Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singh
Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singh
"We've tied in the act of kneeling as an act of disrespect, right? But if we can look through the lens of the rest of the things that we do, even within our culture, I'm not asking us for accepting anything from another culture. Just our cultural shit. There are tons of positives with kneeling, right?" — [Speaker]
"All this is is everybody is looking for, and we all do it all the time. The quickest way to not care about something, we don't want to care about. We just find it." — [Speaker]
"He asked the fucking green beret. What can I do as opposed to sitting out the anthem and actual military person said, take a knee. That's the most respectful way to do it." — [Speaker]
The discussion begins by examining the symbolic meaning of kneeling, questioning why it has become widely perceived as an act of disrespect in certain contexts. Speakers analyze historical and cultural examples where kneeling is a sign of reverence, prayer, or significant life events like proposals. This leads to a critique of how societal interpretations can be arbitrary and selectively applied, suggesting that the meaning attached to kneeling is a societal construct rather than an inherent one.
The conversation then shifts to the example of Colin Kaepernick's protest, with speakers arguing that the focus on the method of protest (kneeling) rather than the underlying issues (police brutality) served as a convenient way for many to disengage. The narrative suggests that people often seek the easiest justification to avoid caring about complex social problems, using collateral issues like "rioting and looting" or the perceived disrespect of a protest method as an exit ramp from engagement.
Later segments touch upon perceived hypocrisies in societal concern, contrasting responses to the elderly during the pandemic with reactions to issues affecting Black communities. The latter half of the transcript devolves into personal anecdotes and humorous exchanges regarding intimate acts and social media trends, diverting from the initial socio-political commentary.