Post Anthem

I'm going to pushback in a way that won't be popular because as a contributor to politically correct narratives, every now & then it makes sense to be incorrect because the sense of genuine understanding & commitment gets lost. Essentially in the Colin Kaepernick, bait & switch, response every Red Blooded American assumes that racial inequality is a myth and that no one who doesn't live in poverty should come to the aid of people who do. One of the narratives that so called progressive thinkers are using is that Racism is going mainstream. I whole heartedly disagree with that notion because racism has always been mainstream to anyone not white. You see in order to understand bigotry, sometimes you are an innocent bystander. I've never been exposed to overt racism because I stick within the confines of minority population. I have taken it for granted that I can count on people of color to do and say or just simply be the way I expect them. It's when I have to get out of my comfort zone and thrive in environments that aren't usually my typical places of preference or circumstances of choosing that I feel the most racism. Let's use for example the travel industry. I work in the finance industry, so during certain times of the year I have to travel to gathering which are definitely not my cup of tea. I see many people on these trips and most of them are white people. I don't know what it is about airports or cities, but essentially they are dominated by non-minorities that's if you don't count the people working there. Occasionally they're one or two minorities in the Captains seat of the plane or on the flight crew, but all the major positions are Caucasian/Anglo Saxon whatever moniker you prefer. How does this relate to my claim that racism is mainstream? Well to confess, even I'm prejudiced in my thinking about things when it comes to traveling. I go to an airport way before the sun rises and I expect a line of people at the security checkpoint because white people are punctual. In a sea of white faces, I make sure the stewardess or steward makes eye contact with me, so I will get special treatment in the no backlash department because you know us minorities really know how to even the scales. Were on the look-out for racism and in many situations, we expect it. No matter how politically incorrect that sounds, it's true. White folks don't have to mentally locate identification and other critical documents in their mind when being stopped by police. When you walk into a convenience store and see what could be more or less a person of suspect behavior, you immediately make eye contact with them as to say, "Look whatever is going to go down, let me out of here." Minorities know these unspoken communications. I even wait sometimes in large crowds to walk behind the rich uppity white ladies because if someone's going to get victimized, it's not going to be me. That sounds pretty awful. I know it does, but it's because of the "Privileged," assumption I can count on certain things to be true. Recently, I was walking in an affluent neighborhood of a city where I didn't expect danger. The friend I was with was familiar with the area and as we walked they stopped and asked a young man behind me, "What do you want?" It took me by surprise because I was aware that people were walking behind me, but had no idea I was a target for theft. It was in the moment of realization that it occurred to me that my prejudice about safety and the appearance of the area was incorrect. Now I can admit I have lapses in judgment because I wasn't from the city. My point is that in a rich society where we see dominant culture and yes that means non-minority & upscale professionalism, there are people like me who walk the fine line between being mistaken for a minority or mistaken for a white person and I suit all the roles as a matter of upbringing. Now this is where Colin Kaepernick fits in except he has the added privilege of being rich, successful and easily identified. So going against most all sensible judgment he decided to take a stand against racism by not standing for the National Anthem. My personal opinion is of course that he has the right to do that, but I'm also inspired by his sentiment because He knows or at least I assume he is aware of how this will get under the skin of all so-called patriots. What we're getting at is the fact that no matter if your acting to make a point or your taking advantage of a circumstance for your own gain, all that is going to result is outrage. We live in a time where super sensitivity is outwardly projected. Minorities are now viewed as instigators in all situations because of the notion that racism doesn't exist because we elected a black president. Biggest assumption of them all is that America has had eight years of holding it's hatred & vitriol and it's showing more now than ever. Now I called it an assumption because I'm not a professor of minority/race relations, but I've observed this false equivalency that somehow minorities are responsible for their own mistreatment and it's time to move on from this subject. We can only move on from it if it discontinues if it stops. As much as the progressives want to put it behind them and claim racism is coming out of the closet, it's never been in hiding for minorities. Maybe somewhere in social class & status, peers have managed to disguise their revolt for tolerance, but the core of conservatism has always been resist diversity. I'm not blatantly claiming Democrats haven't always been ideal Liberalists or a progressive movement. The term Dixie-crat alone establishes the origins of the Democratic party, but somewhere they were able to become the union supporters and the champions for all ethnic groups. We can debate how and when, but the faces at the DNC this year said it all while the RNC gathering appeared to be a combination of White Nationalism, Fascism & Capitalism all rolled up into one big display of doom & gloom in America. The core of our democracy is not centered on the shared values we have in common, but has been purposely divided to be a contrast of possession of this countries values. Thus we get shouted down for being offended by disproportionate favor in today's society. Referendum on amnesty and affirmative action are mainstream ideas that even the liberals have failed to defend, so now that were at the pinnacle of the failure to enforce truth, we've resorted to debating falsehoods as legitimate concerns. Every single thing the opposing voice in America has said is that this nation is not great and our military is weak. We've been told that our current economic times are catastrophic and that is in complete factual opposition to the truth. It doesn't matter anymore what facts indicate, as long as you can get enough people onboard with your claim. The mouthpiece media of these subjects have moved the goal posts so many times there literally is no common ground anymore. Liberal representatives have yielded all collective progress accomplishments to take up space in what is now a nineties conservative value system. We use to be against Wall Street and Financial conglomerates. Now we speak to them directly for donations in favor for their agenda. This is why Bernie Sanders was able to rise as a third party candidate, but the minute he registered as a Democrat the contest was over and he held onto his current constituency while building an outsiders profile. "Feel the Bern," groups were right to go to the convention floor and protest. That is how we get things done in America, but essentially the flood gates opened when unchecked flows of financial revenue were allowed to enter the political arena. Let's not kid ourselves about money in politics because it's always been there with loopholes concerning political finance reform. Without an audit trail of dark money we've legitimized hate speech as free speech, so to bring everything back to a point foaming at the mouth about a football player, a quarterback who is in the most violent sport, is hypocritical. It's an excuse to go after one more minority by saying he hasn't the right to exercise his belief or opinion because the granted society has not issued approval of those actions. "We want our Country Back," they say or "Were Going to build a Wall." That sounds like a gated community to me only they want it from sea to shining sea. That's just not practical and certainly isn't reasonable or based on reality. The reality is minorities and historically immigrant ethnic groups built this nation's infrastructure. Now that America doesn't make anything anymore, the poor middle class have nothing to do except look for reinforcement that their country no longer resembles a place they remember and they are longing for a return to the good old days. That's a scary thought when one considers it has taken more than a half century to get racial equality or gender bias recognition to the mainstream. Red Meat Americans say soldiers died for your right to acknowledge the Nation's Flag or it's Anthem, but the truth is they died for freedom and that also means having the right to protest American Values if you consider they aren't as just as claimed. I know I'm preaching to the choir when I write these opinion pieces. It's not because I'm afraid of what mainstream opinions will do with something near and dear to my heart which is my belief, but how could I possibly get through to anyone who only wants to see my point of view as offensive to their values? The truth is people are stuck in their ways of thinking because they're insulated enough that they don't have to appeal to anyone else. Think about it how can a billionaire from New York announce his campaign for the president of the United States without some indication that there is enough fear & panic already existing in this country to carry himself this far without ever changing his hate filled message? I'm going to turn now to a familiar line of discussion because I think it's critical to understanding this topic of Liberal and progressive values and how they have fallen short in emphasizing their own failure. We have a certain relationship with this country as its first minority group historically. Before you go, "There he goes again," hear me out on this. You have to realize my Native people weren't always a minority group, we were a majority at one time. We had economic and social values before the first signs of modern society even appeared on this earth. There is historical evidence of this yet today we are a figment of people distant past that only exists in history. Consider that I'm a minority of a minority. That means whatever the greater minority group experiences you have to break that in to fractions disproportionate of those ethnicities and then apply a minor tiny portion of equality to Native Americans. That's portion of a portion of a portion that the other ethnicities have in representation towards speaking on topics in the mainstream, so that's why I don't give up on continuing to write about disparity or equal justice. One day, sometime a Native American will write and in doing so they will search and look back in time to find reference for a subject from a indigenous point of view and they will find this and many other writings like it because I left it here just like our ancestors left us our language and traditions. So it doesn't matter to me if anyone is swayed by these topics or discussions. All I want is for people to know we were here and we never gave up fighting. We fight for all rights of all peoples because unless you have had your ancestors wiped out to the point of extinction, you don't know what annihilation is. It's not just historical trauma and a half a millennia of genocide. We still go through systematic and institutional racism today. Right now my people are in North Dakota fighting a pipeline installment on sacred & historical lands. In greater society people mention that Native Americans claim everywhere is sacred & historical, but to us it is because we have nothing left but our sacred lands. All areas have been devastated by this nations manifest destiny. Our Elders fought in wars for America and even devised a secret code to win a World War. So if our people can thrive amongst genocide and mass attacks on our culture for the sake of profit and decimation, why can't a non-native, non-Caucasian sit in protest instead of stand? Why can't a descendant of slaves with mixed racial blood lines and a future of prosperity recognize and injustice and make a point of bringing attention to it. That's the point I'm trying to make. If we can recognize a member of another minority who has no personal ties to our movement and our goals has in fact made a statement that we support and are committed to seeing through to the end, than why can't all people recognize "What is Right is Right and it's not always White." There are all colors represented in the rainbow and there are all nations watching America right now to see if we really have overcome our original sin of colonialism and were fighting to say, "Yes we can." We've never stopped fighting these injustices. They never went dormant at anytime for us, so if the Liberals want to say racism is now in the mainstream, we will simply disagree with them and point out that it's always been in the mainstream in our experience it's just that they're finally starting to open their eyes. It's not an us against them world in our experience. It's all of us trying to right a wrong and stop perpetuating myths and misunderstanding about any man, women or child's dignity here on earth. We were born equal, we live and we die just like everyone else, so who's to say what is the right way to protest or the wrong way? We're not saying racists speech is un-American, were saying it's inhuman. Nobody should be persecuted for being different.