Taking of the Knee

And they’ll go home telling all their mates about how they stuck it to Millwall fans in the name of black lives via WhatsApp on their mobile phones, meanwhile a black person is being shot in the DR Congo in a civil war over natural resources used to build mobile phones for those in the West to use to pontificate about how much black lives matter to them.

Rinse and repeat.

I’m trying to point out that the problem with moralising with a slogan such as black lives matter is that the West’s lust for consumerism actually has seriously damaging effects for black lives and black economies elsewhere in the world. I wonder how many of those players taking the knee are even aware of these problems in relation to resources like cobalt and coltan when they use their PlayStations and mobile phones? Even more reason why any ongoing campaign should be from an anti-racism in football and society message.

Don't know how many times I need to ask this, but why is a movement "being Marxist." Intrinsically bad? First of all, the movement itself is not Marxist. It is true that the founders of Black Lives Matter have said that they are "trained Marxists," however, they also said they "don't want to be seen as the vanguards of this movement." Although founders in practicality, they hardly see themselves as the leaders of such a political movement.

Secondly, I would argue that most rational people are Marxists, in some way shape or form. Let's put it this way: to be Marxist, you don't inherently have to be a communist or socialist. Now, it is true Marx did advocate for the transitionary phase to communism from capitalism through socialism, however, when you're talking about political ideologies; religious beliefs, points of view: you don't have to agree with every single point someone makes to be that a part of that ideology. Marx's critiques of capitalism were undeniably accurate, I don't think I've ever seen anyone contest that. Where people have an issue is where it comes to whether socialism/communism is a truly better ideological system; which they don't believe to be the case, perhaps due to past implementations of this' failures, but also because, at least to an extent; through things like the Red Scare and mass propaganda campaigns we as a society have been led to believe like a hivemind on that point. But there is a reason ideologies like Social Democracy exist, they don't advocate for mass revolution, violence, burning flags, pulling down statues and defacing property. They believe that capitalism is not beyond reform and with things like government nationalisation of certain branches of society (like healthcare, railways etc). And limiting the ability of big business to exploit ordinary people, that's still Marxism. It's just not as "Marxist" as someone who would advocate for the complete overthrowal of such a system.

But let's say they do advocate for the complete overthrowal of the system. You say, completely falsely, that they encourage violence, burn flags, pull down statues and deface property. It's strange to me that a fellow football fan cannot recognise that the movement itself doesn't stand or idolise or condone almost any of these things, especially encouraging violence; burning flags is a First Amendment right. But you refer specifically to the leaders when you call them Marxists, but then don't refer to the leaders in terms of other contexts. The reason this is weird is because there are many, many football fans that are racist. Yet if I accused you of being racist for simply being a football fan, that'd be absurd.

Also, the Marxist point is LITERALLY IRRELEVANT. Like completely, Martin Luther King Jr was also a profound, outspoken Marxist. He was also the leader of a political movement challenging racism in society. It's so irritating that the exact same arguments are unironically used today against such a political, social movement that were used against MLK and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. 

So yeah, stop being a and support this please. Your arguments against it are truly woeful. 

Middlesborough will not be taking the knee when they play Millwall this afternoon. They stopped doing it in September, as the players felt that it had become a token gesture, and that it was time for action not empty statements.

This decision was taken following a discussion, initiated by their captain, Britt Assombalonga. He was quoted as saying: “I’ve got a little girl, and I don’t want her to be asking, ‘Daddy, why do you keep on taking a knee?’, and then when I explain to her, she asks, ‘Well, has there been any change?’, and I have to say, ‘Well, no, actually there’s not been any change’. We didn’t take the knee today, and that’s why – because we want to see change.”

The players have been going into local schools and working with children on the subject of racial equality. Personally, I'd like to see all clubs go down this route - doing something tangible, where the outcomes can be measured.

Middlesborough will not be taking the knee when they play Millwall this afternoon. They stopped doing it in September, as the players felt that it had become a token gesture, and that it was time for action not empty statements.

This decision was taken following a discussion, initiated by their captain, Britt Assombalonga. He was quoted as saying: “I’ve got a little girl, and I don’t want her to be asking, ‘Daddy, why do you keep on taking a knee?’, and then when I explain to her, she asks, ‘Well, has there been any change?’, and I have to say, ‘Well, no, actually there’s not been any change’. We didn’t take the knee today, and that’s why – because we want to see change.”

The players have been going into local schools and working with children on the subject of racial equality. Personally, I'd like to see all clubs go down this route - doing something tangible, where the outcomes can be measured.