We’ve had a lot of protests in the U.S. lately.  A few have erupted into violence with tragic consequences.  Many more have been peaceful gatherings over critical issues like healthcare, women’s rights and equality, to name a few.  And now peaceful protest has broken out on the sidelines of NFL games.  After so many demonstrations, some folks (not the protesters!) are saying they’re exhausted by all the protests.  It’s all making them very uncomfortable – particularly this one.

Protests are supposed to make you uncomfortable – no matter which side of the disputed issue you support.  That is the point.  The peaceful protests against segregation in the 60’s made a lot of people very uncomfortable.  They also precipitated at least part of the change sought.  Likewise, the college sit-ins during the Vietnam war upset many – not just the parents of the protesters.  Again, they had a significant effect on the path out of that war.  And let’s not forget the very recent protests regarding pending legislation to break the Affordable Care Act.  This time, it took 3 rounds of demonstrations to drive the point home to senators.  It worked – for now.  In each case, the venues were chosen to maximize discomfort for those who need to see the other side of the story.  Demonstrating for LGBTQ rights in a gay bar won’t change a lot of hearts and minds.  The sideline of a Sunday NFL game, on the other hand, is a perfect choice to bring attention to systemic oppression of African-Americans.

The NFL protests are facing additional headwinds.  First, the teams are corporations.  Companies have broad latitude on workplace rules and many do not allow protests of any form.  But the antebellum optics of 16 white owners shutting down protests by black players (who make up 75% of their workforce) are cringe-worthy.  The other new twist is Dear Leader’s hijacking of the protest, saying it is disrespecting THE FLAG.  Now uncomfortable people can just say “flag” so they can avoid saying “black.”

But the issue is black lives, not red, white, and blue.  Frankly, taking a knee seems very respectful of both anthem and flag.  It is beautiful in its simplicity:  we love this country, but systemic oppression must be addressed.  The players thought about sitting during the anthem, but decided that taking a knee was more respectful to the flag, the song, and the military.

The problem for the league is that the people who should be most uncomfortable are burning their NFL merchandise.  It’s there every Sunday and they are “exhausted” by opening kickoff.  They can turn off the Charlottesville protests.  But this is more complicated.  It requires fast-forwarding past the pre-game stuff straight to the kickoff.  Now the NFL has to hold a fire sale  on those commercial slots, and is running scared about their advertisers and viewership.  So they’re going to vote on a corporate rule to ban this activity.  Craven?  A little.  Greedy?  A lot.

Uncomfortable yet?