2 big problems with "taking a knee" as the new standard form of protest.

1. It's sexist. See the problem:

If you wear a skirt (other than a very long skirt), you can't go down on one knee without creating an upskirt view. It's interesting to me to see that photograph taken with the woman in the short skirt in the most prominent position. She's not in the taking-a-knee position, because she's down on both knees, for the obvious reason. But I don't know how she managed to get into that position without exposing whatever she's wearing under the skirt. Maybe she prepared and — like a figure skater — donned some sort of exposable undershorts. I'm thinking of something like this, but even then, people are going to think it's not intended to be exposed. I'd hate to find myself in some sort of work event — as a lawprof, I usually wore an above-the-knee skirt — and expected to go along with a group activity that put pressure on me to expose myself. It's a disparate burden with an element of sexual harassment.

2. It's ageist and ableist. Look at Sheila Jackson Lee taking the knee at the end of a House speech on the subject of the First Amendment:



She's an older woman — 67 — and I don't know about her health, but it's a long way down for her, and the last 6 inches or so are more of a fall. And to get back up, she pulls on the lectern. It's one thing for professional athletes to go down on one knee, hold the position, and then get back up, but many people are not able to do it easily, gracefully, or without pain. Many cannot do it at all. It's just not an inclusive gesture. Here is this trending expressive activity some people might want to be part of, and they are forced to think about their own physical limitations, which they might feel bad about, but nobody is paying attention to. They may think: Why don't they care about me? Why are they making me expose my weakness?