How the NFL #takeaknee protest is highlighting divide in the U.S.

In the last few weeks I've made some observations that I believe need to be better understood by many people in this country.  The #takeaknee protests which were arguable started by Colin Kapernick last year have be spreading in large part thanks to the progress made by BLM (Black Lives Matter).  The NFL has tried to show unity by supporting their mission, but have now upset a large part of their main fan base by doing so.  This is unfortunate because it goes to show just how ignorant much of it's fan base really is.

Now in the past I have not been a strong supporter of BLM and am still not a huge fan and here's why. At the heart of BLM is a sound message and philosophy however their practises, techniques and leadership are deeply flawed.  The group unfortunately chose to throw support around the situation involving the death of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown, and a few others with questionable character.  If instead the group would have focused on Philando Castille and Tamir Rice and deaths which could have and should have been avoided, I think the group would have much better luck at gaining firm traction.  In addition the practice of marching and stopping heavy traffic has done nothing but riled people up and polarized them against their efforts.

Now for those observations I mentioned;

The protest is against the idea of police brutality and injustice.  This is a good concept, but at the heart of the protest is a focus on "the black statistics", which polarize and divide people.  It becomes a whole other argument to many because there is so much information available showing that black on black violence is way up.  Also, is the fact that Police and black violence is slightly down.  What people then avoid looking at is that police brutality and injustice doesn't just effect black people.  It effects everyone.  Now of course, you're treading on that "thin blue line".  How dare you!, right?  Many people simply are incapable of wrapping their mind around the idea that Police Officers are not gods.  They make mistakes and do horrible things sometimes.  The "bad apples" need to be dealt with swiftly and definitively, but what ends up happening much of the time, is they get away with it, because Cops are hero's.  To this day, some idiotic people still believe Philando Castille deserved to die, simply because they choose to believe a false story, that he might have been reaching for a gun.

People all around the country got really upset with NFL players for taking a knee during their special music (aka National Anthem) which plays while displaying their magic cloth (aka U.S. Flag).  I don't mean to disrespect our flag, and by the way calling it "magic cloth" is my right.  Our Soldiers fought and died so I could call it that, so don't be mad, OK.  People don't understand or get that there is nothing disrespectful to the flag by taking a knee and the act of taking said knee has nothing to do with the flag.  The act was meant as nothing more than a gesture of support to the protest.  It does technically go against Code, or rather etiquette while playing the "National Anthem", but, that code is just that, it's etiquette and has absolutely no punishable action associated with it.  And this is where it gets complicated.  The NFL players were caught between a rock and hard place from the very moment they decided to protest.  It would not have mattered if they took a knee, locked arms, sat down, or didn't show at all (like they used to prior to 2009 By the way), anything they did would have been construed as insulting or interrupting the special music or the magic cloth, so there was no way to participate that would have made the flag wavers and U S A!!! chanters happy.

Never in my life have I ever believed in the idea of "white privilege", until now.  For the first time I think I am beginning to understand how it possibly works.  So many middle and upper class white people who cannot even see the problem, they have no other recourse than to assume these NFL players are protesting the flag or the anthem or our nation or the troops.  They can't believe that police ever do anything wrong, because after all, they are hero's in blue who "Serve and Protect".  Every news story featuring a shooting or crime must be "their fault", right?  I mean that's how all the cop shows and movies always portray it.  They don't know anyone who has ever really been in trouble with the law so they have no context which to apply any knowledge or experience.  All they know is that people follow the law and everything is OK, if you don't follow the law, then that must be when bad things happen.  They never even stop to consider whether said law is just, or evenly applied, they simply look at it as a matter of black and white, white no shades of grey at all.  Follow the law, your a good guy don't follow the law, your a bad guy, that simple.  

Let me tell you.  It is a completely different world on the lower end of the income ladder.  Black or white, Brown or whatever it doesn't matter.  Low income people have a totally different point of view because they are the ones who get to deal with most of the B.S. and many of those people are coincidentally people of color and mixed ethnic backgrounds.  Let me tell you, if you're ever caught in one of those legal grey areas, being able to flex privilege, makes all the difference in the world.  How else can you explain that almost 40% of the prison population is black even though blacks only make up 12% of our population?  Back in 1980 more young black people were enrolled in college than were in prison but not anymore.  More young blacks are incarcerated than are enrolled in higher education. Let that sink in for a few minutes...      

Lastly, these protests have nothing to do with Islam.  I cannot even count how many times I've heard that these protests are a result of Islams attacks on Christianity and "their" America.  If you believe this, there is simply no hope for you.           

So, basically this whole protest helps to highlight the divide in our nation between people who understand the oppression which exists and those who are so hopelessly enslaved that they actually believe they're free.