disclaimer: This is an OPINION piece, but the author raises intersting points IMHO.


There seems to be a measure of inconsistency from the people who believe war heroes are most deserving of being in a Nike ad about sacrifice, yet support a man whose disrespect toward a war hero was so palpable that The American Legion's national commander urged him to "make an appropriate presidential proclamation, noting Senator McCain's death and legacy of service to our nation." A man who attacked the Gold Star family of Humayun Khan, a Muslim soldier killed in an Iraq suicide attack in 2004. A man who, when gifted a Purple Heart, joked "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier."

I get it: Kaepernick is a controversial figure whose protest during the national anthem was misconstrued as an attack against the military. His subsequent silence has not been helpful in terms of clarification. Neither were his socks portraying police officers as pigs or his T-shirt with Fidel Castro on it.

If someone wants to take their anger and burn some shoes out in their backyard, it's their prerogative. I'm fairly certain Nike knew its decision to feature Kaepernick in its campaign would draw calls of boycott and perhaps even a rebuke from stockholders. But I do wonder how the people who feel that members of the military deserve more respect from the athletic apparel company can swallow President Trump's well-documented slights of servicemembers who have sacrificed the most.

http://www.cnn.com/2018/09/04/opinions/nike-outrage-hypocrisy-opinion-granderson/


and as a parting thought. I wonder how many of them ran out to burn their MAGA material or apparel after their POTUS did these things?

If one has a higher expectation about the words and actions of professional athletes (or comedians for that matter) than one does for their POTUS, maybe its time to re evaluate priorities.

Very well said.

CNN is the modern Onion....only brainwashed liberals believe anything CNN says...

except this piece is not what "CNN said", but what an actual military vet did and his interaction with Colin Kaepernick.

not really, it was more about Trump saying McCain wasn't a hero...

What an Article. !!

Not really informative. Imo

it wasnt about CNN or what Trump said, it was about hypocrisy. I think I may have even included the word in the title.

Well, now that you mention it, do you believe Trump was wrong in criticizing John McCain as "not a hero"?

Trump has a right to his opinion, just like you do ... Opinions aren't right or wrong, they're just opinions

Yes. I feel as a President, it is destructive and irresponsible to speak of a vet that way when speaking of their military service.

I feel, unlike a professional athlete, he LITERALLY has a responsibility to our military men and women.

he has a right to his opinion...Trump and McCain didn't like each other, simple as that...what did McCain do to "become" a hero? He got caught, then did everything they told him to do...not very heroish in my opinion... Did he save a platoon ( or anyone for that matter)? Did he stop a ship from sinking? Has he done anything to be considered a hero?

maybe nothing at all, but if one is taking a 'loyalty to all vets' approach of condemning the kneeling of someone during an anthem, I expect more respect for their service, whether they have been captured or not, ESPECIALLY from someone elected commander in chief.

I've been surrounded by a world full of people eagerly accusing each other of hypocrisy, for most of my life. After a while, came to be very specific about what I will accept as actual hypocrisy, because so many of the cases turned out to be something else on close inspection.

For example, I don't support most "hypocrisy by transference" accusations.
That's what this one seems to be. That is, the complaint seems to be that people support Trump OVERALL, rather than opposing him IN EVERY RESPECT, while they also oppose some particular things that Trump has done or said. That's too vague and disconnected for me to allow "hypocrisy" as the label.

In addition, a lot of the time, accusing someone of hypocrisy like this, ignores the far greater negative acts of the person being criticized.

In my observation and personal analysis, Trump's attack on McCain isn't problematic because he declared McCain to not be heroic, due to having been captured. What's problematic about it, is that it is part of an overall attitude that Trump has, that facts and logic and consistency don't matter in the least, and that only "what I want right now" is important.

Because that is the reason WHY Trump pretends to disrespect McCain. He does so entirely because during his campaign, he NEEDED to pretend to have no respect for McCain, in order to persuade some Republicans to support himself for President, OVER McCain. The only reason why he continues to pretend to believe as he does, is again, all about himself, and has nothing to do with obeying any principle. He continues to pretend to think badly of McCain, because he is defending Trump, not because he is defending an ideal.

That isn't hypocrisy, it's vastly worse. It shows that Trump is entirely UNPRINCIPLED. That he has no recognizable sense of personal honor.

thanks for your opinion...glad to know you care so much for our vets...oh, wait....you think all the vets are hero's, but the flag is "just a piece of cloth" , and nobody should have pride in their country....

all your psychoanalysis aside, they just didn't like each other...

That's a no win situation. People will remember only certain things that a dead person did. I don't see anyone remembering when McCain accidentally dropped a bomb on the deck of the Forestall. Or him divorcing a sick wife. It's best to keep your mouth shut about the mistakes they made. I didn't like what McCain did. So I refuse to feel sorry about the fact that he croaked.

Yes, I know that everyone is entitled to an opinion. I asked for YOURS, not a parroting of your president's party line.

Oh, and there IS a difference between your and my opinion, and the president's opinion. As the occupant of the office he sits in, he is supposed to represent ALL of us. How can he claim he is FOR veterans and the flag when he is spouting off about the NFL, but then he makes fun of ANY POW?

spouting off? He's trying to correct something a lot of people think is a problem...isn't that his job? Correcting problems seems to be in that Presidential job description? Me personally, I wish all of you Trump haters would shut up and let him do his job,but it's your right to be a part of the problem rather than being part of a solution...

well, half right. I dont think all vets are heroes, and I take no public stance pretending I do. I take no public stance suggesting how others should react to all vets or what customs they should adopt in doing so. I also dont believe K's protest had ANYTHING to do with vets, since it was a vet that suggested he kneel in the first place. ... but thats another issue.





its not the uniform you wear, and get PAID to wear, its what you do without that uniform that warrants a 'hero' label as far as Im concerned.

people in uniforms are still flawed humans, and it is their individual actions that merit the term 'hero', imho, not merely the fact that they do a job they are paid to do.

so Trump isn't allowed his personal opinion? It seems to me if McCain was a hero, there would have been lots of backlash over Trump saying he's not...but all I see is the same liberal trolls jumping up and down every time he speaks...as a matter of fact, I've read more about him being a rat rather than anything heroic...I guess what I'm saying here is that hero or not, there wasn't enough admiration from the public for him to be a true hero..