Tucson Police Officer’s #Takeaknee Video Goes Viral

Tucson Police officer Brandon Tatum [Photo from Facebook video]


On Sunday, Tucson Police Officer Brandon Tatum posted a video to Facebook that has gone viral, with over 11 million views. In the video, Now I have had enough, Officer Tatum spoke passionately about the NFL national anthem kneeling controversy.

Officer Tatum’s latest video is not the first of his that has gone viral. During the 2016 election cycle, a video on YouTube, in which he discussed then-candidate Donald Trump and his appearance in Tucson, earned over 800,000 views.

In an appearance on the Joe Pags Show, Tatum said he was not going to post a video, “but my good friend J.T. did one,” he said referring to popular Tucson radio show host James T. Harris, and he felt he should weigh-in. “I showed a lot of passion,” said Tatum, explaining why the video might have caught fire.

“This protesting is taking a knee on the flag,” began Tatum in the video. “For all of you who don’t understand; it’s not about the act of protesting. “It’s not about the act or believing in something and pursuing it. It’s the way you’re doing it. What does the American flag have to do with your perceived oppression? What does the national anthem have to do with these issues?”

“The national anthem has nothing to do with what you’re talking about. You’re talking about an anthem of hope and unity – within this country – that has made people become great. Made the poor become rich. Giving people opportunities. You are talking about a flag that represents hard work, dedication, blood, sweat, and tears. Sacrifice,” continued Tatum.

“You have these people, who are going around and taking a knee and want to attribute all the negativity to the flag, but they don’t want to attribute all the positive. Listen if you feel that the American flag represents negativity and slavery and all this other stuff, then you have to give credit and credence to a flag that has given you opportunities to go from cornfields and picking cotton to being the president of the United States.”

In his video, Tatum asks the NFL players if anything positive had come from their actions. “They haven’t accomplished anything,” he told Paggs. “If anything things have gotten worse. I have been challenged, threatened more now than ever before as a police officer. I haven’t seen them donate any money to police departments to make things better.

Tatum has experienced some backlash along with the praise for the video. “They call me coon, they call me Uncle Tom, but ninety-nine percent of the feedback has been positive. He said that he knew what his critics “believe in, so I could care less what they think.”

“They can’t move forward. No one is asking them to forget, but you have to move forward,” Tatum told Paggs. You can’t talk about slavery when no one alive was a slave or a slave owner. It is really a hate of this country, and a victim-hood mentality. They want to blame the white man but they don’t say that it was some white men that gave them the opportunity.”

Tatum said serious conversation can and must happen in our communities. “We have to start with not being politically correct and call things what they are. We have to start with an honest conversation. When we can stop being politically correct, and be willing to stand up for this country then we can talk to each other and solve our problems.”

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