Neil's insight and observations on the recent race protests across the country, which he posted on his Facebook page, are being reposted here with his permission. I couldn't trust nor respect him more if he was my real father.
In his first post, he looked back to the Summer Olympics of 1968, a tumultuous year in U.S. history, and reflected on a significant expression of the black community's protest for rights on the awards platform in Mexico City and its relation to the kneeling protests of NFL athletes during the national anthem.
In the 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics, when black American
runners (Tommie) Smith and (John) Carlos won gold and bronze medals for the 200-meter running
event, they stood on the podium, heads bowed down but black-gloved fists in the
air.
They were later removed and banned from the Olympic Village.
These
athletes wanted to transcend the standards of the Olympics to help bring
awareness of human suffering and inequality to the forefront. It appears that
as a nation we are really slow learners. Colin Kaepernick kneels at a football
game during the national anthem and the nation goes berserk. What a horrible
person he is. But throughout these protests did anyone ask???? why are these
people upset, why are they protesting???? Oh, you shouldn't protest at these
special events ... I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO.
Neil is spot on here. And Smith, who declared the raised fist a "human rights" declaration, was removed from the U.S. Olympic Team, along with Carlos, after the IOC deemed their act a political statement, expressly banned by its charter.
What better and more-visible platform were they going to have than the medal-winning platform at the Olympic Games? As a kicker, Australian Peter Norman, the silver-medal winner, also wore a human-rights badge on his jacket at the platform, although he did not raise a fist in the air. He was a noted sympathizer to the cause for which Smith and Carlos were protesting and was so honored in Australia for such. He died of a heart attack in 2006, his legacy intact as a member of that medal podium.
But back to my friend, Neil. After reflecting so eloquently on the 1968 Olympics and its attachment to the protests of today, he wasn't done. The following was his reaction to New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees' statement that kneeling is disrespectful to the flag. Brees walked it back after catching considerable flak from his teammates and other players around the league, and then caught flak from President Trump for walking back his original statement about people Trump has referred to as S.O.B's. s Neil put it...
...And my thoughts on Drew Brees and his thinking ... if I
have a thought process that I've had for a long time, solidly ingrained in my
being, it will take someone questioning me about it, discussing alternative
thinking, educating me, lifting me to new thoughts and expanding my horizons. I
believe, right or wrong, that Drew is being educated by this experience, for
the better, being made to see the light and that he honestly is a changed and
more-enlightened individual.
No argument here. Brees has apologized profusely for his original comments, even by league-leading wide receiver teammate Michael Thomas, his favorite target - for his passes, not his comments.
Again, Neil is spot on here and has refreshingly reminded Trump that the discussion is not about the flag but rather the rights it represents - liberty and justice for all - as it says in the Pledge of Allegiance. Brees has indeed learned his lesson. It will be interesting though, in my opinion, to see the greeting he gets when the Saints report for training camp, assuming we have an NFL season.
Again, as a kicker, three years after the fact, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has publicly apologized on behalf of the league for not recognizing its players' rights to protest and speak freely on the black-rights movement that has exploded now because of George Floyd's death. Goodell was careful though in his apology and in his presenting of "free-speech rights" to the league's players not to mention the name of Colin Kaepernick, the Super Bowl quarterback who has been blackballed ever since for kneeling while Nike stood by him anyway and Sports Illustrated named him its Sportsman of the Year.
Drew Brees, as Neil so pointedly noted, has learned that lesson, has put that in his pipe.
And smoked it.
Donald Trump never has. Never will. He's still ignorantly glancing into the sun during eclipses.
Good night, Mrs. Calabash. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson. More on Sunday night on my Radio Free Phoenix rock 'n' roll show.
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