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
Caitlyn:
ReplyDeleteYour writing convinces me that Kaepernick's kneeling during the National Anthem is disrespectful.
At the same time, a part of your argument is that he's disrespecting the people who fought for his freedom. Playing devil's advocate, isn't it a part of his freedom to kneel in protest to what he's experiencing as a black man? What would you say those people?
Further why is his protest about one group of people's lack of access to freedom equated to him disrespecting veterans? Minority people are veterans too. What would you say to the people who have these views and/or perspective?
--Prof. Young
Yes, it is part of his freedom to kneel in a protest for what he has been experiencing as a black man, but it doesn't make it right what he has been doing. I would say to those people to not take their protest to their jobs because it could jeopardize their jobs and they could lose them. His protest about one group of people's lack of access to freedom equated to him disrespecting veterans because he is protesting against the people who are out there fighting for his freedom as an American. I would tell them to not to protest this issue in this type of way because people will feel disrespected and victimized. Even though, Collin Kaepernick has a right to protest for whatever he believes in, it still isn't right to the people who are deployed right now fighting for their lives while Kaepernick is playing football and very privileged.
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