Taking a Knee on the Football Field

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, started contraversy in beginning of the 2016 football season. Kaepernick was kneeling during the national anthem before every game and people were not very pleased with him. Many people thought that Kaepernick's little stunt was considered "unpatriotic". On the other hand, people stand with Kaepernick's actions. Within weeks of Colin Kaepernick's first stance, athletes throughout the country have followed his actions and have taken a knee during the national anthem.

Many people against Kaepernick's actions have considered his actions to be inappropriate. It is disrespecting our flag and national anthem. There are people out there who are deployed and fighting for their lives in other countries. Kneeling during the national anthem is just not okay. Kaepernick is getting paid to play football and not to disrespect our country. Refusing to stand for the national anthem shows disrespect towards the flag and the members in the military who are proudly serving our country each and every day. The national anthem pays respect to those who have risked their lives or died from defending our country. Some fans who do not like what Colin Kaepernick has been doing, have started burning his jersey to show how they feel about him. People feel very strongly about how his actions are unpatriotic.

On the contrary, people like what Colin Kaepernick was doing last football season. They thought that he was doing the right thing for standing up in what he believes in. In Time Magazine, there's an article on Colin Kaepernick's actions and it says, "But really expressing this First Amendment right this choose to sit or stand, I think that was him showing how much he loves America.". His fans think that expressing how he feels on the football field, shows how much he actually loves this country. They think that he is brave for doing his protests right on the football field when he could do it where ever he wanted to. Michael Bennett is another NFL football player that supports what Colin Kaepernick was doing. Bennett is a defensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks. Michael Bennett just wants to be able to use his platform to be able to speak about injustice.

The right thing to do in this situation is not to take a knee for the national anthem because there are people in the military who are fighting for your freedom to be in America. Disrespecting our country by kneeling during the national anthem is just rude. A lot of people thought that Kaepernick's behavior was unpatriotic. People feel offended by Kaepernick taking a knee during our country's national anthem. But, on the other hand, Kaepernick's supporters love what he is doing by standing up for what he believes in. Here is a quote from Colin Kaepernick from Time Magazine on about how he feels about not standing for the national anthem.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

Heres an interview on Colin Kaepernick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wr3IYwojT8

Do the Right Thing

The role of violence in social movements and protests has been debated by some of the most prominent American activists, most notably Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. While Martin Luther King, Jr. argued, "..... Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality the destroyers." Martin Luther King explains that violence is never productive. Violence just destroys communities and tears people apart. On the other hand, Malcolm X insisted, ".... I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self defense. I don't even call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence." Malcom X was a little different from Martin Luther King. Malcolm X thought that violence was not a bad idea and he was for it. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both have different views on violence. These two quotes connect to doing the right thing because Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both had different views on what they think is the right thing when it came to violence.

In the script, Do the Right Thing, the characters deal with violence and controversy within their community. One of the characters, Buggin' Out, is very open and will say what ever he wants. He does not care what anyone else thinks besides his own opinion. Buggin' Out is like Malcolm X in that way because Malcolm X didn't mind violence and he thought that it was good for self-defense. In the script, Buggin' Out stated, "Put some brothers up on this Wall of Fame. We want Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Michael Jordan tomorrow."(Lee, 15). Buggin' Out was always starting up some trouble at Sal's pizzeria. On the other hand, Da Mayor was like Martin Luther King, Jr. in many ways. For example, they both did not approve of violence. Da Mayor is a very wise person and he didn't want to start any trouble. In the script, Da Mayor said, "If we don't stop this now, we'll all regret it." (Lee, 81). Da Mayor and Buggin' Out are two very different people and has different views on what they thought was the right thing. Doing the right thing connects to the quotes above and the script because violence caused people to be for it or against it.

Link for a scene from Do the Right Thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4y7GPeFBY