Dominic Raab speaks at daily briefing to update on COVID-19 (File | Reuters)
London:
British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on Thursday that “taking the knee” seems to come from the fantastic TV series “Game of Thrones” and feel like a symbol of subjugation and subordination.
The death in Minneapolis of a black man, George Floyd, after a white policeman knelt on the neck for nearly nine minutes sparked worldwide protests, with many protesters kneeling in the streets and places to protest racism.
The position was first taken by National Football League player Colin Kaepernick when playing the American national anthem to draw attention to racial injustice, and was adopted by many players from sport since.
In England, Premier League footballers, including Manchester City champions, knelt before kick-off in support of the “Black Lives Matter” movement when the season resumed on Wednesday.
Raab, asked if he would adopt the post in a TalkRadio interview on Thursday, said he understood the sense of frustration and unrest that drives the Black Lives Matter movement.
He added: “I have to say about this thing” take the knee “, which I don’t know, maybe it has a broader story but it seems to be taken from Game of Thrones.
“It seems to me to be a symbol of submission and subordination rather than liberation and emancipation. But I understand that people think differently about it, so it’s a matter of personal choice.”
Asked again if he would take a knee to protest, he replied, “I take the knee for two people, the queen and the missus when I asked her to marry me.”
In “Game of Thrones”, the expression “bend the knee” is used when someone promises loyalty to a monarch or a lord.
Raab later tried to clarify his remarks, saying that he had “full respect” for the Black Lives Matter movement.
“If people want to kneel, it’s their choice and I respect it. We all have to come together to fight discrimination and social injustice,” he said on Twitter.
An excerpt from Raab’s interview drew 1.5 million Twitter views a few hours after its publication, and opposition lawmakers strongly criticized his comments.
“It’s not just an insult to the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s deeply embarrassing for Dominic Raab,” Labor Justice Justice spokesperson and longtime Black rights activist David Lammy said on Twitter. .
“He is supposed to be the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom.”
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Michael Holden; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Heinrich)
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
