A couple months ago, San Fransisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick shocked the nation and the world when he kneeled during the national anthem on national television. It lead to some people standing (or kneeling) behind him and some people boycotting the NFL for not giving him some sort of punishment. Many other younger athletes in high school and college joined Kaepernick, kneeling during the national anthem to protest against police brutality and violence against black people. Kaepernick continues this protest every game.
At sporting events in the stands, people remain seated. At pep rallies at high schools, people remain seated. I recently attended an NFL game and was yelled at by a man behind me for not standing for the national anthem. He yelled at me about how “people died for this country” and I was “disrespecting the veterans.” And, he is right, people did die for this country. But, they died for the right to allow me to sit during the national anthem and stand up for what Colin Kaepernick and I believe in.
People have so much hate towards Kaepernick, and for what? We should be thanking him. More celebrities and athletes, people with a platform and a voice, need to speak up against injustice and inequality. This gets our voices heard, and we are the people that do not have a large enough voice or a big enough platform. Colin Kaepernick did grow up with white parents, he did have a nice family, and he is a wealthy man. But does that give him any less of a reason to protest? Hell no!
Colin Kaepernick is a hero. He is brave. While people slander his name, they really do not think about the senseless courage this man had to have to stand up against millions of people for what he thought was right. He went against what was so “forbidden” and showed the nation that what he does is bigger than football itself.
I was scrolling on Facebook the other day and stumbled across a man saying, “Colin Kaepernick should be punished harshly for what he has done! He is so disrespectful!” I clicked on this man’s profile and in a matter of seconds, I saw him fighting about how he would not allow President Barack Obama “to come and take his rifles.” He was fighting for his second amendment rights. I could not believe the hypocrisy twisted into his words. He is allowed to have his second amendment rights, but Colin Kaepernick is not allowed to have his first amendment rights? How does that work?
For the people who are protesting against the national anthem (including myself), do not let anyone tell you to stand. Do not let anyone tell you what we are doing is disrespectful. Do not let anyone tell you we are “un-American.” Do not let anyone strip you of your constitutional rights. Whenever someone tells you these things, think about the hundreds of years of oppression black people have had to undergo, the oppression we still continue to face on a day-to-day basis. Think about the people that continue to tell us to “get over slavery.” Think about the opportunity gap black people still have in America. Think about the black lives that are still taken almost everyday. People die everyday and fight for this country, so we can be able to protest.
