It’s difficult to read about Joe Kelly and the Hard Hat Riots without being reminded of present-day media portrayals of Donald Trump’s relationship with white, working-class supporters at his political rallies. What connections do you see between the two sets of media representations?
March 11, 2019 at 12:29 am
The article astutely pointed out that the American flag symbolized different things to different groups of people– something which is still true today. To the working class, the flag symbolized the sacrifices of their loved ones and the honor and dignity with which they died. The students and anti-war protestors saw the flag as a “symbol of a government that had betrayed its people and the American ideals.” This disconnect falls on the same lines as the debate over NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. Kneeling players believe that America has fail to uphold the fundamentals protecting people who are not white. Others are upset that the flag is disrespected and therefore, their relatives who are making the ultimate sacrifice are not given the property dignity. This dynamic is similar to how the anti-war protestors opposed the war on a humanitarian platform because the Vietnamese were being murdered. The working class people believed that the students cared more about the Vietnamese than working class Americans. Similarly, the white working class today sees African-Americans as “other” and people who support NFL players care more about African-Americans than their relatives who volunteered to die for their country.
March 11, 2019 at 8:55 am
I completely agree with Corbin, and going off of that (I wrote my thesis on a lot of this) Colin Kaepernick, for example, released a specific statement after his kneeling protest and explicitly said– “I will not stand for a country who discriminates against and does not treat African Americans and people of color equally.”
Furthermore, when discussing the Kaepernick protest, articles and articles have been written about how this relates to a protest during the 1968 Olympics. Athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists into the air during their medal ceremony and the playing of the National Anthem– called the Black Power Salute.
This stuff is still going on, just in different ways. Loyalty and respect towards the country and its president manifest in different ways– and the anthem and flag are two straightforward symbols and images of America itself.
In terms of Donald Trump supporters, protestor, and contemporary media portrayals, I am also reminded of the “Not my President” slogan/campaign (whatever it would be labeled), and the contrast between that and the Hard Hat Riot protestors with flag decals on a hard hat with “For God and Country” written on it. Similarly, in the reading about the flag itself and class identifiers in relation to the flag, loyalty to the country was discussed and the burning/worship of the American flag. A lot of support of the flag has to do with war and foreign policy endeavors, and during this time, it was the Vietnam war, and during our time it could be foreign policy as well as racism, immigration bands, and much more.
With kneeling during the anthem, I was also reminded of NBA teams stating that they would refuse to meet President Trump even before they made it to the Championship– the Warriors and the Cavaliers (LeBron James and Steph Curry speaking on the teams’ behalf). Thereafter, the Warriors were shown posing for a picture with Barack Obama.
This is a huge statement– and the disregard for and direct statements against meeting the president, standing for the anthem, and the “not my president” protest relate so similarly in all regards to Joe Kelley and the Hard Hat Riot and dealings with the American flag during this time and state of the country.