American athletes continue to kneel before national anthem

NRL players acting against injustice
Contributed by Jim Hayes

Donald Trump is at it again. This time it’s the escalating reaction against the continuing spread by leading athletes to kneel-down when the national anthem is being played.

Kneeling signals opposition to the political direction that the United states is taking, both domestically and internationally.

Those taking part, object to the hate message being spread and are standing up for human rights. The protest, which begun with National Football League (NFL) players and is now spreading to other sports is grabbing national attention.

Many of those involved are African Americans, whose communities are experiencing a fall in civil rights, stepped up police brutality and deepening economic hardship, has gained national attention. There is a sense that a new civil rights movement is emerging.

This is what Trump is really railing about. He accuses the kneeling protesters of being unpatriotic and loudly calls for the teams to sack them. But it this is having the opposite effect. More are taking part, instead of less and team managements are unable to prevent it, even if they want to. In general, they are supporting the players instead.

On Saturday local time, Musicians, celebrities, and world leaders congregated at Central and 60,000 people, for the Global Citizen Festival . It’s central them concerned ending extreme poverty by 2030. But government cuts, the attacks on Obama care and rights issues kept on coming up and were displayed on video screen.

Stevie wonder took the show with his bending knees to support the athletes and their message.

It is not surprising that Trump is fast losing support, even in his support base.

On many fronts, the Trump administration is starting to come apart. Signs of this are the number of replacements of top officials. Working for the White house is not a secure position these days. The cross messages backflips of the administration are on the rise, if anything.

It is the stirring within many sections of American society that is driving this. The sympathy showed for the terror attacker in Baltimore that caused the death of one woman, provided another alert that the president is sympathetic to outright racist and pro-fascist outfits that have been used as street soldiers.

Many Americans are disgusted about what is being done in their name. They too are victims of the hate politics. They want an end to it and a very different America to live in.

 

American musical legend Stevie Wonder bends his knees for America
Video from Global Citizen

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