Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/08/31/kareem-abdul-jabbar-explains-p.html
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Yep, asking questions of the status quo is how your country came about when you boil it down, so it has always struck me as stupid for people to question the patriotism of people who do so…
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explains patriotism
I very much enjoyed this, many thanks again to our dear BB!
‘Patriotism, n: Combustible rubbish ready to the torch of any one ambitious to illuminate his name. In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit it is the first.’
- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary (1911)
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Kaepernick isn’t protesting because he hates America, quite the opposite. By standing up (errr. . . sitting) for the rights of a minority he is standing up for your rights too, whoever you are.
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Patriotism is shouting down hippies over a war that was going along just fine until Obama Hussein Obama surrendered right before we were about to win the War on Terror, or protesting against Big Government trying to just give people “free” healthcare insurance.
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The Intercept’s article on the anthem is worth a read, too.
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Why does he have to make a political statement? Why can’t he just beat up his girlfriend like a normal athlete?
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Should we really listen to what Abdul-Jabbar has to say, though? My dad says he didn’t work hard enough on defense, and never really tried, except during the playoffs.
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Also the uproar over perceived slights.
I assume that all these folks who didn’t put their hand over their heart got accused of not being patriotic enough.
What? only the POC wimmun?
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If they ever change the American flag, this should be it. Just a big rectangular screenprint of this image waving in the wind.
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How did the wonderful James Baldwin put it? Yep.
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Waiting for the National Review to explain why he’s wrong.
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Why can’t Kareem run for president?
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Not to say he can’t run, but I can think of a big reason for why the general public wouldn’t elect him.
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And that’s the problem!
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You beat me to it. I really picked the wrong week to five up sniffing glue.
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