta-sponsored murder, the public is still waiting to hear about it.

It’s easy for white people to stand up and say “ahh, Colin Kaepernick, there’s another way; some better way to protest racial inequality that doesn’t tick off the nation.” But is there?  When has change ever been comfortable? When we kill soldiers who fought for you,  when they can come back and get shot by the police or get killed in a Planned Parenthood where they aren’t even a patient by a psycho with an assault rifle, then maybe we all need to be uncomfortable.

Take a moment and honor a man who fought for your freedom. And  be real,  white people, most of you have never even heard his name.

(Anthony Hill and his parents.)

I may not like Kaepernick’s methods, but I love his message. And I love even more the soldiers coming to the defense of his actions, bombarding Twitter with tangible evidence of their service, and saying: “My sacrifice is about more than this fabric, and your freedom — the same ones I’d lay down my life for — is stronger than a flag.”

That is a free nation. That is the greatest place on Earth. Where a man wearing military fatigues who would take a bullet for my right to side — or not side — with the protest of a multi-million dollar athlete, stands up and out in large and overwhelming numbers to press back at the faux-patriot, Trump-supporting haters, and say: “I’d give my life to rescue this flag from enemy territory, but I was black before I put on this uniform, I’ll be black when I take it off, and I’ll be black the day they lay me to rest in it:  protest away, Mr. Kaepernick.  That’s what I serve for.”

THAT is a free nation, boys and girls. That is worth celebrating. And while Donald Trump runs around telling our country, and the globe, what a shithole we are, and passing out campaign signs that read “Rebuild America!” one just needs to use the Twitter app on your phone to see that no, we don’t need to make America great again, Mr Trump. We already are pretty gotdamn great. When you have soldiers defending the right to protest of a citizen who doesn’t salute the flag in such protest — the same one that they defend — how can you acknowledge that we are anything but?

We have matters and inequality and injustice that need our attention, but the insinuation that my nation is anything but the greatest on Earth is a bigger insult than Kaepernick setting out the anthem in protest ever could be to those of us who truly love our nation and know exactly what she stands for.

You and your band of cowardly bullies don’t represent me or my nation, Mr Trump. But those men and women in uniform — like Anthony Hill — do.

May God rest his soul.

About That “Black on Black” Crime

Nothing makes me madder than some smart-ass that replies to any post that deals with Black Lives Matter  — or the protesting of any civilian that is killed by excessive force unnecessarily by a police officer who will  never face accountability for it — with “why don’t black people care about black on black crime in Chicago.”

1)  Just because you don’t know anything about measures taken to combat crime violence from people of color in inner cities, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

2)  Just because Fox News doesn’t report on Barack Obama’s ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ initiative in places like Chicago that involve public figures like Al Sharpton, where people of color are trying to end  “black on black” crime, doesn’t mean it’s not going on at the very moment you write that ridiculous shit.

3) Congratulations on being the most unoriginal and stupid thing I’ll read all day — that’s quite an accomplishment in a city full of half-illiterate Trump voters.

*eye roll *

White people.

Colin Kaepernick Is America At Its Finest — Like It Or Not.

What Colin Kaepernick did is about as American as anything you can possibly do.  His actions are about as American as you can get.

No, I didn’t say  un-American, I said American.

Do I like what Colin Kaepernick did? Absolutely not. 

Would I ever do the same?  Not hardly. My granddaddy or my surrogate dad,  Larry Patton, the two most patriotic men I have ever known, would come back and slap me silly. 

But at the same time, if you think that our soldiers died for lyrics or a piece of fabric, you don’t understand their sacrifice. Our soldiers died for a free nation, so that citizens like Colin Kaepernick can stand up and do exactly what he did regardless of how disgusting you found it and in spite of how much you don’t like it. What Kaepernick did was to use his platform and try to outrage people in any way he can in order to get their attention to showcase what he was standing up for. That’s as American as it gets.

Protest is beautifully and uniquely American. 

The Stars and Stripes aren’t what make us America. The Star-Spangled Banner doesn’t make us  America, freedom of protest against the government, against the United States itself, is what makes us America.

Now, I personally think there’s ways to boycott and to stand up for the racial inequalities and the killing of unarmed civilians by police officers who then turn around and go on paid vacation that don’t insult the nation as a whole or the men and women who have fought to secure and defend those freedoms that we enjoy under that flag.  And I would never refuse to honor our national anthem.

Don’t mistake what I am saying.  Like a little kid, to this day, I still stand up and place my hand over my heart, even when it’s on TV. Nothing made me happier than seeing “my” three-year-old twins recite the Pledge of Allegiance that they learned at preschool because their Can Can tried to teach it to  them as soon they could talk. (I failed, preschool succeeded.) I was upset and outraged during the NFL playoffs this past season when they nixed the televising of the national anthem to sell us more commercials. I think it’s disrespectful to the United States to refuse to honor our flag, I think it’s disrespectful to our soldiers, but I also think that if you think they died for a piece of cloth or an anthem, then you, yourself, disrespect their service and their sacrifice —  because you don’t understand what they died for at all.  You, Mr. outraged at Colin Kaepernick, don’t understand their very sacrifice that you pretend to be protective of and enraged over.

So what did our generations of brave men and women give their lives for?  Kaepernick’s right to do what he did, even if we don’t like it.

That’s America. 

And as one of my favorite movies, The American President, says (paraphrasing, here):  Celebrate that in your classrooms; show me that, then you can stand up and sing about the home of the brave and the land of the free.

When you tolerate somebody whose protests and whose words make you violently disgusted, but you acknowledge their right to do so — that’s a free nation, boys and girls. That is what my Granddaddy fought for.

Now I would never disrespect the flag, and my Granddaddy would never even allow the one in his yard to show wear out of the great respect that he had for this nation,but at the same time, I know enough about my Granddaddy to know that that flag is not what he and his military buddies fought for.  What he fought for was freedom.

What he fought for was the right to stand up and protest and push back against a government or Police Department or a society that you feel is diminishing the lives of others without consequence from the government itself. That is what makes the United States of America just that:  the United States of America. And if we acknowledge that, then we have to acknowledge, whether we like it or not,  what Colin Kaepernick did is about as American as you can get. American citizenship never guaranteed that you wouldn’t be disgusted by your fellow man’s right to exercise all of his.

A resounding and heartfelt thank you to all of our men and women who serve and give me the right to protest, to speak out, and to enjoy the privilege and the blessing of living in the greatest nation on Earth. Those brave men and women fight everyday to defend it. They are in my heart without hesitation. 

As are everyone who stands up and puts himself in the spotlight and says:  “I’m willing to call attention to the fact that you will be outraged over my not saluting the flag, but you will not be outraged over the injustice that I’m drawing attention to in the first place, and that is the problem.”  You are in my heart as well. Because they all, everyone of us — all of our choices, actions, beliefs, and opinions — make this country what it is: a free nation.

The Constitution makes us free, the military secures that freedom, and our citizens, by speaking out, ensure, and maintain, that we always have them.

I love you all.