Manifestation of patriotism or demonstration of neglect

Players who renewed their matches of the American Women's Football League, who stood during the performance of the national anthem, were branded “stupid white bitch” because they did not bend their knees (in support of the movement “The life of black people matters.” - RT ). Since when did manifestation of patriotism become an occasion for insult?

The world has completely gone mad, once standing during the performance of your country's anthem is now a demonstration of neglect. But before this gesture has never been controversial and was a sign of education. Personally, I try to stand up to the hymns of other countries, not only mine, as a sign of respect, whether it be international competitions or ordinary sports events.

I am from the UK, and we do not sing our anthem so often. Of course, at the royal events (after all, it is dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen), before the matches of the England team, at the final of the FA Cup in football and so on. In general, everything is limited to this. However, in the US, the anthem sounds very often. The "Star-Spangled Banner" is performed literally before every sporting event - from minor (baseball. - RT ) league matches to professional championships.

And I always liked it. Previously, the anthem always seemed to be something very unifying - before, say, a bunch of healthy men begin to knock out each other's spirit in the NFL match. And even though the American anthem literally says about how the Yankees piled on ours during the 1812 war, I always got up and respectfully took off my headdress before the words “Oh , say, you see ... "

But with the resumption of the National Women's Football League (NWSL) this weekend, almost all the players decided to drop one knee during the performance of the national anthem, and not stand at attention.

To kneel before the start of the game, as well as to place the slogan “The life of black people” on club shirts, they began following the adoption of such a decision by many European football leagues, including the English one. The irony of the situation when a handful of millionaires kneels in an empty stadium in solidarity with the frankly Marxist movement has clearly eluded the attention of the American League, but we are here to talk about something else.

The difference is that at the matches of European football leagues national anthems are not performed. Before the games of the English Premier League, for reasons known only to the league itself, some kind of electronic absurdity sounds. The Champions League anthem is a variation of the Zadok the Priest, but the national anthems at its matches are not performed. This is probably due to the international composition of clubs in different countries. The only exception in the UK is the FA Cup Final, before which “God Save the Queen” sounds.

However, in America, the national anthem is played before every game in all leagues. It was in the United States that it was customary to kneel - since the former San Francisco Fortiners quarterback Colin Kapernik started doing it shortly after his withdrawal from the starting line-up of the team in 2016 (you can see the connection here, but not for me to comment on this). And now, kneeling during the anthem at a sports match is not an out of the ordinary gesture, but the norm. At least that was the case at the time of the resumption of the American Women's League last weekend.

Almost before all matches, all players kneeled. This practice was so widespread that the greatest attention was attracted by those who decided to stay standing during the performance of the national anthem. While the “Star-Spangled Banner” sounded, all the Chicago Red Stars, Washington Spirit, and North Carolina Carrage players stood. Football players of both the listed teams and the rest were dressed in uniform with all the relying attributes and symbols of the movement “The life of black people matters”. They wore black t-shirts and bandages on their hands. Moreover, at the moment when it was necessary to pay respect to the “victims of racial injustice”, they all kneeled down. Despite this, their critics considered that they showed insufficient respect.

How did it turn out that before standing during the performance of the anthem was considered completely normal, but now it looks like neglect? Is the world so drawn into a maelstrom of retribution and social justice that any reminders of the old order should be denied? Is it really more important to kneel in solidarity with the movement “The life of black people” than to show respect when they play the national anthem?

There were many slanderous statements regarding the motivation of the girls who decided to listen to the anthem while standing. Most of them expressed crazy suggestions: supposedly these girls are supporters of the superiority of the white race. One of the athletes was called a “dumb white bitch”, and one of these critics kindly distributed a list with the names “bitch that remained standing.”

Some supporters of these athletes, often with equally scarce information, showered them with praise using the words "brave" and "patriots."

It is characteristic of both sides that the coverage of the athletes ’performance itself cannot be compared with how their decision is presented to kneel or stay standing. In most cases, no one even tried to find out the names of the athletes or the names of their teams.

Probably, similar protests will be observed in more popular sports in America: American football, baseball, basketball, hockey and so on. I wonder how unanimously the players will kneel when the stands again begin to fill with spectators? Will athletes stand on one knee when the fans return?

Of course, one cannot say for sure yet, but the current situation only emphasizes that in the conditions of such a combination of protests of the movement “The Life of Black People Matters” and quarantine, media attention is paid only to the most extreme manifestations of both the first and second. You can hardly find out what the average fan thinks about kneeling during the performance of the anthem. If since then, when this topic was relevant last time (in the case of American football player Colin Kapernik), the opinion of society has not changed, then we can safely assume that the majority does not support knee worship.

It should be noted that one of the women who stood under the anthem, the reserve goalkeeper of the club North Carolina Karidzh Samantha Leshnak Murphy, is the daughter of a veteran. I dare to suggest that she respects the anthem and flag precisely for this reason, and not because of some latent racism. Especially considering that the priest she turned to for the ceremony of her own marriage was dark-skinned.

A true patriot. pic.twitter.com/Do3ubw3pV6

dis game ... i cant even enjoy it ... thank you rachel hill, shoulda stayed in the lockers pic.twitter.com/OUQ21sXmkI

Discussions about the motives also touched another woman - Rachel Hill, the only Chicago Red Stars footballer to listen to the standing anthem. Nearby was the dark-skinned Casey Short - during the manifestation of solidarity of her teammate, emotions so overwhelmed that she burst into tears.

Looking For A Frame With A Crying Short And A Standing Hill By Yahoo! Sports asks: “Hill specifically asked to put her next to Short, because she knew that she would not kneel, but wanted to put her hand on her shoulder as a sign of some support? Should White not show solidarity regardless of his own feelings, because to a large extent the whole current situation in America is connected with the inability to see anyone other than himself? ”

Or maybe she just loves America and does what the whole country did before a month ago when people suddenly decided that it was right to do otherwise? And if you said that Kapernik, at the sounds of the anthem, has the right to stand on one knee, cannot Hill deny the right to listen to him standing up?

In the modern world, everything is politicized. Cinema, cartoons, music, sculptures, television series and even sports are now literally saturated with political conditions. Previously, they attracted people who want to escape from everyday life, and not get new notations about how terrible the world is. Where is the limit? What new resonant theme will subjugate everything around? Will the opportunity to watch sports come back to us simply for the sake of sports - without having to see the next front of the cultural war everywhere?

The “Star-Spangled Banner” is a hymn to freedom and the American ideal. And from activists who claim that they want to make America better, of course, you expect a desire to consolidate this song for yourself, and not to renounce it. Or do they not want the United States to be "a country of the free and homeland of the brave"?

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.