There are still ways around it. Maybe crossing fingers as an act of oath violation, like Tony Banks did when swearing allegiance to the Queen? It also has plausible deniability, if questioned about it just say you were wishing the team luck.
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Then what’s the point? If it’s not a public act of protest you might as well just stand there.
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Ideally you don’t want the plausible deniability, but I don’t trust that political repression in the US won’t go further than it already is.
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Oh, I think it’s quite far enough along already.
But if your protest is intended to slip under the radar and not be noticed, isn’t it just self-indulgence?
I don’t think it’s possible to combine protest with trying to do so in a way that won’t attract censure from the authorities.
I certainly don’t think Lord Stratford (also Tony Banks for non-UKers) is a particularly good example. Great MP in many ways (he was my MP for a few years) but hardly a shining example of republican protest.
Crossing your fingers to take the oath of allegiance is basically a stunt to ensure you get to say you kept to your principles while not actually doing so. It’s not an act of protest.
Sinn Féin object to swearing the oath of allegiance - and don’t take their seats. That’s a protest.
Taken from his last book “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” (1967)
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We’ll continue to be divided as long as people pretend that the problem of race in America somehow isn’t THEIR problem to help solve.
And note that not all veterans agree with you on this, especially the many black vets who served their country with honor and pride, then came home to their friends and family still being shot by the cops. Don’t you think that they feel disrespected when they serve and come home to the continuation of structural racism and millions of Americans denying the problem at all?
Patriotism doesn’t need to be empty gestures and blind adherence to ritual. It can also be pushing to have our country actually live up to our high ideals - something we’ve rarely done. Being critical because black people suffer disproportionately in our “justice” system doesn’t mean that people don’t love their country. Let’s not forget the wise words of James Baldwin in our rush to condemn people protesting kids getting shot for no reason…
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I hope every single player takes a knee. Can’t play a season without players.
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A different approach to football:
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