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Jayne: National anthem controversy stirs readers’ passions

By Greg Jayne
Published: September 18, 2016, 6:01am

You get to hear from me every week. So today we turn over part of this column to a higher power — the readers.

How you got the editors job, and should you keep it after today, would be a miscarriage of justice and patriotism. … To disrespect the millions of police and military that daily sacrifice their lives to protect the freedoms we so lightly take for granted in living in the greatest democracy in the world, is just as unacceptable as your liberal endorsement of this behavior. Next time you or your family’s safety is compromised, be sure not to “call a cop,” you might be called a hypocrite.

That was one email in response to a column I wrote last week about NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and his refusal to stand for the national anthem. You might have read about Kaepernick’s silent protest; it’s been in all the papers. Anyway, the gist of the column could be found in the closing sentence: “Patriotism is more about what you do to make this country better than whether or not you stand for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’ ”

Leave it to Kolumbian and friends to use 9/11 anniversary to wipe its hooves on the American flag. Classy.

That was an email from another reader. And while I might disagree with those emails — and while some readers might have disagreed with the column — I am eternally grateful for the fact that people bothered to read the piece, think about it, and take the time to respond. Through the emails and comments at Columbian.com, there were strident opinions on both sides of the issue.

Thank you for pointing out that there are many ways to be patriotic. Unfortunately, many believe the very act of pinning a flag to their clothing makes them patriotic.

Or:

The blur of false patriotism has tried to override what rights we have. One cannot say it is your right to protest and then turn to say this is not the way to do it.

That was a comment on the website, as was this:

Hopefully this will be read by those who need to reassess their views on this issue, and look at the forest versus the trees. Let’s not forget, the national anthem, the flag, etc., they are all symbols. They represent our freedom to stand up and say anything we want without the fear of being jailed, beheaded, burned alive, thrown off buildings, etc.

There were more, many more, but you get the idea.

A pertinent discussion

And while Kaepernick’s decision to take a stand by sitting has sparked a national discussion, I still long for the day when that discussion turns to the substance of his protest rather than the style. I still long for the day when we talk about whether, as he claimed, this nation “oppresses black people and people of color.”

Many people dismiss this notion out of hand. At one point, I would have dismissed it. But let me share a story about Portland.

In 1919, the Realty Board of Portland adopted a “Code of Ethics” that forbade black people from getting loans to buy homes in “white” neighborhoods; the black community was redlined into the city’s Albina district.

That was a long time ago, but decades later, when Portland built Memorial Coliseum, it constructed the building in Albina and removed hundreds of homes and businesses; when the city decided where to put Interstate 5, it literally paved over a section of Albina and physically cut the community in two; and when Emanuel Hospital in Albina prepared for expansion, 22 blocks of homes, businesses and churches were demolished.

Black people in Portland were told they could live in only one section of the city, and then they were repeatedly displaced.

None of this, I presume, involved Colin Kaepernick’s family. None of this, I presume, involved your family.

Yet it is pertinent to the discussion at hand. Because until we can start talking about whether black people and people of color are still oppressed in this country, then declarations that someone is patriotic because they stand for the national anthem ring hollow.

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