The Legacy of the Kneelers

Written By: Charles Platt

We’re aware now that while some take a knee at sporting events, others place a knee on subdued mortals lying in the street. Thus, if you’ll grant me that objection to objectors is often justified, I’ll submit to you that frequently displeasures concerning the conduct of those closest to us, or as we’ve again learned recently, farthest from us, are often veiled, yet nonetheless usually real.
Still, Americans have the right to expect that racism and poor police tactics will never be factors when law enforcers are called upon to enforce the law. And we’re aware now that sometimes in the aftermath of racial misconduct, protests do ensue. Yet, does one honor the life of, or mourn the murder of anyone by destroying buildings and stealing goods which then society will have to pay for through rebuilding and restocking?
And a note to the plunderers is that if you have any conscience at all, may you remember and be bothered by the illegal means you employed to obtain your ill-gathered goods. And every time you use those goods may their use trouble your soul, because the horrific death in the street of a man who’d apparently committed only a minor crime was your justification for taking them.
And to those, regardless of race, who wish to live on where old racial stereotypes guide societal actions, may you always have in your mind the picture of a helpless man dying in the street. But for those who wish to defund police forces, remember that if organized law enforcement should cease to exist in any area, that area will then most likely revert back to the lawlessness and anarchy once known in many parts of what we today call The Old West.
When I was contacted by my city’s mayor George Jennifer, and asked by him to write this piece, I said “Why in the world would you want me to do it?”
He answered “Everyone else has declined to do it. Even Rashon Leyf, who’s probably our city’s most respected black resident, wants no part of it. So I’m bringing it to you.”
I responded “Well mayor, I think that by saying what we’ve already said, we’ve violated a promise I made years ago to your predecessor Ralph Hawk. I told him no one was to know (until the story was publicly published – if ever) whether or not Valerie Danns (the Parisian woman I fell in love with while doing “investigative” work in the city of light) and I had stayed together, split up, remained in Paris, or come home here to the U. S. either individually or as a couple. Unfortunately, I guess they’ll know now that I returned – but at least they’ll still not know whether Valerie came here with me.”
So, given what’s now known, I’ll say this: I’ve always been a hard working guy. And I grew up on a farm a few miles outside “the city”. But I didn’t have much use for the farm life, yet I always was good at creative pursuits, especially painting. And this artistic interest served me well when I became friends with Ralph Hawk, and became part of his effort to establish an “artistic enclave” (as he termed it) in the city.
But then I went away for four years of service in the Marine Corps. And when I returned from that, Ralph sent me to Paris for what I’ve already called “an investigative assignment”. But, as you know, I fell in love there. I fell in love with Valerie.
And when I came home from France, I found people such as myself being blamed for what I considered to be the self-inflicted woes of illegal immigrants. Had they stayed where they belonged, they’d not have encountered the problems they found here. And now, today, I’m once again being “raked across the coals”. Sure, I know that black lives matter, but what about my own life as a white male (in my opinion the most hated of all types of people now living in the U. S.)? Does my life matter – or doesn’t it?
I’m so (expletive deleted) tired of being told that I’m to blame for the plights of blacks and Hispanics. And now I can’t even watch professional football anymore. To me it’s not even a game now. It’s become a political playground where millionaires complain about the problems of minorities, while simultaneously expressing their disdain for people such as myself.
Why can’t all the citizens of this nation, regardless of race, gender, or political or sexual preference just learn to leave people alone? Why can’t they grow up?
One thing I know for certain now, is that I made a big mistake when I came back home here to the United States. I should have stayed in Paris, and become a French citizen there. And yes, I would have sought French citizenship, because I don’t ever want to be an illegal immigrant.