The protest of decency

Governor Rick Snyder’s office said it will not ask the Michigan State Police director to resign after she shared a meme on Facebook critical of NFL protests, calling protesters degenerates.

Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, the highest ranking official at the MSP, posted the following on her private Facebook account late last month:

"Dear NFL: We will not support millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our Armed Forces and Veterans. Who wins a football game has ZERO impact on our lives. Who fights for and defends our nation has every impact on our lives. We stand with the Heroes, not a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American, degenerates. Signed, We the people."

She apologized for it shortly thereafter following an outcry from those who can dish it out, but cannot take it. Said Etue, "It was a mistake to share this message on Facebook and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended."

Still, calls for her to resign were loud and clear. As state Rep. Sheldon Neeley, D-Flint, put it, "It is clear that Col. Etue does not understand the nature of the protests, nor respect the constitutional rights of citizens to peacefully protest."

But what exactly is being protested? The protests are springing from the “Black Lives Matter” movement, which was founded on a false premise. Protesters claim that Michael Brown of Ferguson, MO, was shot to death by police as he held his hands up in surrender, yelling, “Don’t shoot!” Not true. According to black witnesses who testified under oath, Brown was leaning in the open window of the police car pummeling an officer, who then shot him in self defense. Another white police officer in a separate case shot to death a black man in the back as the victim was running away. That police officer, rightly so, is in jail. Every case is different, and when a police officer does something deliberately wrong he should be dealt with to the full extent of the law. When thugs deliberately threaten the very lives of police, they should be stopped.

Yes, there is individual racism in our country, there are some bad cops, and there are jerks in general. But let’s look at the double standards here. Very financially well-off and coddled athletes want to kneel to protest non-systemic grievances, and expect support and applause in the name of freedom of speech - while men and women much less wealthy are dying to protect their freedoms. But when a police official exercises that same right on her personal social network, she is excoriated and expected to resign. When a high school coach kneels on the football field, not in protest, but in praise of God, he is fired. But to kneel in protest of false premises? That’s supposed to garner worldwide support.

It's funny how NFL athletes don't want to protest the violence against police, or the domestic violence and other deviance committed by members of the NFL themselves, or Hollywood moguls, for that matter. But maybe they think they're above actual degenerate behavior. So instead of fighting real evil, they need to find some other cause to embrace. 

Unfortunately, the only thing the anthem protesters are accomplishing is further division, and the stripping of one more piece of Americana from America, one more bit of innocent tradition, one more chance at unity. The national anthem stands for all of us and is a way for all of us to acknowledge the freedoms that few others in the world enjoy. But like the rest of the left, if it's something patriotic and decent, then it is something that should be protested.