The Big Lead

British Secretary of State Thinks Kneeling For Black Lives Matter Was Inspired By 'Game of Thrones'

By Stephen Douglas

Dominic Raab
Dominic Raab / Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images
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Dominic Raab is the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in England. This morning Raab appeared on talkRadio with Julia Hartley-Brewer and was asked if he would kneel. Raab gave a glib answer expressing confusion over why people were kneeling as a form of protest. Even going to so far as to say he thought that the act of kneeling might have come from Game of Thrones.

In case Raab or anyone else wants to know the origin of the kneeling, it is not an act of subjugation, but of protest. Colin Kaepernick started protesting by sitting during the National Anthem, but after speaking with former NFL player and retired Army Green Beret Nate Boyer, he decided to kneel because it was more respectful. Here's Boyer to NPR in 2018:

"I thought - at that time I said, look, I think your point has definitely been made that everyone's listening. Like, let's make a plan of attack now. And, you know, let's work on action for it. But he said, you know, what I've committed to this, and - I'm not going to do it until I start to see these changes I want to see. And, you know, I respected that decision and opinion. And I thought kneeling - personally, so I don't speak for everybody, I don't speak for every veteran. I've been told that numerous times by many people. But I thought kneeling was more respectful, and I will say that being alongside his teammates was the biggest thing for me. And, you know, people - in my opinions and in my experience, kneeling's never been in our history really seen as a disrespectful act. I mean, people kneel when they get knighted. You kneel to propose to your wife, and you take a knee to pray. And soldiers often take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave to pay respects. So I thought, if anything, besides standing, that was the most respectful. But, of course, that's just my opinion."

Once again, this has nothing to do with the flag. Raab was immediately criticized for his remarks and immediately tried to clarify his comments on Twitter and through other outlets.