Dear Canada: Keep Booing That Anthem - You’re Absolutely
Right.
To my friends up north, let me start by saying this: I see
you. I hear you. And I’m with you. As a kid,
the highlighting of the Underground Railroad
during Black History Month ingrained in my
mind that the Canadian people were more good
and decent people than Americans.
As an American, an Afro-American, I know what you’re up
against. I know the gaslighting, the
guilt-tripping, and the sheer, unrelenting
hypocrisy that gets hurled at anyone who dares
to question America’s so-called moral
superiority. You should kiss Trump’s orange
ass and willingly go into American statehood.
I know the accusations - that you’re being
“disrespectful,” “ungrateful,” or worse, that
your anthem protests are some sort of
treasonous affront to the almighty empire that
is the United States of America.
Well, let me be the first to say: That’s nonsense. And not
just nonsense - deliberate, willful nonsense
meant to silence criticism and maintain the
illusion of American innocence. Canada, you
are confronted with the swaggering stupidity
and bloated arrogance of toxic good ol' boy
Donald Trump.
I get it. Canada has long been expected to play the role
of the polite, agreeable neighbor - smiling
through America’s tantrums, absorbing the
economic gut-punches, and nodding along while
the U.S. parades around the world like a
self-appointed global sheriff. But with Donald
Trump resurrecting his bully routine -
threatening tariffs, treating Canada like a
disposable sidekick, and fueling the ugliest
strains of nationalism - it’s no surprise that
Canadians have finally had enough.
That booing? That wasn’t just about an anthem. It was a
long-overdue rejection of U.S. arrogance. A
full-throated, arena-shaking NO to the
imperialist machine that sees Canada as
nothing more than a subordinate.
And here’s the kicker - you’re right. Every reason you
have for booing “The Star-Spangled Banner” is
valid. Because while MAGA fanatics clutch
their automatic guns and shriek about
“respect,” they conveniently ignore the
history behind that flag. The blood it’s
soaked in. The lies it’s told. The people it’s
trampled.
So if America wants to be outraged, let it be outraged. If
Fox News wants to foam at the mouth, let it
foam. If MAGA die-hards want to cry, hand them
a tissue.
Because until the U.S. starts living up
to the ideals it preaches, Canada - and the
rest of the world - has every right to call
out its hypocrisy. It will continue. The American national anthem got booed into oblivion -
this time at a Toronto Raptors game. But let’s
be clear: this wasn’t some one-off act of
sports hooliganism, like throwing beer at a
ref or flipping off a rival player. No, this
was a message. A statement. A giant,
collective Canadian middle finger aimed
squarely at the Stars and Stripes.
And it’s not just Raptors fans. This growing anthem
boycott has been spreading across Canada, from
NHL arenas in Ottawa to Calgary, where fans
have decided that the best way to respond to
America’s increasingly unhinged, bullying
antics is to drown out its so-called anthem of
freedom with a symphony of contempt. The
reason? Donald J. Trump, Emperor of Grift,
King of Bankruptcy, and the Petulant
Child-in-Chief, has been running his mouth
again - threatening tariffs, throwing
tantrums, and treating Canada like an unruly
colony, rather than a sovereign nation.
And now, the world is responding accordingly to MAGA’s
Swaggering Stupidity and Hubristic Ignorance:
The Toxic Male Archetype, Donald Trump”
Cue the Right-Wing Meltdown
MAGA Nation is losing its collective, fragile little mind.
To them, booing the national anthem isn’t just
an insult - it’s a war crime. The usual
suspects over at Fox News are already working
themselves into a red-faced, vein-popping
rage, screaming about “ungrateful foreigners”
and “disrespecting the troops,” while
conveniently ignoring the long, bloody,
racist, and imperialist legacy that this
anthem - and the flag it represents - carries
with it.
Let’s cut through the propaganda and get to the nitty,
gritty unfiltered truth:
The U.S. flag is not, and never has been, an innocent symbol of justice and equality. It’s a banner that
has presided over some of the most horrific
atrocities in human history.
That Flag Ain’t Innocent - It’s a Crime
Scene
Genocide? Check. That flag waved proudly while Indigenous
nations were systematically exterminated,
their land stolen, their children kidnapped
into boarding schools where their culture was
beaten out of them.
Slavery? You bet. That flag flew over cotton plantations
where human beings were bought, sold, raped,
and tortured in the name of economic growth.
Jim Crow? Front and center. That same flag adorned the
courtrooms that upheld segregation, the city
halls that enforced redlining, and the police
stations that ignored lynchings.
Japanese Internment Camps? Oh, absolutely. That flag
soared over barbed-wire prisons where
thousands of innocent Japanese Americans were
locked away during World War II, simply for
existing.
And let’s talk about sports, since that’s where this
controversy started. That same flag that gets
paraded around before every game? It once
loomed over stadiums that refused to let Black
athletes play. It flew outside hotels where
Black entertainers could perform but couldn’t
eat, sleep, or enter through the front door.
It flew over arenas that enforced American
apartheid, ensuring that sports - like
everything else in this country - remained
rigged for White comfort.
Even today, the flag waves in silent complicity as:
● Black people get gunned down by police for holding a
cellphone.
● Migrant children are locked in cages.
● Women’s rights are stripped away by religious fanatics in
the Supreme Court.
● Corporations exploit workers while billionaires hoard
wealth.
● The government pumps endless money into wars while
Americans drown in medical debt.
Under Emperor Trump, “Old Glory” is
becoming a Warning Label officially becoming less of a symbol of freedom and more
of a neon ‘Proceed With Caution’ sign.
This is a flag that MAGA conservatives have turned into a
religious artifact, demanding absolute,
unquestioning worship. Question it? You’re a
traitor. Criticize it? You hate America. Boo
it? You deserve exile.
This is a flag that waves proudly over an administration
that gleefully cozied up to fascists - a
country where waving a Confederate flag inside
the U.S. Capitol isn’t considered
“un-American,” but kneeling during the anthem
is.
This is a flag that presides over a nation that will
invade foreign countries in the name of
“freedom” while banning books, criminalizing
protest, and attacking the very democracy it
claims to uphold.
And now, with Trump clawing his way back into relevance
like a cockroach that just won’t die, the U.S.
flag has become a blunt-force object of
nationalism, racism, and fear-mongering. It
is, depending on the day, the banner of:
● White supremacy (Charlottesville, Capitol riots, take your
pick).
● Sexism (The overturning of Roe v. Wade).
● Class warfare (Billionaires pay zero taxes while
working-class Americans ration insulin).
● Xenophobia (Muslim bans, border walls, and ICE raids).
And yet, the same people crying about “respecting the
flag” are the first ones to wrap themselves in
it while trying to burn democracy to the
ground. Can I get an Amen!
So, Is Booing the Anthem Really That
Radical?
Let’s be blunt: If America actually lived up to its ideals
- if it actually embodied equality, democracy, and
justice - then maybe, just maybe, people wouldn’t feel
compelled to reject its symbols. Maybe
Canadians wouldn’t feel the need to boo. Maybe
Colin Kaepernick wouldn’t have had to kneel.
Maybe the rest of the world wouldn’t be
side-eyeing America like a self-righteous
drunk uncle at Thanksgiving.
But that’s not the reality. And until the United States
stops demanding respect it hasn’t earned,
people will continue to turn their backs on
its anthem, its flag, and its false promises.
MAGA outrage be damned - booing the anthem isn’t treason.
It’s an evaluation. A global reality check.
And right now, Canada just handed America a
big, fat F.
