It’s brilliant moral and political theater. It is respectful. It is resolute. It is solemn and serious. It is quiet to the ear but riveting to the eye. It unites us. It is understood within the framework of Western heritage and values.
And it blunts violent attempts to stop it. Sure, a cop can bludgeon a kneeler with a billy club...but they can do that to anyone, even a torch-carrying white supremacist as well (if they were so inclined). There is something truly repulsive about striking a kneeling person, who has taken the knee as a matter of conscience.
There’s something that I find wonderfully defiant about taking the knee. It is a voluntary taking of oneself out of screaming in protest, and moving into a sacred and vulnerable space that speaks to conscience and stalwartness. Who knew that one could stand up by bending the knee?
I think as resisters we would do well to take this up as a practice, and to extend it far and wide as the symbolic gesture of the pro-people’s movement. I think it says all that I mentioned above and more.
Let me explore the qualities of how taking the knee unites us by:
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Speaking to large numbers of people: male/female, old/young, white/black, documented/undocumented, gay/straight, Democrat/Republican
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Bringing together religion and spirituality; it has particular resonance for Christians, many of whom will ultimately regret their support of DJT, and some of whom regret it already
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Utilizing the power of gesture: Think of Pope John Paul II kissing the ground at Warsaw’s airport when he returned to Poland, the peace sign, etc.
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Underscoring the shameful corruption, greed, and indifference of our leaders and elites
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Expressing resistance effectively: A “knee-in” is as symbolically satisfying as a “sit-in,” sick-in, etc.
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Inviting music and lending itself to it: Songwriters, please step up for us all. (Courtney Barnett’s cover of the Grateful Dead song “New Speedway Boogie” reminded me how much we need music and our poets and songwriters to help us through this time.)
So there you have it. What do you think?