BY MARK CURTIS
FORT MADISON, Iowa - The most recent scrimmage in the "culture war" was played on a basketball court. Mahmoud Abdul- Rauf, a guard for the National Basketball Association's Denver
Nuggets, was suspended indefinitely without pay by the league for not standing at attention during the playing of the national anthem. In an interview I saw on television he said he refused to stand because (1) as a Muslim his religion prohibits "nationalistic demonstrations," and (2) for him the "Star Spangled Banner" symbolizes "the oppression of Caucasians and African Americans." Both good reasons, I thought. After all, what does the national anthem have to do with the game? I wouldn't want such a requirement on my job. Here in prison we have to stand at our bars during three daily counts, but we can still read, talk, or whatever, while we do.
Most of the guys I talked with about this agreed that Abdul- Rauf was within his rights and that the NBA would probably back down. To them, it was a free-speech issue.
More than a few, however, had a different opinion. "How would he like it if I came into his church and lit a cigarette? Sooner or later people like him will find out that whites are going to stop watching basketball. He's ruining the game," was one long- time sports fan's comment. Another argument I heard quite a bit was, "He knew what he was getting into when he signed his multi- million dollar contract. He knew the rules then and he should follow them now."
I answered that freedom of speech and the First Amendment to the Constitution are a little more important than NBA rules and overrule them.
Of the NBA players I saw interviewed, all but one backed up Abdul-Rauf. Their union, the player's association, announced they would try to get the stand-at-attention rule changed. All this changed though, when Abdul-Rauf decided he would stand and pray rather than stay in the locker room as he has done since November. Perhaps he was influenced by Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon, who said Abdul-Rauf got it wrong, that Islam encourages respect for national symbols. Religion is frequently used to prop up the state's authority and sanction its official symbols of power.
In any case, Abdul-Rauf will be allowed to play again.
What `Star Spangled Banner' means
What does the "Star Spangled Banner," a song that praises the
flag that flies over the "land of the free and the home of the
brave" really mean? Two centuries ago that flag was the symbol of
revolution against foreign tyranny, of national independence and
sovereignty. But that was a long time ago, before two world wars,
Vietnam, Iraq, before imperialism. Today the star spangled banner
flies over the illegal U.S. naval base at Guantánamo, Cuba; over
an invading army's base camps in Yugoslavia; and snaps in the wind
on naval destroyers Washington is now sending into the China Sea.
When I started high school in 1974 in Thoreau, New Mexico, it was the custom to start every assembly and pep rally with the pledge of allegiance. At one rally a small group of Navajo students (the school was mostly Native American) refused to stand. They were protesting the racism they saw at the school and the way Navajos were treated like dogs in nearby Gallup every weekend when they came into town to do their shopping. A few students shouted at them, "Stand up!" but they held their positions. That was the last time we ever said the pledge of allegiance.
I wasn't among the protesters, but it made a big impression on me and maybe was one of the experiences that led me to become a socialist.
Earlier I said that this issue is part of the so-called culture war. What I mean is that even sports, pledges, songs, pep rallies, flags, and books become part of the tug-of-war between the ruling rich and working people. Who are the rules for? Who has and who hasn't the freedoms to choose what flag they'll salute, what words come out of their mouth, what language they speak, what heroes they'll admire, and what class they'll pledge allegiance to?
That's why democratic rights are vital for our side and that's why I defended Abdul-Rauf.