It was a fairly remarkable weekend around the National Encephalopathy League. The president* ran his mouth down in Alabama and managed to unite labor and management in a way once thought unimaginable. It is entirely possible that this little pageant was created in order to distract attention from the fact that his cabinet officers have been joyriding on our dime, that the push to render the Affordable Care Act unaffordable and careless seems to have stalled once again, and that he continues to poke North Korea with a stick. But, regardless of the ultimate motive, what we saw in various stadia—and in the arena where they are contesting the WNBA championship—is, as far as I can determine, unprecedented.

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There is something of a danger in the way the weekend’s activities are being framed. While the president*’s remarks undoubtedly were the fuse, the match was curiously unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s original protest, which was aimed at the dubious justice associated with the shooting of African-Americans by police officers. This was hardly mentioned as most of the coverage centered on a welcome—but ultimately banal—defense of the right to protest under the First Amendment. But the fact remains that the exercise of that right in this case is primarily directed at the unjustified deaths of minority citizens like Philando Castile, Tamir Rice, and, most recently, Magdiel Sanchez. If that gets lost in a kind of barely muted self-congratulation, then the weekend’s protests become merely special pleading from players whose feelings were hurt. That would be a disservice to the sacrifice that Kaepernick has made as well as to the cause he represents.

The fact remains that the exercise of that right in this case is primarily directed at the unjustified deaths of minority citizens.

Nevertheless, the solidarity was as impressive a statement as we have seen from this class of people since the days of black gloves and Muhammad Ali, and it’s a measure of the astonishing ability of this president* to find, and to stomp upon, someone’s last nerve, which is his only demonstrable talent as a political leader. There is a strong school of thought that believes this to be a kind of native political wisdom rather than simply a kind of destructive political improvisation. Raise hell with football players and maybe nobody will notice that you’re tickling the dragon’s tail in east Asia, or that you’re prepared to send grandma’s chemo money to Scott Walker so he can fix the potholes in his state’s highways. This is generally followed by some chin-stroking about how the players are “playing right into his hands” and that they should’ve found another way to protest. There never has been a protest movement in the history of this country that hasn’t had that argument deployed against it.

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The problem with that theory is that, if you accept that it’s true, then he’s played the distraction card once too often. It’s obvious now and it fools nobody, least of all the people he needs in Washington. No, I simply assume it’s another tantrum from a man without even a modicum of self-control, and with what appears to be an increasing level of flopsweat panic. The protests this weekend were long on dignity and grace and short on bombast. You can hardly blame people for being just a bit confused. We haven’t seen much of either in our politics for a long time.

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Charles P. Pierce Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976.

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