rise of the couch tomatoes

I noticed people are still making sounds with their mouths about how the football workers shouldn't ought to be protesting. One guy at the St. Pete Seafood Festival, where I was selling my great books, said to me they shouldn't be exercising their American right to protest “at work”. Where else are they going to do it? Work is the only place where they're coerced into standing for the anthem.

I find it unsettling that this is seen as a protest. Aren't these men just exercising their American right (American Indians not included) to the pursuit of happiness which, for some people means not standing up because a particular song they never liked that much is playing for the umpteenth time right before they go to work? This is required only of sports heroes. What if every time you sat down at your desk in the morning, the office manager stood up and started belting out the Star spangled Banner? Would you feel like standing except maybe to punch him out?

Maybe they feel like they've demonstrated their patriotism enough times already. Maybe they're hoping for a better rendition with musical accompaniment. Time was, you got a brass band, not a lone egomaniac who is sure we're going to like it a cappella. Maybe they see standing as an empty gesture, nothing on actually going to war. Who's to say standing beats kneeling anyway? The biggest question is why does anybody care?

Why are people watching these games? Why is it so important?  Why do they rise briefly from the couch to condemn the gladiators for being sentient?  Watching sports on tv is fine entertainment for people who unfortunately are disabled. One of the strangest spectacles of modern times is able bodied people sitting down watching other people play football and then talking about it all week when they could organize pick-up games and go outside and actually experience it and relive their own glory. Pass footballs, not time. You live only once.