Dominic Raab, Minister of the Crown, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, member of one of the four Great Offices of State, thinks taking a knee in tribute to George Floyd originated “from the Game of Thrones”.
Yes. Asked on talkRadio whether – like the Premier League football players before their first lockdown matches last night – he would take a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Raab rambled:
“Do you know what? I understand this sense of frustration and restlessness which is driving the Black Lives Matters movement. I’ve got to say on this ‘taking the knee’ thing, which, I don’t know, maybe it’s got a broader history, but it seems to be taken from the Game of Thrones, feels to me like a symbol of subjugation and subordination, rather than one of liberation and emancipation. But I understand people feel differently about it, so it’s a matter of personal choice.”
When presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer pushed him on whether he’d do it himself, Raab replied:
“I take the knee for two people: the Queen and the missus when I asked her to marry me… by the way, she disputes that. I had this conversation with her last night – I’m sure I did but we’d obviously had too much champagne at the time but I’m certain I did.”
Simpering, blind patriotism with a comforting dash of patriarchy: the perfect response.
Your mole is sure it doesn’t need to explain to readers but just in case: the kneeling stance seen at Black Lives Matter protests throughout the world stems from the American football quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began kneeling during the national anthem before matches in 2016, in silent protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the US. Other players joined him.
The protest symbol has taken on added poignancy in recent weeks, as protestors kneel for the same length of time – around nine minutes – as the police officer who knelt on the neck of Floyd, the death of whom led to anti-racism protests worldwide.
Strange that the UK’s Foreign Secretary is more up on a fantasy TV series than the biggest international story of the moment – and his throwaway comment about his wife shows that he had been prepping answers to questions about taking a knee, but even then didn’t think to look it up.
Asked if he would take a knee in support of Black Lives Matter, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab: “I take the knee for two people; the Queen and the Mrs when I asked her to marry me.” Listen live https://t.co/sv3MZUm41c@JuliaHB1 | @DominicRaab pic.twitter.com/HbCIrCFKKV
— talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) June 18, 2020
Watch the whole interview here:
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