The government making a racist decision does not somehow mean John himself is racist or that he isn't allowed to be shown any empathy.
Firstly, Sam himself decided to give up the shield, the government may have agreed with Sam's decision after the fact but this was a decision Sam himself made on his own terms due to his own feelings. Saying that the government encouraged Sam to give it up, which we have no proof of, is to ignore Sam's own agency and feelings, which he repeatedly expressed to everyone else.
but the most glaring point is that a good man wouldn't have accepted the role of Captain America after it was taken away from Sam. A good man would have recognized the racist grounds behind the confiscation of the shield, and would have refused to use Sam's loss for his own professional gain.
Again, Sam gave up the shield, nobody took it away from him. Sam CHOSE to give it up, he made a whole speech about it, even Bucky was speaking on this as Sam choosing to give it up, even Sam noted it was his choice. Blaming John for taking the shield away from Sam is just blatantly wrong.
And that's not even to mention John is an active duty soldier, he was given an order and assignment that he has no room to say no to. Maybe you do not understand how the military works, but John's assignments are not his choice, and being the new Captain America is not an illegal order that he must refuse. Even Sam and Bucky have had to follow orders when they were soldiers.
You are acting like John plotted with the government to steal the shield away from Sam, as if he somehow is aware that the government is stealing it from Sam and is okay with it, instead of him just being a soldier who was minding his own business doing his own assignments until the government suddenly one day gave him a new job and gave him a two week crash course before tossing him out into the field. He didn't ask to be Cap, he didn't choose to be Cap, it was an order and an assignment given to him by his superiors and he was obligated to follow as all soldiers do.
Also this whole "a good man would recognize..." - Steve and Bucky both couldn't recognize the racist grounds either, hell, neither could also recognize the position that they had put Sam into by dropping the shield on his lap without even consulting with him or getting his consent - are they both now suddenly not good man? You are implying that ignorance somehow equates to malice, and that somehow determines if you're a good person or not, and that's not even remotely true.
All John knew was that Sam gave up the shield and then the government gave him the shield to do a job, there is no self interest or malice or racism involved in John's decision.
A good man wouldn't have used his best friend to help that racist system keep up its image of diversity (always having a white Captain America with a Black sidekick) while it actually rejected any kind of real development for Black Americans.
Used? You think John purposefully chose to use Lemar to prop up diversity points? Do you not think Lemar has a mind of his own? That he was not going to let his best friend walk into danger without someone to watch his back? I'm sorry but you are showing a repeating pattern of ignoring the agencies of Black characters to turn them into just victims. First with Sam giving up the shield, and now with Lemar choosing to be there for John. You should reckon your own ignorances and prejudices on that.
That's Lemar's best friend, that's a childhood bond as real as Steve and Bucky choosing to always stand by each other. And that's not even to consider the bond between a Captain and his First Sergeant that is prevalent in the military in general. John isn't using Lemar for propping up diversity, that's not even a consideration the showrunners themselves have. Again, you are putting malice where there is none and disrespecting the agencies of Black characters.
He was never a good man. Do I think he was a villain? Of course not. But we as the audience need to recognize how much damage he had willingly caused. He can't be a superhero, because was never motivated by the greater good. John has always been driven solely by his own self interest, and he will likely continue to hurt people to get his way.
Damage he willingly caused? Again. You are blaming him for being Captain America when it wasn't his choice or his idea. He didn't willingly cause anything. He's not the reason that Sam didn't keep the shield.
And acting like reactions born out of grief and trauma somehow determines if someone is good or not, or makes you a superhero or not, is silly, given how many MCU heroes HAVE acted out of grief and trauma despite the narratives upholding them as good. T'Challa literally spent all of Civil War trying to do attempted murder with no remorse or holding back, yet he still became a superhero. Thor killed a defeated and unarmed and on-his-knees Thanos, even though he's still a superhero. Peter Parker would have killed the Green Goblin if other people hadn't stopped him and he's also still a good superhero.
And this whole "John is driven by self interest and he will continue to hurt people to get his way" concept is just wrong. it's even wrong without taking into account of Thunderbolts because John literally gives up his revenge when he realizes that there are people who are about to die. The showrunners themselves literally say that John used to be a hero, and that at the end of the day, even if he has his feelings, he knows that the right thing is the right thing to do. John literally drops his own self interest for the greater good.
If you don't want to believe me, then listen to the show creators themselves stating that John's desire to do good is genuine and real.
And once we count in Thunderbolts, it's even more that John CAN be a superhero, that the Thunderbolts came back to SAVE civilians because they care about the greater good and helping others.
John shows his care for other members of the team when he doesn't need to. John is the first to call out about getting civilians off the street and to safety. None of that is for selfish gains.
To claim John is only purely motivated by his own self interest is to completely and fundamentally misunderstand the character. Especially when the last thing he does in TFATWS is to let go of his own self interest in revenge to do the greater good of saving lives.
And again, the creatives at Marvel consistently has said this about John even before Thunderbolts was a thing:
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