America’s fault lines laid bare
The Kaepernick furore shows that structural violence against African-Americans and the demonisation of Muslims in the US are interlinked, writes
WHEN American football player Colin Kaepernick refused to stand up to the national anthem before an NFL clash in August, he was called a traitor. Kaepernick said his protest was aimed against the continued killings of African-Americans across the country.
He was mocked, jeered and ridiculed. But when rumours spread that he may have recently converted to Islam, it appeared to have sealed his fate as an “imposter” among many.
The implication was clear: the so-called anti-American behaviour was obviously a result of being Muslim.
On the surface, the accusation that Kaepernick was Muslim or that his Muslim girlfriend had influenced him might read as a ridiculous right-wing concoction that doesn’t deserve much attention.
But on closer examination, it is this precise concoction that underscores how these two issues – structural violence against African-Americans and rising demonisation of Muslims – are interlinked.
In fact, the response to Kaepernick’s protest and the increasing rhetoric and violence against Muslims brings the heightened intolerance of a hyper nationalist American mainstream into focus.
The outrage over Kaepernick’s political statement followed two suspected hate crimes against Muslims in the Queens borough of New York City that were largely underplayed by politicians and the mainstream American media.
First, a 55-year-old Bangladeshi imam and his assistant were shot dead in daylight outside a mosque in August.
Then, a few weeks later a Bangladeshi woman was stabbed to death. All three victims were dressed in “non-western” clothing and both incidents involved execution-style killings. The police have yet to label the killings as hate crimes, but the incidents have left the Muslim community feeling vulnerable. Worshippers are now even scared to visit the local mosque.
Responding to claims that he had converted to Islam, Kaepernick said that “the rumour of conversion comes along with people’s fear of this protest, as well as Islamophobia in this country. People are terrified of them to the point where (Donald) Trump wants to ban all Muslims from coming here, which is ridiculous”.
And therein lies an awkward truth. America has a problem. The grand multicultural experiment – that which certainly distinguished the US from the more ethno-nationalist Europe over the course of the second half of the 20th century – is quickly crumbling.
Kaepernick’s refusal to stand up for the national anthem at a football game – the ultimate symbol of Americanness – was seen as an unequivocal insult to the nationalist core and by implication, America.
The American flag and anthem represent the height of patriotism and a belief that America “is good”, and its values and history a beacon for all nations to follow. And with this comes an irrevocable allegiance to the military – serving in wars in distant places – “keeping America safe”.
The rubric of nationalism demands that these soldiers are supported in wars in which Muslims make up most of the enemy.
Although Kaepernick clarified that his protest had nothing to do with the military, when it was rumoured that he may be Muslim – his action was interpreted as being one of “a traitor”. There is little doubt that when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump talks about “making America great again”, he speaks of an ambition to make America white again.
But it’s not just Donald Trump. Ben Carson said in September 2015 that a Muslim American could not run for president.
And Ted Cruz said in March this year that Muslim areas ought to be patrolled. Even Bill Clinton, in July 2016, made a most cringeworthy gaffe of his own when he urged those “Muslims who love America and hate terror, to stay and help”, only serving to consolidate erroneous ideas that Muslims are “foreign”. Most famously of course, last December Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”. Trump, of course, is one of many.
He is the most crass manifestation of a deep-seated resentment that has escalated since 9/11 and in recent years. In 2011, a University of Maryland poll showed that 61% of Americans held negative views of Muslims. In many ways, Trump, along with Cruz and Carson, were merely catalysts for racists that have remained comparatively dormant for years.
A Georgetown University report released this year found that anti-Muslim hate crimes tripled after Trump spoke about shutting down mosques. “In December 2015, anti-Muslim attacks occurred almost daily and often multiple times a day.”
The report titled “When Islamophobia turns violent” found that between March last year, when the candidature for the presidency opened, and March this year, there were at least 180 reported incidents of Islamophobia across the US.
And the violence and scale of vitriol has been startling. In May, a bumper sticker reading “Promote World Peace, Kill a Muslim” was spotted in Pennsylvania. In the same state, a bar reported improved business after posting a sticker stating “Death to Islam” on its entrance. The owner said it was in support of America’s military abroad.
At its core, this backlash against Kaepernick only demonstrates the extent to which his protest threatened the status quo. It also further demonstrated that continued structural violence against minorities in the country, including African-Americans, Native Americans, and even Muslims cannot be separated from each other.
For where white supremacy feels threatened, its proponents will go after anyone who questions the dominant narrative of what America ought to be.
Essa is a journalist at Al Jazeera. He is also the co-founder of The Daily Vox