Four Ann Arbor City Council members took a knee during the pledge of allegiance during Wednesday night’s council meeting – but for what, no one really knows.
The local Michigan officials knelt before the flag while their fellow members and attendees recited the pledge, assumedly breaking from the NFL-led tradition of kneeling for the National Anthem because, well, that isn’t usually played before a city council meeting. But publicity-seekers will always find their moment.
Pledge of allegiance it is, then.
Four #a2council members #TakeAKnee during the Pledge of Allegiance at tonight's meeting https://t.co/PIG4Uv6jHS
— Lauren(Fitch)Slagter (@LaurenSlagter) October 16, 2017
According to this, Councilwoman Sumi Kailasapathy said she took a knee in recognition of “democratic values,” and nothing more.
Kailasapathy said she knelt during the Pledge to demonstrate her commitment to upholding democratic values.
"For me, taking a knee is also showing solidarity with the group of people who have been doing this at the national level," she said.
Similarly, when trying to explain why he chose to kneel during the pledge, Councilman Chuck Warpehoski…well, he couldn’t really say, either.
"I can't speak to what is in each person's heart, but for me to 'take a knee' is an act of attention, of concern, and of respect," Warpehoski wrote on his website ahead of Monday's meeting and also stated at the meeting. "And it is in that spirit that I take a knee at tonight's City Council meeting: out of respect for the aspiration that we be a nation 'with liberty and justice for all,' with full attention that we fall short of that ideal in many ways, and with humble dedication to continue to work that the promise of the pledge may be fulfilled."
While I'll buy Warpehoski's need for "attention," a random act of "concern, and of respect” rings fairly hollow when you can’t actually articulate what it is you’re concerned about or respecting, and kneeling to uphold “democratic values” pretty much means you’re kneeling just because you can.
But then again, logic and reasoning aren’t exactly social justice warriors’ strong suits.