If you鈥檙e a public figurehead and you share any political views, it鈥檚 safe to say you鈥檝e just thrown down a major hand in dividing your audience in these ultra-sensitive times we live in today.
NFL players may have done just that this past weekend when a number of them kneeled during the playing of the national anthem, seemingly in protest to President Donald Trump after 鈥楾he Donald鈥� made remarks calling for the firing of any players who took a knee in what he viewed as an act of disrespect to the American flag.
It all dates back to over a year ago when Colin Kaepernick of the San Franciso 49er鈥檚 kneeled during the anthem in an attempt to provoke debate about racial justice and police brutality.聽 Kaepernick is now without a team to play on, but it seems his message has had a continuous ripple effect.
I鈥檓 not a political guy in any sense, so I won鈥檛 exactly argue about whether this was the 鈥渞ight or wrong鈥� thing to do by NFL players.聽 That鈥檚 a choice they made, and just like any other person with strong convictions, they have to live with any consequences.
I will say that mixing politics with sports and/or entertainment is capable of calling for disaster, and I think this move by the NFL players involved opens the lid on that kind of discussion.
Whether I agree with what the players did is irrelevant; they鈥檙e absolutely free to do as they please.聽 That being said, I will say that I fail to see what taking a knee during an anthem *actually* accomplishes.聽 In this day and age, I feel that you need to vocalize your stance if you want to be heard.聽 It鈥檚 very easy to simply jump on the bandwagon and let your supporters shower you with praise for 鈥渢aking a stand鈥� (the irony of that phrase when players actually left their feet in this case isn鈥檛 lost on me).聽 It鈥檚 a whole other thing to make yourself stand out, share your beliefs on a platform such as social media and let the chips fall into place as they may.
This demonstration by athletes also furthers the conversation about the entertainment world鈥檚 political scope, which is by and large a mixed bag.聽 This is more my field of preference, as admittedly, I鈥檓 not a sports guy and what the NFL players did really didn鈥檛 affect me from a fan point of view.
I do feel that politics should stay out of entertainment.聽 Now let me be very clear in this point, because I鈥檓 an advocate for free speech and I wholeheartedly endorse the right of *ANYONE* to let their views be known.聽 Hate Trump or Justin Trudeau鈥檚 latest moves?聽 Write an impassioned response online.聽 Disagree with the antics of some left or right-wing corporation?聽 Organize a peaceful protest.
Where I draw the line is when political views/reactions/stances manage to seep their way into the entertainment I watch.聽 I watch television and go to the movies for that element of escapism; I鈥檓 bombarded daily with political jargon and arguments online and in the news headlines, so I count on my trusty favourite shows and movies to give me a break from all the 鈥淵ou鈥檙e wrong!聽 No, YOU鈥橰E wrong!鈥� baseless arguments that seem to make up about 98% of Facebook these days.
Use the internet or your 10 million Instagram followers to get your message across; if social media has taught us anything in the last decade, it鈥檚 that people in positions of power and influence have the instant connectivity to spread any kind of message they want, as well as instant reaction.聽 But when politics manage to make their way into any TV or movie script, all you鈥檙e doing is standing on your proverbial soapbox and preaching to approximately half of your intended audience.
In short; they鈥檙e all multimillionaire performers and athletes who are paid more than handsomely to entertain us.聽 I believe that鈥檚 exactly what they should do.
Where is that line between biting your lip and being a professional and letting your personal views seep across?聽 Perhaps it鈥檚 more blurred than ever before in this social justice era we live in, where everyone is seemingly an expert on everything and the notion of maintaining a balanced view on certain topics has gone the way of the dinosaurs 鈥� extinct.
Or maybe that line just isn鈥檛 there anymore.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
