A question of values

Kelly Loeffler can think what she wants, this being America and all. Heck, she might even be right.

So who is Kelly Loeffler, you ask?

Well, if you don't know, you're likely not alone. But she's a hard-right senator from Georgia who also happens to be co-owner of the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, which -- let's be honest here -- isn't often the featured attraction on America's radar. Anyway, it seems Loeffler, somewhat predictably, is not happy with the league's support for Black Lives Matter.

She thinks some fans might feel snubbed by that.

"I think a lot of people feel that they may not have a place," Loeffler said the other day in an interview with ESPN. "They may feel excluded from this sport and other sports that make them feel like American values aren't at the core of what we're doing here."

This could well be true. I'm sure, for instance, the NASCAR fans who waved their Confederate flags and booed Bubba Wallace when he was introduced the other day probably do feel excluded these days. I'm sure even Our Only Available Impeached President feels excluded, too, because the Washington Football Club finally ditched the racist nickname he so passionately defended.

Of course, for decades upon decades folks like Bubba Wallace felt excluded, too. And not just from  basketball or motorsports, but from America itself.

The difference is, they didn't just feel excluded. They were excluded. And it was American values that excluded them.

Lest we forget, segregation and Jim Crow were "American values" for a big chunk of the country for nearly a century. Denying people of color access to the polls was an "American value." Hanging them from trees without fear of arrest was an "American value."

I could go on. But you get the idea.

The idea being, what exactly does Kelly Loeffler consider American values?

And what, exactly, is Black Lives Matter saying that runs counter to them?

Lots of nonsense about its protests has gushed like sewage from the usual suspects these past few weeks, with the consequence that even largely peaceful protests have come to be characterized as "rioting," "anarchy" and "violent." One knucklehead senator from Arkansas, Tom Cotton, even said what's going on in Portland, Ore., right now is an "insurrection," and compared the protesters to the Confederacy.

Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard anyone yet lobby to secede from the nation. And I haven't heard of any of Homeland Security's "violent anarchists" doing anything more violent than wielding a can of spray paint or a piece of chalk.

Yet this is why they're being snatched off the street by Trump's gestapo. And this is why the protesters -- who include moms and Navy vets and other just-plain folks -- are being beaten, gassed and bull-rushed by the same gestapo.

Speaking of, you know, violence.

In any case, there has been some deliberate blurring of the lines here between the "violent anarchists" and the BLM and its allies.Yet the latter's message is pretty simple.

It's not about hating law enforcement, for the most part. It's about holding it accountable for its actions and shifting some of its burdens to other agencies (which is what "defund the police" actually means). And, oh, yeah: Could you please stop killing us?

That doesn't seem like a terribly big ask. Nor does it seem to betray American values.

But if Kelly Loeffler wants to think that ... hey, like I said, America. You can think any old thing you want to here.

Just remember on whom it reflects.