The mistake I made was posting yesterday right after the Steeler game (and a few beers), so I came out quite a bit more ranty than I hoped. That said, I'll respond anyway (a little calmer, I hope):
Humperdink wrote:Allow me to address some other demagogic statements you proffered:
"The fact that you now think this was about the military is on you."
Interestingly, members of the military seem to disagree with you. I have not seen any surveys, but I suspect it's by a wide margin.
This is supposition. I'm sure there are military members that feel this way, but I've spoken to a few that don't (which is also an anecdote on my part). I don't think it's safe to conclude on a message board whether all service people feel one way or the other.
"As a side note, the anthem and the flag are not the property, physical or spiritual, of the military. Full stop"
The phrase "full stop" was a nice touch, but I have not seen or read that anyone thinks the anthem and flag are the property of the military.
Somebody said earlier in this very thread:
The national anthem is obviously and inexorably tied to the military.
I am only disputing that statement. Obviously military folk will have a strong attachment to those symbols, and I have no problem with that. That said, the flag and anthem belong to all Americans, not exclusively the military. That's all I'm saying. If you feel that one of them is being disrespected by an athlete, that is still not an attack on the military (unless the protester wanted to make it about the military, in which case I couldn't really disagree).
"Am I less of a citizen because I wasn't in the military? I think not."
Is this your argument???? I did not suggest that. Demagoguery at it's finest.
I think I just got on a roll there.
