Recently, quite a number of famous sports players have decided to "Take a Knee" towards the flag, instead of standing to salute it. The idea of taking a knee as a sign of respect was originally used when football players were injured during the game. In order to ensure fair play, as well as to show respect for their injured teammate or opponent, all the players would get on one knee until play was resumed. Recently, a foot ball player named Colin Kaepernick began to "Take A Knee" as a protest agianst racism and social inequality, and now many famous people have taken it up. This has not met with unanimous support from all quarters, including President Trump. Although this is a truly peaceful protest in accordance with the Bill of Rights, the article "The Choice Between Kneeling and Winning" from the New York Times says that this is not the best way to protest. I would recommend that everyone reading this take a moment to read the article. Having done that, I would like to start by saying that I do not agree with the writer that a better way to protest can be found. According to the Bill of Rights, peaceful protest of the people for a redress of grievances is lawful, and even recommended in some cases. Also, there is a law that says that you must stand for the flag, but there is also a law that says that you may not wear any materials in the pattern of the American flag. However, if you look around on the 4th of July, you will see any number of shirts, ties, and hair ornaments with the pattern of the American Flag. This is not to say that breaking the law is acceptable, but that in this case it is more a question of respect. If it is acceptable to wear the pattern of the American flag as undergarments, is it more irreverent to kneel to it as a form of protest to show awareness to the vice in the world and a wish to show others?
We are told that we live in a "feminist" society. We are told that the average woman gets the same job opportunities as the average man and are given the same respect and the same rights. We are told that there is no discrimination based on gender, and that if there is, it will be dealt with in an appropriate fashion. Yeah, right. The truth is, we don't live in a society where women are treated as equals. We live in a society where is it considered normal and acceptable for a man to grope a woman at will, and not have to face consequences. For example, BBC did a story on a soldier in the US army who was groped by former comedian and current Senator, Al Franken. According to her, she was on duty in Kuwait when the man came and groped her while giving her a hug. This is not the first time he has done this to a woman, and he is finally facing accusations after at least five accusations of the same kind. Me, Too is a phrase that has taken on new meaning recently. I have not n...
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