Quote:
Originally Posted by CBeisbol
Maybe he feels oppressed 90% of the time, or 100%, or 50%
Why on earth would you think he only feels oppressed during the anthem?
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Have you seen Colin Kaepernick's house ? I would love to be 'oppressed' if that is the result.
Already, Kaepernick's wealth made it very difficult for ordinary Americans to relate to him on ordinary day-to-day living, let alone major sociopolitical issues like race relations.
No one is saying the US has perfect race relations. As an Asian-American, I have personally experienced bigotry in America. But as I also have been to other countries, I noticed and decided that the US has made progress in race relations in ways that other countries do not, have not, and even refused to do. Whenever the Chinese government organize a public protest against Japan, usually around the annual visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to the Yasukuni Shrine, race is used by the Chinese government as a motivating factor. In Japan, there is an unspoken agreement that the Yamato race is the superior Asiatic stock.
No, I am not saying that racial bigotry in other countries somehow make more palatable the racial bigotry in the US.
But I am saying that the progress the US made in race relations made the US the more attractive destination for anyone of any race and ethnicity. In the same vein, it is hard to swallow the claim that there is still systematic racial oppression towards blacks in the US.
There are three ways a country can be racist:
- By custom,
- By law,
- And by both custom and law.
Apartheid South Africa and pre Civil War US was the last item.
Today, if there is any racism in the US -- and there are -- it is by custom.
You can nullify a law or remove it completely from enforcement and you can do it literally overnight. But you cannot undo a lifetime of psychological conditioning. For this, you need generational changes.
I will simplify it for you...
- Your grandfather insists that blacks use separate drinking fountains and sits at the back of the bus.
- Your father concede that blacks can sit anywhere on the bus but still must use their own drinking fountains.
- You ???
It is
YOUR mission today to either progress from your father's position or regress towards where your grandfather was. Ask blacks living in China or blacks in Africa working for the Chinese on how they are viewed by the Chinese. And it is not positive.
So when Americans
TWICE elected a black president and when blacks are often admired in venues like sports, entertainment, and business, it is difficult to accept Colin Kaepernick's claim that he, representative of blacks, is somehow 'oppressed'.
By the way, athletes at the professional level are very much businessmen. It does not matter if they are businessmen by their own acumen or by advice from a squadron of attorneys. They are successful businessmen promoting their own selves and brands.
So yes, it is very difficult for ordinary Americans who saves and scrimps to pay at least a couple hundreds dollars per game to see racial oppression as interpreted by celebrity black athletes who often hold lavish parties, drives expensive cars, dates beautiful women of all races/ethnicities, and travels in first class.
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