Last Friday, a new scandal erupted when San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick remained seated during the national anthem before a preseason game. Interviewed later, Kaepernick said it was a deliberate act of protest. And the reason for his protest that was most widely reported was about racial inequality, specifically his comment that "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
Thus, the controversy fell along familiar racial lines. Conservatives get to be outraged that someone would not be proud of their government and its symbols. After all, what could be more un-American than not showing blind loyalty to a government one finds oppressive? If only we had some kind of national precedent for protesting an unjust form of government...
Meanwhile, progressives could rejoice in the fact the issue of racial injustice was in the news and most--if football fanaticism didn't take precedent--surely supported him. However, it must have been a hollow joy. Because while it was getting attention, a significant portion of that attention amounted to a collective eye-roll.
The outcome for all concerned might have been considerably better if the media had decided to report the rest of what Kaepernick said. In fact, while concern about racism was part of the message, it was probably not the most interesting part. In particular, this is what he had to say about the presidential election--and what's notable is that his contempt was decidedly bipartisan in nature:
You have Hillary who has called black teens or black kids super predators, you have Donald Trump who’s openly racist. We have a presidential candidate who has deleted emails and done things illegally and is a presidential candidate. That doesn’t make sense to me because if that was any other person you’d be in prison. So, what is this country really standing for?One might think it would be an important news story when a black celebrity, who's in the news for political reasons anyway, decides to call out Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for being racist. But instead, the news focused on a comfortable, simpler narrative without that nuance.
Read more about Kaepernick's interview at Zero Hedge.
More US Allies Committing Atrocities
Reuters is reporting that the Shi'ite militias that the US backs in Iraq engaged in a series of atrocities after capturing Fallujah from ISIS. Fallujah was an overwhelmingly Sunni city, and the Shi'ite militias apparently tried to get revenge on many Sunni civilians. According to Reuters, the violence involved hundreds of victims and the use of both torture and execution. The exact death toll is uncertain, however, as nearly 700 people remain missing.
This story should be a reminder that, as we often say, there are no good guys in a civil war. The longer they drag on, the more brutal all parties to the conflict tend to become as more moderate and peaceful people flee or die in the cross-fire. This is also an excellent reason for the US not to intervene on any side. Any other course of action will invariably lead us to support atrocities in some form.
Read the quick summary from Antiwar.com on this story, or the full report from Reuters.
Instant Runoff Voting on the Ballot in Maine
Closing with a more optimistic story today, The Intercept is reporting that voters in the state of Maine will get the chance to vote on a election process in November. The proposal is referred to as Instant Runoff Voting, and it's nice because it effectively removes the "wasted vote" excuse for voting for a Republican or Democrat when you actually prefer someone else.
We've previously written at length on why the "wasted vote" excuse is nonsense in the first place. But since, sadly, only a small portion of Americans are regular readers of The Daily Face Palm (for now), we're delighted to see formal, structural solutions to the problem emerge.
The basic idea is that voters rank their choices of candidates, so that if their first choice can't win a majority, then perhaps their second choice will. So instead of a vote for Johnson being a vote for Trump / Clinton (depending which party is warning you), it would make formally ensure that a vote for Johnson is only, well, a vote for Johnson. That's how it should be. In practice, it sounds like the legislation will only apply to statewide elections at first not the presidency, but still it could be a big step.
Read The Intercept's full article for more on this system and the background on Maine politics. Naturally, they approach the story from an overtly progressive lens, but the content is still good. And the fact is that this system, if implemented, would likely help minority ideas of all sorts, right, left, and libertarian.
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