We didn't have a soccer program in my school growing up. I knew that some of my cousins played it, but beyond the general idea, I had no clue. Obviously you want to try and kick the ball into your opponent's goal, and you can't use your hands unless you are the goalie, but that's about what I know. I went to soccer camp at Mowana for a couple years simply because it sounded fun, other than those two weeks, I never played on a team. So my knowledge of the sport is still very limited. In light of recent events one things that I learned and stuck with me has been on my mind a lot: the goalie's uniform.
After seeing some professional soccer, I wondered why the goalies wore outfits different than the rest of their team. The reason I found out is rather simple. It catches your eye. So when an opponent is trying to kick the ball into the goal away from the goalie, their eyes are instead pulled to where the goalie is, and increases the chance they will kick towards the goalie.
The recent events I am referring to are not in fact the US Women's win in the World Cup. (But congratulations to them!) I am referring instead to some of the big news after the shooting of 9 black church goers in Bible study at "Mother" AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. There has been a great deal of uproar about the confederate flag not being lowered at the memorial nearby, when the state flag and the American flag both were.
Since then major retailers have stopped selling it, as many view it as a symbol of racism. Then there are others who claim it is a symbol of their heritage. I will admit my bias, having grown up in Ohio, I connect it with the Civil War, and thereby the reason the southern states wanted to secede. They wanted states' sovereignty to rule higher than federal sovereignty, and the primary reason that came into question was over slavery. I think many take pride in our country's founding, which was rebellious itself, and see it as just a symbol of being a rebel. While it was not the official flag of the Confederacy, it has become a shorthand symbol for its entirety. Which seems to me would also include the assassination of the United States President Abraham Lincoln, by one John Wilkes Booth. I would think that fact might cause some to reconsider using it as a symbol of being a rebellious American.
Regardless, sometimes the meaning of words or symbols get so changed by their cultural use, there is no reclaiming them. The swastika is an ancient symbol that was used in Buddhism and Hinduism as well as within other cultural movements that meant luck or success. Nowadays it is tied with the Nazi regime of World War II and used by white supremacist groups to show hatred towards Jews, Blacks, and everyone different than themselves. It is unlikely it will ever bear meaning beyond hate. The same is true for the Confederate flag or rebel flag or stars and bars, however one wants to name it.
The whole argument over banning it though, which I agree with in most cases, has gotten a little out of hand. I feel while there is reason to pull it down, that it has been a distraction from the real goal. It is easy to attack a flag, it is much harder to attack the racism that is still a part of our society. We cannot allow ourselves to feel like bringing down a flag is a success, when there is so much work that needs to be done. So much so I honestly don't know really where to begin, other than to get our eyes off the bright colors of a flag and fix them more firmly on our goal, seeing all people as God's children.
After seeing some professional soccer, I wondered why the goalies wore outfits different than the rest of their team. The reason I found out is rather simple. It catches your eye. So when an opponent is trying to kick the ball into the goal away from the goalie, their eyes are instead pulled to where the goalie is, and increases the chance they will kick towards the goalie.
The recent events I am referring to are not in fact the US Women's win in the World Cup. (But congratulations to them!) I am referring instead to some of the big news after the shooting of 9 black church goers in Bible study at "Mother" AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. There has been a great deal of uproar about the confederate flag not being lowered at the memorial nearby, when the state flag and the American flag both were.
Since then major retailers have stopped selling it, as many view it as a symbol of racism. Then there are others who claim it is a symbol of their heritage. I will admit my bias, having grown up in Ohio, I connect it with the Civil War, and thereby the reason the southern states wanted to secede. They wanted states' sovereignty to rule higher than federal sovereignty, and the primary reason that came into question was over slavery. I think many take pride in our country's founding, which was rebellious itself, and see it as just a symbol of being a rebel. While it was not the official flag of the Confederacy, it has become a shorthand symbol for its entirety. Which seems to me would also include the assassination of the United States President Abraham Lincoln, by one John Wilkes Booth. I would think that fact might cause some to reconsider using it as a symbol of being a rebellious American.
Regardless, sometimes the meaning of words or symbols get so changed by their cultural use, there is no reclaiming them. The swastika is an ancient symbol that was used in Buddhism and Hinduism as well as within other cultural movements that meant luck or success. Nowadays it is tied with the Nazi regime of World War II and used by white supremacist groups to show hatred towards Jews, Blacks, and everyone different than themselves. It is unlikely it will ever bear meaning beyond hate. The same is true for the Confederate flag or rebel flag or stars and bars, however one wants to name it.
The whole argument over banning it though, which I agree with in most cases, has gotten a little out of hand. I feel while there is reason to pull it down, that it has been a distraction from the real goal. It is easy to attack a flag, it is much harder to attack the racism that is still a part of our society. We cannot allow ourselves to feel like bringing down a flag is a success, when there is so much work that needs to be done. So much so I honestly don't know really where to begin, other than to get our eyes off the bright colors of a flag and fix them more firmly on our goal, seeing all people as God's children.
Photo By Spc. Paige Behringer (https://www.dvidshub.net/image/1567144) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
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