A 10-year-old Cub Scout from Durham, N.C. is being recognized after he took a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance at a Monday night city council meeting.
Liam Holmes, who is white, is seen on video taking a knee during the meeting where the council invited Cub Scout Pack 451 to lead the pledge, CBS17 reports.
“What I did was took a knee against racial discrimination, which is basically when people are mean to other people of different colors,” said Liam Holmes.
Liam’s dad, Scott Holmes, said that he had spoken with his son about the action beforehand, although he was not sure if his son would go through with the political message.
“When he did it I was really surprised and also really proud of him,” his father said.
“No one saw it except the people that were watching. And the mayor noticed and he thanked me,” Liam added.
And Mayor Steve Schewel did notice, and in fact publicly praised the young Cub, saying, “Thank you, councilman, and thank you, scouts. To the scout that expressed his conscience by kneeling, we will say we endorse and appreciate all expressions of conscience in Durham City Council.”
There is, of course, the fact that this 10-year-old is more woke than most adults in this country, including the person who is supposed to be leading this nation, Donald Trump.
Of course, the act of kneeling during the National Anthem (or during the Pledge of Allegiance), kicked off in 2016, when Colin Kaepernick, then the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers started his silent protest before several 2016 NFL preseason and regular-season games. His actions caught on, with several players (and some regular When he became a free agent in 2017, no team offered him a contract, leading him to file a grievance against the league, accusing them of colluding to keep him out of the NFL in retaliation for his protest.
A CBS News poll published last Sunday found that of the adults surveyed, 49 percent believed that the players responded appropriately to the controversy surrounding players kneeling, while 51 percent believed players responded inappropriately. Only 31 percent believed that professional athletes should or should not use their position and fame to talk politics and issues, while 23 percent believed they should not. 46 percent said they should, but only on their own time and not during sporting events. Americans were split 50-50 on whether the NFL should require players to stand for the anthem or not.
So naturally, Liam had his detractors, including Brandon LaRoque, a life-long scout and veteran, who told CBS17 that “Part of the scout oath is to God and your country, and I understand people have the right to freedom of speech. I just don’t understand why it has to be during the Pledge of Allegiance.”
Liam, however, is as woke as ever, and to those who may not approve of what he did, he just had one thing to say to them.
Well, those people just don’t listen,” he said.