I’ll get WOKE again, right after the Superbowl
I rarely sit down to write
posts that are going to draw criticism from my friends but I find myself
perplexed on this morning. As I’ve
scrolled through my FB feed, I am wondering about all the people who stepped
out to boycott the NFL this year. I’m
not thinking about those folks who could never stand football or sports (plenty
of my friends are in that camp). And, I’m
not particularly troubled to understand those who were clear from the get go
that nothing – no CTE findings from autopsies and no ‘take the knee’ movement led
by Colin Kaepernick – nothing was going to stop them from watching one second
of football. Those folks, I get.
The people that I am having trouble
understanding this morning are the ones who’ve enjoyed watching NFL games and even
had a favorite team and were so moved as to declare, “I’m out this season.” I’m
focused today on those football fans who decided to sacrifice their love of the
game to join in making a statement – who decided to pick up their slingshot,
regardless of how little impact it was likely to have.
I want to converse with those folks who
took that stand to boycott but then shifted their stance and now, as the
Superbowl draws nigh, have gotten the nachos ready and pulled the NFL hoodie
out of the closet.
I’ve been watching with an eagle’s eye
(pun intended) as folks move from protesting the NFL to professing their love
for the whole shebang. I live in Philadelphia
Eagles’ land and have waited along with the the best of ‘em for “my Eagles” to
make it to, through and beyond the playoffs. Therefore, I’m surrounded by folks
who can help me understand this change of
heart.
I already hear some of my peeps
encouraging me to lighten up, “let folks have some fun out here, ‘cause times
are hard.” Indeed, times ARE hard. That’s exactly why I’m asking! I’m serious as a heart attack because we are in a time in this country when the
heart is under attack. I want to be
vigilant in understanding why and how we find our positions shifting. Because it’s popular? Or, because we’ll miss out on a once in a
lifetime opportunity? Because our
actions are not making a difference anyway?
Because I deserve to have a little
fun in my life? I want to pay close
attention to the story I tell myself when making the decision to give up the
fight.
As I ask these questions out to my
community, yes, I include myself in the interrogation. As my blog title demands, “Niyonu, Wake up!” I ask these question because it is hard out
here and our change of heart might mean that some of us who thought that we
were standing on a promise of solidarity are left out there fighting alone.
It’s hard these days to know where we’re
going and sometimes harder to know where we stand. There’s a strategy afoot
that is counting on this confusion. It’s
exactly why I want to notice any change in our standing – any shift in our
heart conviction. I want to know where
we stand, why we stand there and the costs to be paid by changing our heart.
Comments
Let us not be ANTI.
It is not clear what POSITIVE steps you would like people, government, institutions to begin or continue.