Check Why You Support Who You Support
Where is the line drawn? Have we as a nation gone too far, or is this just the beginning of a movement in which we are supposed to partake in, a trend that has members protesting in the streets across America, causing $600 million in property damage, 14,000 arrests, 900- police casualties, and dozens of deaths. Before we dive into the political side of things, I want to state that in no way am I saying that black lives don’t matter. It’s idiotic to think this. I am saying the organization itself is not what they say they are; that the people who march down the streets holding “BLM” signs don’t know precisely what they are saying, what they could be saying.
First, let’s dive into some inconvenient facts. The Black Lives Matter movement states, “We are committed to collectively, lovingly and courageously working vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people. As we forge our path, we intentionally build and nurture a beloved community that is bonded together through a beautiful struggle that is restorative, not depleting.”
Webster defines freedom as “the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” by this definition and with the common knowledge of the 13th amendment that abolished slavery in the United States and provides that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”; Moreover, the 15th amendment gave “all citizens no matter their race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” the right to vote; shortly thereafter, the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote, We can now conclude that constitutionally all men (and women) are created equal, and we share the same freedoms.
As for justice, in 2018, 69.0 percent of all individuals arrested were White, 27.4 percent were Black or African American, and 3.6 percent were of other races.[i] Now many black lives matter supporters claim that police are systemically racist. There is no data out there that supports this; in fact, there is significant counter data. View the data here.[ii]
By only diving into the freedom and justice part of what BLM claims we can start to conclude that they are operating out of false data. However, they are still using their organization to move their political belief system on the gullible American population employing “normal” activities that Americans partake in.
The NFL started their 2020 season this year by playing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, the proclaimed “black national anthem”. To call it a black national anthem suggests that there is a black nation that is separate from the United States. This is simply not true. There is not a different “anthem” for every race in America. To say this song is important to the black population, all the power to you. We have one national anthem that is what makes us one united American Nation.
The Chiefs started on the field and the Texans elected to stay in their locker room during this time. The National Anthem played next(after the “black national anthem”), followed by players from both teams standing arm in arm to show unity and community.
By having this as their opening game ceremony it is clear where the NFL stands on the matter. The announcer of the football game, after saying his seemly scripted speech about BLM said, “Now that that’s over, let’s call some football”. “People”, whoever that is, were not happy about this statement.
Ironically, in 2017 the NFL denied the Cowboys from having an “arm in arm” decal to show support for their local police. The decal consisted of a star with a black circle around it. The star “represents the police and the Cowboys players.” The circle around the decal represents “community and unity”.[iii] In an almost identical request in 2020, the Broncos requested to have decals on their helmets such as “George Floyd”, “Black Lives Matter” and, “Stop Hate”.[iv] This request was hastily granted by the NFL. Jurrell Cassey, a defensive tackle for the Broncos, had this to say about the request being granted: “We support all kinds of causes in the NFL. We do the Salute [to Service] week (to honor the military). We do the breast cancer week. We do a raise awareness week. It’s something that we already do in the NFL, which is great. They allow us to voice our opinions, voice our feelings out there. This extra step now this year with us being able to wear decals, it’s just another step in the right direction to make sure we influence change inside this world.”[v]
Drawing from history, the NFL supports causes that draw attention; they go with the flow and support what is culturally relevant, or at least what is being shown to us as culturally relevant. The media is using cultural institutions as a means to push a political agenda.
When you turn on a football game you traditionally watch a football game, instead, now you are watching a social justice messaging that is showing you a belief system. When you now watch an Oscar Nominated film the same effect is happening. As of 2021 to be even considered for an Oscar you need to have “at least one of the lead actors or significant supporting actors from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group[vi]; the list consists of every race except white. Which sounds like discrimination, but I digress.
Another requirement to be considered for an Oscar is that “At least 30% of all actors in secondary and more minor roles are from at least two of the following underrepresented groups” you can see the list yourself here[1]. To simplify the list, it lists all combinations of “acceptable” lifestyles except a straight white male. The third requirement to be considered is that the story must be centered around the same list. There are other requirements that have to deal with the crew of the production, as well as internships for certain underrepresented groups.
The business of media, sports, and film is actively pressing you to believe their belief system.
Before you watch something think. Who are you supporting while you watch this? Yes, watching a football game, relaxing with family, good food on the table with everyone’s gaze focused on the football game is entertaining and certainly fun but, is what you are watching something you want your gaze fixed on, are you watching a football game, or are you being deceived into a belief system?
-Matthew Suhr
[1] https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-establishes-representation-and-inclusion-standards-oscarsr-eligibility
[i] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/tables/table-43/table-43-overview.pdf
[ii] https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NjOPnZf9EwrzWzxy4Ag9yc4iTfc2ZWPPm71lcgP1RVE/edit?usp=sharing
[iii] https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cowboys-honor-dallas-police-with-helmet-decal-walk-arm-in-arm-onto-practice-field/d
[iv] https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-select-names-messages-helmet-decals-social-justice
[v] https://www.denverbroncos.com/news/broncos-select-names-messages-helmet-decals-social-justice
[vi] https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-establishes-representation-and-inclusion-standards-oscarsr-eligibility
