Kaepernick: Miss me with that

PSA

I see folk complaining about Colin Kaepernick's actions. Let me be real clear: polite protest ain't win nothing for the Negro (or any person of color) in this country yet. Look at how the Native Americans are still fighting to have the land respected. Today. Right this minute. Cuz 500 years of begging ain't quite enough. And look at how many of us sit quietly by, drinking the clean water that their actions are seeking to protect WHILE DOING NOT A DAMB THING IN SUPPORT OF THEM. We are, as usual, quite content to drink the clean water; celebrate the Civil Rights Act and the Marriage Equality laws but to actually get up off our duffs and DO? To put anything, never mind everything, on the line to secure those rights? Hell naw! But we want to tell Kaepernick that he's disrespectful? Yeah, miss me with that.

Until people of all colors start offending sensibilities, ain't nothing gonna change. White supremacy is quite content to steal your land, your labor, your woman, your man, your children, your life and expect you to clean up the blood and guts they leave behind. It has ever been thus. Y'all can miss me with the "That's so disrespectful" BS. Miss me with that entirely.

Nothing changes until enough enraged people stand up and say "No more!". Kaepernick sat down to stand up for what he believed in. Martin, Bayard Rustin et al, did the same. Rosa sat to stand up for what she believed. Men and women walked miles during the Montgomery Bus Boycott for what they believed. Folk sat at lunch counters to stand up for what they believed. Thousands marched on Washington for what they believed. And now you wanna tell me about respect? Look! Miss me with the whole respect thing. 

When Black men wore suits and Black women wore gloves and stockings, the dogs were still set upon them. Respect? It is well past time for this 'respect' business to become a two way street. We have been respecting and respecting and "Yessir"-ing and "No ma'am"-ing forever. The way I see it, as soon as I see some of that respect traffic rolling in my general direction, we can return to a system based on mutual respect but the whole, "I respect you and you piss on me and tell me it's rain"? Nuh uh! When y'all ready to bring the respect train, I'm ready. Until then, I'm sitting so I can stand. 

As you were.