San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler said that he is not happy with the direction of the country and he will protest after the Uvalde shooting by not taking the field for the National Anthem.
Every time I place my hand over my heart and remove my hat, I’m participating in a self congratulatory glorification of the ONLY country where these mass shootings take place. On Wednesday, I walked out onto the field, I listened to the announcement as we honored the victims in Uvalde. I bowed my head. I stood for the national anthem. Metallica riffed on City Connect guitars.
My brain said drop to a knee; my body didn’t listen. I wanted to walk back inside; instead I froze. I felt like a coward. I didn’t want to call attention to myself. I didn’t want to take away from the victims or their families. There was a baseball game, a rock band, the lights, the pageantry. I knew that thousands of people were using this game to escape the horrors of the world for just a little bit. I knew that thousands more wouldn’t understand the gesture and would take it as an offense to the military, to veterans, to themselves.
But I am not okay with the state of this country. I wish I hadn’t let my discomfort compromise my integrity. I wish that I could have demonstrated what I learned from my dad, that when you’re dissatisfied with your country, you let it be known through protest. The home of the brave should encourage this.
Kapler told reporters that he would not come out for the National Anthem:
“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country” – Gabe Kapler pic.twitter.com/J1MdlVL3XI
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 27, 2022
Kapler said that he doesn’t expect his decision to move the needle, but it is something that he feels strongly about. In other words, this was something that he felt that he had to do based on his own moral core.
Kapler is not calling attention to himself. He is just not happy with a country that allows 19 children and two teachers to be murdered and has one political party that is fine with doing nothing about it.
The massive protest outside the NRA convention was a sign that things are changing. The right is not going to be able to ride out the moment and do nothing about gun violence.
There is nothing partisan about wanting children not to be shot in school, which is why Uvalde is reverberating throughout society.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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