Thomas Fleming
Thomas Fleming is president of the Fleming Foundation. He is the author of six books, including The Morality of Everyday Life and The Politics of Human Nature, as well as many articles and columns for newspapers, magazines,and learned journals. He holds a Ph.D. in Classics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.A. in Greek from the College of Charleston. He served as editor of Chronicles: a Magazine of American Culture from 1984 to 2015 and president of The Rockford Institute from 1997-2014. In a previous life he taught classics at several colleges and served as a school headmaster in South Carolina
I love the gladiators facing real death line!
I’m reminded of the quip, “hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue” when I considered the Nike commercial with this clown. Here is Kaepernick piously protesting supposed oppression while pocketing millions from Nike, which has most of its shops in Vietnam where workers are forced to work 65 hour weeks for their handsome $73.94 a month.
I suppose the joke is really on us, however, as it seems Nike is already profiting from using this guy as the point person to sell to their target demographic here, which sees him as some kind of martyr-hero. If he had any semblance of authentic concern, he’d devote himself to getting Nike to relocate these plants to our inner cities; at least then federal wage laws would make these consumers more able to shell out 200 bucks and more for a pair of shoes.
How about a Kolin Kaper Nix action figure, preferably made in the USA by Hasbro, with the figure saying, “Watch me take a knee.”
Of course with all profits going to the Fleming Foundation.
Wonderful idea! We’ll make sure that the figure has a back pocket stuffed with greenbacks.