Is our National Anthem racist?

2016-09-20T07:59:31-04:00

Progression--progress--is a constant struggle. We recognize that, as a species, we are fallible. It is the history of mankind, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion. As we progress toward an ideal, be it "Land of the free, home of the brave," or "Liberty and justice for all," or "All men are created equal," or "Liberté, égalité, fraternité," we will always be beset by regression, through our own frailty, distrust, bigotry, &c.

Some studies have suggested that we are wired, from the time we are born, to learn which faces to trust--our parents who look like us and protect us--and who not to trust--strangers who don't look like us. Thus our progressive struggle to be inclusive, accepting, diverse, and trustful of those who don't look like us, talk like us, or worship like us, is, in fact, an internal struggle against our most basic human makeup, a genetic protective mechanism evolved within us over millennia. We literally are wired to be bigoted.

Being inclusive, accepting of diversity, empathetic with those from different cultures, rubs against our innate grain. It is a struggle that every generation before us has faced, often failing miserably, and, more importantly, it is a struggle that every future generation will have to face. Let's hope they do better.

If I were a child psychologist I would include a link to Stranger Anxiety. I'm a historian, so following is a link to a historical look at our ongoing debate over our National Anthem.

https://theintercept.com/2016/09/13/more-proof-the-u-s-national-anthem-has-always-been-tainted-with-racism/

For the record, my upbringing has wired me to look with disdain at any American who doesn't stand during the National Anthem. It's just who I am, and I'm getting too damn old to change.

.......\|||/
......(@@)
ooO_(_ )_Ooo________________________________
_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|
___|____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|____
_____|_____ _____|_____

More Proof the U.S. National Anthem Has Always Been Tainted With Racism

Our current difficulty in facing our past honestly and soberly strongly suggests that we are still a long way from laying it to rest.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2016 8:01 AM

2016-09-20T08:01:26-04:00

No it is not.

Response by MCPO Roger Collins made Sep 20 at 2016 8:04 AM

2016-09-20T08:04:47-04:00

Everything is racist to someone.

Response by SSG Drew Cook made Sep 20 at 2016 8:08 AM

2016-09-20T08:08:47-04:00

This fucking stupid. You cannot compare human nature to how one is raised. You might be innately "wired" to distrust strangers (common sense) as part of human nature and the instinct to ensure your own survival at the most fundamental level, but you cannot compare that to "being wired to have disdain" for someone who doesn't stand for a dumb song, because that is all that it is- a song.

Response by CPT Tom Monahan made Sep 20 at 2016 8:29 AM

2016-09-20T08:29:09-04:00

No, it mentions slave once in the 3rd verse. These were slaves who were fighting for the Brits in the War of 1812. History is history.

Response by SGT David T. made Sep 20 at 2016 9:02 AM

2016-09-20T09:02:00-04:00

The analysis presented is flawed. They are overlapping the author with the work itself. Key was a slave owning ardent anti-abolitionist. This is not disputed. It is however, irrelevant to his poem. He was talking about what he was seeing during the shelling of Fort McHenry. The 3rd verse which talks about the hireling (no skill menial labor) and the slave is referring to the non military people in the fort itself and not the Colonial Marines. The British fleet was in little to no danger from the fort so why would he say that a British unit was not safe? This makes no sense in the context of the siege. He was referring to the danger inside of the fort and no one was safe. By all accounts, the British shelling of the fort was very intense. This is what Key was talking about. His poem was not talking about the institution of slavery at all. It was referring to what he saw on a particular night and not his views on slavery.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2016 9:12 AM

2016-09-20T09:12:11-04:00

Good thing the VA covers chemo , this is cancer

Response by Maj Walter Kilar made Sep 20 at 2016 9:27 AM

2016-09-20T09:27:05-04:00

Sometimes I hate this planet. Yes, everything and anything is racist, sexist, or otherwise bigoted if one tries hard enough to find those aspects. I look for intent. Calling the day after Thanksgiving "black Friday" is not racist unless you want it to be. The intent of that term was not to disparage a race, but to describe something in terms readily understood. The Star Spangled Banner is a poetic description of events that occurred on that night, and it just so happens that there is a description of slaves and non-slave being caught in the events of the night. Whether one believes the words themselves to be racist is on the reader, but the intent was just to describe the event.

In reference to the overall topic, I do believe that most of us harbor some kind of biases for and against people based on things we cannot change--race, ethnicity, gender, et cetera. What we should outwardly judge and act upon are the actions of people that elicit unwarranted effects because of those biases. As an American born overseas and with mixed heritage, I am inwardly biased against just about anyone who does not share my non-traditional American upbringing. Outwardly, I judge people based on actions, and I strive to not show my inward biases in a negative manner. I grew up with other military BRATs, where most of us were mixed. I did not live in the United States until I was almost a teenage, so large-scale racism/ ethnic bigotry was a strange concept to me. Having been one of two to twenty American kids growing up in a foreign city, I learned to look for the positive in all people, and to suppress those inner biases. Back to the topic of the Star Spangled Banner, it never occurred to me to even look at the third verse as being racist, despite the many times I read the line. I chose to read that as being a description of a key event in American history, one where Americans of several races, creeds, and colors lived and died together during the formative years of this fledgling nation.

Response by CPT Jim Schwebach made Sep 20 at 2016 9:44 AM

2016-09-20T09:44:12-04:00

The mini uproar over a verse of the anthem which few Americans are even aware and even fewer have ever heard is pointless. It reminds me of the incident where a Washington D.C. politician attacked a term used to described a less than generous budget as racist. The term - "niggardly." Sometimes ignorance trumps knowledge and context.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Sep 20 at 2016 9:50 AM

2016-09-20T09:50:22-04:00

Not from what I see of it.

Response by PO1 Roger Waddle made Sep 20 at 2016 10:14 AM

2016-09-20T10:14:39-04:00

My fellow Americans better reach down and grab some real quick and in a hurry or pussies like the one who even ask this question are going to give this country away

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Sep 20 at 2016 11:35 AM

2016-09-20T11:35:31-04:00

There was one stanza in the original poem that could be regarded as racist, if you squinted and turned you head to the proper angle. However, that stanza was omitted from the "official" version of the national anthem. Now, let's get past this and deal with something important.

Response by SPC Brian Blaney made Sep 20 at 2016 11:47 AM

2016-09-20T11:47:38-04:00

If all you look for is hate or racism, that is all you will find.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2016 12:35 PM

2016-09-20T12:35:12-04:00

There is reference to slavery, however I question this desire to wipe out all evidence of our difficult past. If we want to help heal the damage done by our racist past, I think it would make more sense to go after some of the issues that plague the descendants of slaves such as poor schools, crumbling infrastructure and underfunded police departments.

Response by CPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2016 12:45 PM

2016-09-20T12:45:55-04:00

Everyone seems to want to be offended by everything. The less people have to fight for survival the more they seem to want to fight for idiocy. While I agree some social justice issues are correct and we as a Nation were already going that route I find it repugnant that a very small minority of people that are offended by any and everything get to dictate everyone else's lives.

This has gotten to the point that I don't think people even know what the word racist means anymore. I think its a buzz word to them like syenergy or Shifting the paradigm was a few years back. They just drop it on everything to seem like they are in the up to date liberal group.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 20 at 2016 2:06 PM

2016-09-20T14:06:35-04:00

Sir, absolutely not.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 20 at 2016 3:07 PM

2016-09-20T15:07:20-04:00

Absolutely, 100%, not racist. That being said, when people look for racism everywhere, they will find it everywhere. George Washington is now being demonized because he owned slaves. Therefore, everything he did no longer has any merit. The problem with that insanely narrow point of view is that it isn't fair to judge anything hundreds of years ago based on modern day laws. Strike that. It is very possible to do that when people hang onto past injustices from centuries past that didn't even involve them. How far back in time should we go to get the proper baseline for being angry? Do issues ever get put to rest or do we cling onto them decade after decade because that gives us the entitlements that come with being a victim of society? OUR National Anthem was brought about by the heroics of our ancestors who could have surrendered to a vastly superior foreign fighting force, but chose to meet their fates with iron will. Old Glory didn't just continue to fly because the British were such lousy shots. People made of flesh and blood died repeatedly trying to make the necessary repairs so that the flag would stay unfurled in all her glory. They didn't cower behind the ramparts,they died in the open struggling to keep that flag visibly flying to those outside the fort. Racist?! You want to know the skin color of those inside the fort, or who owned slaves when that was the law of the land? How pathetic that this issue even has to be discussed. People need to wrap themselves in the flag before they burn it. I was born here, I spent my life defending this nation and serving others who came before me and after me. This country owes me NOTHING. I owe this country EVERYTHING.

Response by SSG Michael Eastes made Sep 20 at 2016 7:46 PM

2016-09-20T19:46:14-04:00

Judging people of another century by today's standards is a non-starter for me. F. S. Key was describing the events that he witnessed over the course of a night of bombardment. Too many people are just looking for an excuse to be insulted and to feel demeaned, and the "political correctness" movement has cheered this sort of anachronistic nit-picking on, with a true vengeance. Our country cannot unite when a significant percentage of the populace is actively searching for excuses to be outraged.

Response by LT Charles Baird made Sep 20 at 2016 11:32 PM

2016-09-20T23:32:04-04:00

This did not become our National Anthem until March 3, 1931 - it has not really been a part of our national history as far as an anthem - so why do people make such a big deal over something that was not officially used until the 1930's? Prior to that it apparently had no significance to the country or it citizenry or it would have been the National Anthem long before 1931.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2016 8:32 PM

2016-10-04T20:32:57-04:00

I am sick of thE TERM 'RACIST' Being bandied about willy nilly.

Response by LCpl Hilton Hoskins made Oct 18 at 2016 8:04 PM

2016-10-18T20:04:23-04:00

Honestly, I don't think the National Anthem is racist. Now as for people not standing for the National Anthem, I in good conscience can't get upset with them about that and claim they are being disrespectful to our Military, Veterans, and First Responders seeing as they are doing no more than respectfully and peacefully protesting, a right that our service gave them. Plus, the fact that we don't see the same ones claiming disrespect getting this outraged about our Veterans not receiving the care and help that we need when we come home. I don't see these people getting outraged about that. So in my eyes they are hypocritical. The people who have been sitting or kneeling during the Anthem have been peacefully protesting against an injustice in our country. The only reason they chose to do this is because they know that it's the only way to get people's attention about it. I don't agree with them sitting or kneeling out the National Anthem but I do understand the reason.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 19 at 2016 8:26 PM

2016-10-19T20:26:26-04:00

This country has gone to hell in a handbag we need to stand on what it was founded on

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Oct 19 at 2016 9:52 PM

2016-10-19T21:52:58-04:00

A poem set to a Brit drinking tune... what's racist?

Response by SFC George Smith made Oct 25 at 2016 8:04 PM

2016-10-25T20:04:07-04:00

not really

Response by Col Dona Marie Iversen made Nov 4 at 2016 11:57 PM

2016-11-04T23:57:25-04:00

It's only racist to a racist.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Apr 4 at 2017 10:33 AM

2017-04-04T10:33:32-04:00

Lyrics quoted below for reference. The lyrics mention hired people, slaves, and freemen in the latter verses. If you're a progressive liberal, the fact that lyrics mention slaves or that the flag flies over working people, slaves, and free men will be labeled racist and sexist. Additionally because its the National Anthem of the United States, the America-is-the-Problem liberals will consider it to be evil because of its very existence.

Considering when the lyrics were written, I don't find them objectionable. We seldom sing beyond the first verse. The author is stating a fact for the times. The flag flew over people of all races and classes. In his world that was normal. He was no more racist or sexist than other people of his era. We should accept The Star-Spangled Banner for what it is and recognize the nation has changed for the better over the last 200 years.

The Star-Spangled Banner

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation.
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 25 at 2017 11:33 AM

2017-09-25T11:33:58-04:00

I think the American Flag and all its Glory was designed to represent Gingers! Hahahaha cause we are the only ones who are born Red, White and Blue ;P hahahaha
Just my 10 tents worth on this subject ;p AND NO ONE MESSES WITH Gingers! We may steal your sole! Bwahahaha

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Oct 12 at 2017 10:02 AM

2017-10-12T10:02:30-04:00

I have no understanding of how it could be racists. He was talking about the battle itself, how can that be racists?

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 12 at 2017 11:01 AM

2017-10-12T11:01:17-04:00

Something becomes racist in two ways. !. the writer/speaker means what it said to be racist. or 2 the listener takes what is said as racist. It matters little what was actually said or written. Both routes to a racist outcome are wrong.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Oct 14 at 2017 6:43 PM

2017-10-14T18:43:22-04:00

No but that wont let NFL players and Antifa for labeling it as such

Response by SFC William Farrell made Jan 27 at 2019 9:02 PM

2019-01-27T21:02:03-05:00

I'm white COL Sam Russell, does that make me racist?

Response by LTC John Griscom made Mar 14 at 2019 8:22 AM

2019-03-14T08:22:27-04:00

Have to agree that the phrase was meant to designate the Colonial Marines and other mercenaries the British were well known for using.
The term "racist" is over used these days.

Response by Capt Daniel Goodman made Mar 14 at 2019 9:49 AM

2019-03-14T09:49:10-04:00

Oh, please...absolutely, positively, a big, fat, resounding, 100% NEVER...I couldn't care less if it was written in an earlier century, for a totally different society...some things, you just need to leave totally alone, stare decisis, as the Supreme Court would say, that's my thought, at any rate, guys...and I of course knew about the other verses...to me, that is absolutely one of the craziest notions I've ever seen, honest...I mean, why not pull at every other supposedly defective sociologic thread in the whole national tapestry, in an effort to please virtually everybody, you know? I mean, sooner or later, you won't even be able to remotely recognize what's left of the tapestry at all, after awhile...I mean, what are ya gonna ban next? The Tooth Fairy? The Easter Bunny? Santa Claus? All for some equally insane reason? I mean like as in WOW...gimme a break....

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 14 at 2019 6:52 PM

2019-03-14T18:52:37-04:00

no!!!

Response by CPT Chris Swatty made Mar 15 at 2019 1:24 PM

2019-03-15T13:24:53-04:00

How can it be racist, it starts with “Jose can you see...”!

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2019 2:16 PM

2019-03-15T14:16:17-04:00

No.

Not unless you believe in intersectional gobblygook....

Nowhere in the National Anthem is there any statement that one group of people is superior or inferior to another based on skin color.

So it's not racist. Period.

Response by SSG Shawn Mcfadden made Mar 17 at 2019 9:28 AM

2019-03-17T09:28:33-04:00

This is the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner(NOTE* there are 4 verses altogeather)
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refugee could save the hireling and slave
from the terror of flight, or gloom of the grave:
And the star-bangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Now let's understand some facts here. The Star-Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment of Ft. McHenry in 1814(Part of the War of 1812). During that time period, James Madison was President. He, was one of the first 5 and probably 10 presidents who OWNED SLAVES. Also The U.S. Military, from its inception until WWII, was SEGREGATED.
I know that a lot of people will read this and say all kinds of comments. However, my advice here is before you do, do some research first. Everything I disclosed here, I researched by using an Almanac.

Response by 1SG Todd Sullivan made Mar 24 at 2019 1:26 PM

2019-03-24T13:26:51-04:00

This is about the 5th question that I have seen in just the last month that has made me realize Rally Point has become garbage... why are there non veterans on here? NOT talking about children, spouses, of military members nor the cadets but folks with ZERO Connection to the military. When I signed up for Rally point it was a way to reconnect, network, guide young up coming military members but the leftist, socialist and down right idiocy of stuff I have read on here over the last few months I am not sad to say I’m done Rally Point is going no where, there is no way to monitor and take action against disrespect.. probably get RP prison for a week or two if you aren’t carful but who is managing that?? It’s been fun but honestly the level of a stupidity, non military, non transition, non retirement, or non teach, coach, mentor, and some stuff of the disrespectful bs... good luck.. rally point will probably go the way of TWS. Hope not but anyway. Heads on a swivel, leave no one behind!! Good luck.

Response by SGT Ted Hooban made Mar 25 at 2019 12:58 PM

2019-03-25T12:58:06-04:00

All things considered it appears to me poetic license that allows the omission of various minority groups. Rhyme and rhythm patterns make lyrics complicated, especially if one has been up all night fearing that they might die. I am in a wheellchair, with a visability that I could easily blame on defending my country and this gentleman's freedom of speech. I will continue to do my very best to stand for the national anthem, and to speak ill of Nike who apparently make shoes that make it difficult to stand for the anthem and others that bite the hand that feeds them (so well in some cases)

Response by MSgt Michael Madden made Mar 26 at 2019 4:31 PM

2019-03-26T16:31:07-04:00

The term Black Friday came about because the amount of sales for the Christmas season made the stores profitable.

Response by SGT Michael Wells III made Mar 26 at 2019 6:39 PM

2019-03-26T18:39:33-04:00

Since the socialist/globalist revolution in the US (which has been silently happening since the 90's), every effort to discredit the foundations of the USA has been underway. One cannot change a nation without changing it's identity.

The methods that are being used is to claim racism and theft of labor. When you look at it, no matter our country's faults, we were the first country to fight a bloody war to end slavery. That's a fact that can't be disputed.

Another argument used is we stole the land we used today. That is incorrect entirely, we won it with conquest - the same as the native Americans won it by conquesting other tribes. However, America was the FIRST country to turn away from conquest and look toward economy and trade for our wealth.

Another popular argument is that Capitalism is the rich stealing from the poor. Again, this is false. The system is absolutely centered around the concept of voluntary trade. No one holds a gun to a poor person's head and tells him he must spend his money in capitalism. You can't say the same for other economies.

This idea that everything in American is racist, stolen, or greed is simply astonishingly ignorant. This is an argument that's not even worth entertaining as it is inherently disingenuous at best and overtly and destructively malicious at worst.

As my grandmother (Auburn History PhD and Historian and History Professor for ECU for 33 years) once said, "History can never be bad, it can only hold stories of bad people, which is good."

Going on her wisdom and knowledge of the US History, many people today simply don't understand that time and somehow believe slavery is racist and/or exclusive to white people. It is not. In fact, the most feared slave owner (google it, "Most Feared Slave Owner") was Mr William Ellison, a black man. Imagine that. And who does everything think sold the slaves to Americans? Did we kidnap them from their black tribes? No - their black tribes (and family) sold them for rum.

Why did we have slaves (both black and white) - well, we kinda had to. There were no tractors, cotton gins, motorized vehicles, or even the basics we enjoy from electricity (meaning you couldn't work past dark and had to get EVERYTHING achieved from the time the sun came up until it went down). Therefor, if we were going to feed and cloth our nation without sinking into a depression, slaves couldn't be paid a fair wage - the economy simply wouldn't allow it. In many ways, slavery caused and paved the way for the industrial age and the invention of the tractor and assembly line by Mr Ford.

We tend to like to remember the bad things and never the good, but not all of slavery in the US was bad. There were *some* bad slave owners, mostly black themselves. And to any of you who think otherwise, try this thought experiment on for size: Imagine you bought a dog for $2.8M USD (average cost of a Slave accounting for inflation and the value of $1 then to $1 now) today, tell me how often you would plan to beat it or refuse to offer it a place to stay or medical care.

Yeah, no sane person would ever treat that dog less than royalty.

- Signed - An AMERICAN (never mind that I'm of Cuban descent, I'm just "American" as everyone should be).

Response by PO2 John Hahn made Mar 26 at 2019 8:34 PM

2019-03-26T20:34:07-04:00

Just the most difficult to sing. America the beautiful is a much more user friendly and still representative of our nation.

Response by LTC Charles Patchin made Mar 29 at 2019 12:33 AM

2019-03-29T00:33:05-04:00

No. The Star Spangled Banner is inclusive. Oddly enough in the third verse it includes " hirelings and slaves", which were both recognized as having a stake in the outcome of the battle and the war or in death.
We of the military, if we know our history of our profession, have had every race, color, religion and possibly nationality in uniform at one time or another and have stood at Present Arms or Hand Salute to honor the country the music represents.
Today's diversions into historical practices will never recognize that racism has been practiced by all races, in one form or another and none are free of that mark. But, the indoctrinators in todays "educational" systems only recognize two races. One is owners the other is slaves. Our country was divided by a war that very simplisticly has been defined by only one issue. After it was over one party continued to oppose and deny the rights guaranteed by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th, 14th, 15th and 24th Amendments to our Constitution. It continues to attempt to divide us by race. Usually the ignorant and under educated buy into the lie.

Response by PO1 Kevin Dougherty made Apr 7 at 2019 11:33 PM

2019-04-07T23:33:22-04:00

I when people call it racist, they are generally referring to the line in the third, rarely sung verse: "No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave"
Such an interpretation reflects the lack of understanding of historical context. The verse is instead referring not to slavery, but to the British use of mercenaries in their armies, much as they did in the Revolutionary war. It may have also been a passing reference to the British offer of freedom to slaves who rebelled. However it was not so interpreted as far as I know until very recently.

Response by PVT Mark Zehner made Apr 8 at 2019 1:49 PM

2019-04-08T13:49:50-04:00

No it was talking about those that still served the crown as a profiteer, soldier for higher, or a slave. It only wanted people that was willing to fight for this country! Just be thankful for Crispus Atticus!

Response by COL Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 9 at 2019 9:25 PM

2019-04-09T21:25:39-04:00

Your comments about the studies on how we may be "wired" resulting in possible racism doesn't tie into your question "Is our National Anthem racist?" Nothing in YOUR comments addresses why our National Anthem would be racist, at least the way I read it. That sorry bastard Ted Turner at one time suggested that we change our National Anthem to America The Beautiful because the words glorified militarism and war mongering.

Response by SFC Robert Walton made Apr 14 at 2019 9:32 AM

2019-04-14T09:32:14-04:00

If you go looking for something to be racist your going to find it only because you looking for it to be .

Response by PFC Terrance Smith made Apr 18 at 2019 10:36 AM

2019-04-18T10:36:33-04:00

The problem is the National anthem is it was shorten to hide the second and third stance that is clearly racist. The poem was written by a slaver. Some stuff isn’t a gray area it is black and white. Prior to that the National Anthem was America The Beautiful. Does things change or evolve yes they do but we have to stop rewriting history to make it look as if we never had a racial past or that Chattle Slavery and systematic oppression was wrong. It’s often down played or rewritten like in the State of Texas. That slaves loved their Masters and they were good to their slaves. That was not true and whoever wrote that book should be made to endure what a slave had to. Are we a perfect nation no but working together to fix past mistakes we can change the course of our country history for the better and become America the Beautiful once more.

Response by SGT Jermaine Coleman made Apr 18 at 2019 1:29 PM

2019-04-18T13:29:35-04:00

Here is the song in it’s entirety.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 18 at 2019 6:42 PM

2019-04-18T18:42:34-04:00

I'll leave you with this...

From the third verse of “The Star-Spangled Banner”:
"No refuge could save the hireling & slave/
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:/
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave/
O’er the land of the free & the home of the brave."

This verse is hardly ever sung these days, but there it is.

Response by SPC Phillip Sheppard made Apr 19 at 2019 12:57 AM

2019-04-19T00:57:54-04:00

Key was a very powerful attorney as his father was and for the majority of his career he and life he advocated for slavery and prosecuted abolitionist and those who wanted to end slavery. He himself owned slaves and when slaves were free he wanted to send them back to Africa and headed a society to do that.

"In August 1836, Key agreed to prosecute botanist and doctor Reuben Crandall, brother of controversial Connecticut school teacher Prudence Crandall, who had recently moved to the national capital. Key secured an indictment for "seditious libel" after two marshals (who operated as slave catchers in their off hours) found Crandall had a trunk full of anti-slavery publications in his Georgetown residence, five days after the Snow riot, caused by rumors that a mentally ill slave had attempted to kill an elderly white woman. In an April 1837 trial that attracted nationwide attention, Key charged that Crandall's actions instigated slaves to rebel. Crandall's attorneys acknowledged he opposed slavery, but denied any intent or actions to encourage rebellion. Key, in his final address to the jury said:

Are you willing, gentlemen, to abandon your country, to permit it to be taken from you, and occupied by the abolitionist, according to whose taste it is to associate and amalgamate with the negro? Or, gentlemen, on the other hand, are there laws in this community to defend you from the immediate abolitionist, who would open upon you the floodgates of such extensive wickedness and mischief?"

The jury acquitted Crandall.[29][30]

This defeat, as well as family tragedies in 1835, diminished Key's political ambition. He resigned as district attorney in 1840. He remained a staunch proponent of African colonization and a strong critic of the antislavery movement until his death." Wikipedia

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 19 at 2019 9:23 AM

2019-04-19T09:23:18-04:00

Surely its sentiment on that very day that FS Key wrote the poem was a reflection from the battle witnessed and his patriotic feelings regarding such, however to knowingly acknowledge the 3rd stanza as well its relevance to that time period it would be ignorant to say that it doesnt have a racist tone to it. Simply answering the question yes. America history is based heavily on racism, the harsh reality is we always want to shun the facts instead of attacking them progressively. Its a reason the 3rd isnt actively sang.

Response by LCpl Sam Epaloose jr made Apr 19 at 2019 5:45 PM

2019-04-19T17:45:02-04:00

I as an American Indian. Do not think it's racist.... It's only the millennial's that think that way, too much feelings...

Response by CW5 Edward "Tate" Jones Jr. made Apr 20 at 2019 10:11 AM

2019-04-20T10:11:15-04:00

There’s an old saying: “When you’re a hammer everything looks like a nail to you.” The societal corollary is “When you are a racist, everyone around you must be a racist.” We have gone completely overboard in our efforts to be a victim and the “race card” is the easiest and quick one called because it is virtually impossible to defend against.

Response by CSM Charles Hayden made Apr 21 at 2019 1:56 AM

2019-04-21T01:56:31-04:00

COL Sam Russell If Kate Smith’s recordings are being discarded by major athletic teams because of songs she sang in 1931 and 1934, then the National Anthem is undoubtedly considered racist by today’s overly sensitive populace!

Response by TSgt Matthew Greenwood made Apr 21 at 2019 1:58 AM

2019-04-21T01:58:54-04:00

The fact that someone would even ask this question is absurd! This is right up there with taking the Pledge of Allegiance out of schools. People have become way too worried about offending people to the point they are forgetting the history behind many of our customs. I know everyone has the right to follow their own religion and if the word "God" is offensive, they should really grow some thicker skin and grow up. If I came across a Muslim that was being harassed, I would be the first to defend them because it is wrong to persecute anyone and this Country was founded by people from many different countries with very different views, that is what make the US so great but we also need to remember as we are enjoying the right to practice our religious, so are others so the sooner we start minding our own business and quit trying to change everyone else because it doesn't jive whit your beliefs, the better off we will all be!

Response by GySgt Thomas Vick made Apr 21 at 2019 10:34 AM

2019-04-21T10:34:01-04:00

I cannot find any justification in calling our National Anthem racist, if you don't like my Country then please feel free to leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Response by SSG Byron Howard Sr made Apr 21 at 2019 3:39 PM

2019-04-21T15:39:12-04:00

Its a statement to the rest of the world.

Response by SPC Jimmy Rooks I made Apr 21 at 2019 3:47 PM

2019-04-21T15:47:09-04:00

In todays political climate, ANYTHING & EVERYTHING is racist if even ONE retarded Leftist takes offense!

Response by SSgt Liam Babington made Apr 21 at 2019 7:35 PM

2019-04-21T19:35:43-04:00

The very idea that our national
Anthem is racist is absurd

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2019 8:15 AM

2019-04-22T08:15:21-04:00

About 97% of these comments that think our country's national anthem isn't racist are not minorities. So personally, I expect for you all to not see it as racist. First of all, no one is looking for racial issues because some of us KNOW a lot of things ESPECIALLY in thos country IS racist. America is THE MOST racist country in the world. Secondly, the topic of thos discussion is asking if the national anthem is/was racist; it's not implanting that it is or looking for a racial issue. Now, I will say this...the anthem WAS racist when the national anthem was first established. Due to "equal rights" and laws being changed and established, America took out that controversial racial verse(s). But here's the kicker...just because something has been removed out of the history books,, doesn't necessarily mean the history never happened. Hell, some of our country's history IS a lie to cover up the factual truth like how America was discovered; or should I say stolen. If you never experienced any racial issues...minorities or Caucasians...then why comment on this feed? Oh, let me guess...some of yall have black friends and that makes it ok and give you passes; vise versa to blacks having white friends. Personally, I do not want to see color/race and I really try not to. But it is everywhere and no one in Rally Point can deny it. If you are, you're lying to yourselves. Turn on the TV or look at your social media/YouTube...UNFORTUNATELY, it's there. Hell, even in our U.S. Armed forces. I've seen it and definitely experienced it during my career more than one. Even from people of my own race. And I hated it. But neither am I perfect and no one else is. Some of you mock this feed with your comments. Y'all can't even comment respectfully about this. I am glad this was brought up about our national anthem. Because thos is revealing some you all true selves right now. Dueces.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 22 at 2019 8:43 AM

2019-04-22T08:43:06-04:00

And last but not least, if the National Anthem was not racial before 1931, then why was the verse removed and put out again in 1931? Ever thought about that?

Response by SSG D. Linson made Apr 22 at 2019 2:50 PM

2019-04-22T14:50:29-04:00

Well...the verses that have been omitted were a pretty racist, as they were of a different time.

I don’t understand people who (it seems, reflexively) proclaim “no, never racist, no way, no how!”

We have a “racist past”. Deal with it, people. It’s not a negative reflection on you - unless you are incapable of compartmentalizing history.

Response by Cadet SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 23 at 2019 3:58 PM

2019-04-23T15:58:07-04:00

All words are constantly (perhaps slowly) changing meaning, including "racism." I would say nothing can be absolutely considered not racist for all of time. Even without shifting meanings there's various statements that can be constructed to either be racist or not racist while retaining the same exact meaning. If anyone were to deconstruction everything to remove the every speck of racism not much would be left. My takeaway is to look at the functionality of the situation. Does the national anthem 's existence or recitation prevent the advancement of any racial group? Of course not. It would be ridiculous to think so.

Response by PO1 Kerry French made Apr 23 at 2019 7:38 PM

2019-04-23T19:38:03-04:00

Oh Dear God... not here too! Why can't we just accept that the way things were back then were the way things were and stop trying to label everything racist. Was slavery good? Hell no (and you can thank the Republicans for getting rid of it and passing the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments as well as the Emancipation Proclamation AND voting for the Civil Rights act every year after the Civil War until the Republican congress passed it in 1964 under Johnson). But taking down statues only helps us forget the past... and if we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat it.

Response by CPO Gregory Wemhoff made Apr 23 at 2019 11:33 PM

2019-04-23T23:33:41-04:00

Stanza #4 is blatantly racist.

Response by PVT Mark Dorton made Apr 24 at 2019 1:37 AM

2019-04-24T01:37:13-04:00

The song reflects the thinking and mind set at the time. So at that time no and the offending verse removed. Having said that. What can we do so that all AMERICANS Feel 100% Equal is all parts of life in America?

Response by SGT William Foster made Apr 29 at 2019 2:57 PM

2019-04-29T14:57:21-04:00

I don't know is our flag racist. I am sorry for being sarcastic but that's a really dumb question no its not racist that's like calling the rebel flag racist or calling the Don't tread on me flag

Response by SSG Calvin Grant made May 8 at 2019 3:02 AM

2019-05-08T03:02:04-04:00

I was born black. I’ve lived my life black and I’ll die that way. The third verse of the National Anthem has no racist content. It speaks to the very nature of the men who fought that war. Hirelings (those that work for money) I guess today we call them freelancers and slaves who fought for the British because they were promised freedom after the war was over. (Most if not all were returned to slavery). If you look hard enough you’ll find whatever you’re looking for. The only question here is how long do we perpetuate the divide in this great country?

Response by SPC Curtis Kennedy made May 15 at 2019 10:06 AM

2019-05-15T10:06:15-04:00

Why can't people stop trying to claim everything as racist...?

Response by SPC Byron Skinner made May 24 at 2019 1:28 PM

2019-05-24T13:28:28-04:00

Sp4 Byron, I agree this is an absurd question. The first part of the question in regard to the Star Spangled Banner and extending respect but stand as the flat goes past you or the singing of the Star Spangled Banner mostly at sports events. First reality check is the custom of playing the National Anthem at Sporting events didn't start until the week of November 22, 1963 the week JFK was killed. My Da and I wed at the Sharger Pilers game that Sunday and there were more confused faces then ant thing else, when the players went on the field its time for Football not standing around listening to music and I doubt that any body actually stood for the National Anthem. …The Star Spangled didn't become a patriotic song until after the first world war. The most popular patriot sone of the early 20th. Century was God Bless America by Irving Berlin. Irving Berlin's last name got mixed up in the auto patriot frenzy of the First World a War… A Good History if the era is of noters is "The American Protective League" by. Joan Jansen Phd…"God Bless America" was revived during the second World War when sung by Kate Smith and many institutions that did have flag ceramist sun God Bless America in stead of The Star Spangle Banner…AS to the Colonels reference to the psychological organization of the human brain at birth, sir you are way off base and what you described is a racist statement…But sir if you need a got-ch-ya Kate Smith has been accused of racist overtones in the music she sang. Just for the record any Antebellum Music is almost all racist that was composed south of the Mason Dixon line.

Response by SSG Hank Ortega made Jun 2 at 2019 2:46 PM

2019-06-02T14:46:52-04:00

It’s about a shoot-out with an Enemy Force.

Response by SrA Brett Stratton made Jun 2 at 2019 8:52 PM

2019-06-02T20:52:10-04:00

Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming;
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there:
Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

This was the national anthem I grew up to and what is played anywhere and everywhere I go. Yeah the lyrics are WAY longer than that, but I also believe there's a reason we only play the first verse, even among the civilian musicians of the land: because this is the core of what makes America what it is. You people want to say it's racist and cry about it, go to your therapist. The anthem is meant to embody the American spirit, not politics. If you can't see that, that's your failing, not the song's.

Response by SPC Chris Ison made Jun 22 at 2019 5:57 PM

2019-06-22T17:57:52-04:00

I think many things form colonial times were racist, it was just the wya shit was back then.

Hell technically the constitution is racist because it counts black people as 3/5ths a person.

However, you can not say we are a free nation and then pass laws that require people to do certain things like:

Stand for a flag, anthem, etc. In a free nation one has to be willing to allow someone to do what irks us to no end.

The measure of a patriot is not how much he agrees with you; The measure of a patriot is how well he controls himself when he is faced with someone who disagrees with him.

Response by SGT Bonnie B. made Jun 29 at 2019 7:45 AM

2019-06-29T07:45:35-04:00

This argument disturbs me as our country is not perfect, our history is scandalous at times; but it made us who we are and we are always trying to get better. However, we need to stop trying to erase and rewrite it and placing blame and learn from it for if we don't we are doomed to repeat it.

The Star-Spangled Banner by Traditional - Songfacts
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/traditional/the-star-spangled-banner

The Star-Spangled Banner by Traditional - Songfacts

The Star-Spangled Banner by Traditional song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position

Response by MGySgt Rick Tyrrell made Jul 13 at 2019 7:47 AM

2019-07-13T07:47:53-04:00

Stupid Question!!!

Response by SGT Charles Bartell made Jul 14 at 2019 8:49 PM

2019-07-14T20:49:10-04:00

I find it truly Amazing how all these people clam to know what Francis Scott Key meant.
The words and terms used back then for the most part have completely different meanings these day.
Also most people conveniently leave out the fact that that promises made by the British to set the slaves free was Bull shit.
The so called freed slave that where with the British during both the revolutionary war and the war of 1812.
Where all the freed salves that where under British control where returned to slavery.
As well as the fact that slaves where indeed owned by Free Blacks.
I find the fact that Most Black Slave where in fact caught by other Black Tribes in Africa.
Then sold to Dutch, Portage's and the British even after it had been outlawed by the British government.
But yet some how America gets all the blame for Slavery.

Now it is a sad fact that Slavery has existed from almost the start of Mankind.
And even sadder still that it is still in existence today in guess where AFRICA and the middle east.
Then there is the world wide sex Slave trade.
No U.S. Citizen as ever been a slave in America.
As I see it the problem with so called Racism in America is the RACE BATTERS like Jessie Jackson, And the As-holes in Washington that want to keep problems going.
Just so they can stay in Washington.
People just need to pull the heads out of there ASS'S and get to know each other for who we are not what some people did Two Hundred years ago.
Just my thoughts ass an American that is tired of stupid people making thing harder than they need to be.

Response by SGT Charles Bartell made Jul 14 at 2019 8:59 PM

2019-07-14T20:59:24-04:00

If you have to ask that. You need to look at your self really hard.

Response by CPL Steve Freeman made Jul 20 at 2019 2:36 PM

2019-07-20T14:36:13-04:00

The only reason anyone says it's racist is because in 1 verse of the original poem from which the National Anthem was taken, there is 1 reference to "slaves and hirelings". It never condones slavery. It merely mentions that American merchant men were seized on the high seas and forced to serve, paid or otherwise, on British vessels as "slaves and hirelings"...regardless of ethnicity. The whole thing is completely asinine. It just shows how miserably our education system has failed.

Response by SSG Harry Herres made Aug 4 at 2019 10:56 PM

2019-08-04T22:56:41-04:00

It is if you make it out to be. Give me a break, written how many years ago and now someone thinks it offensive! Tell you what, put your life on the line for this country then talk to me. Until you have done so, just shut up and be thankful there are people who have and some who can no longer.

Response by SPC Dave Behrens made Aug 5 at 2019 4:16 PM

2019-08-05T16:16:04-04:00

I think, more important than whether or not the anthem (or a little known verse of the anthem) is racist, is the knee jerk response to the question. The inability or unwillingness of a large segment of America to stop, consider, and really try to see the issue from a different perspective, is more telling of racial insensitivity than the words of a 200 year old poem.

Response by PO2 Matthew Anderson made Sep 1 at 2019 10:03 PM

2019-09-01T22:03:21-04:00

When Key refers to hirelings and slaves in the third stanza it's very likely that he's referring to the colonial Marines from the article (escaped slaves recruited by the British). That being said, if an integral part of our national identity includes a verse about these individuals who were intentionally excluded from the bill of rights, it would follow that the national anthem, at the very least, has some racist roots (enslaving people tends to require a certain level of collective racism, whether or not they escape to become the justifiable enemy of their enslavers). While Key is exclusively talking about opposition to the recruits of the enemy in this verse, it's very easy to interpret for a modern slave descendant as a justifiable act to defy their slavers (American landowners in the states that it was legal to own slaves in at the time). I'm believer that if post-Nazi Germany can reform their entire government after WW2, we can write a new national anthem without ruining our national identity, but accepting its modernization to reflect and include all of our people if there's sufficient public support. The real question is whether or not descendants of slaves would prefer to keep this reference as a reminder of the human suffering caused by slavery, or if we should settle on something a bit more reflective of the current values of our country. To those of you who flippantly disregard this notion, I'd recommend that you consider the efforts of descendants of slaves in several wars, and those veterans you serve next to every day before you dismiss the idea that this should be examined.

Response by SP5 Lori Pong made Aug 15 at 2020 12:10 AM

2020-08-15T00:10:15-04:00

The word racism is being throw around in idiotic ways it is destroying the true meaning and making the word worthless