Kaepernick Show Some RESPECT
I am a young African American man, and I am one of the few minorities who believe Kaepernick’s protest is executed poorly.
Kaepernick has refused to stand during the national anthem since the preseason of the NFL season. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Daulo Gleaton, a student here at HCC says, “These people are evading the issue. They are trying to throw shade on it and make it about the military, when it’s really about the stuff going on with the police.” He believes what Kaepernick is doing is great and it’s opening the eyes of many to what is happening with the police in this country.
I agree that this is an injustice, but I do not agree with disrespecting your country in the process.
Many Americans died over the course of hundreds of years so that today we have the right to sing a National Anthem and say we are free. The fight for freedom goes all the way back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and continues all the way up to today as we fight off terrorist groups like ISIS. What people, along with Kaepernick, fail to realize is that the Anthem is not sung solely for police officers. Why would you disrespect a nation just to target one specific group of people?
There are many other ways Kaepernick could have gotten his point across. I would suggest going to these places where the injustices are happening. Go straight to the police departments and hold press conferences and meetings with the police. Not only Kaepernick but all the players who take a knee or stand with their right fists held high during the anthem, they all can do something off the field to effect the social injustices in America.
I believe it’s easy to just sit or stand saying you believe something, but it’s another thing to go out and do something about it. Kaepernick has started something big throughout the NFL. It has gotten the attention of many, but all it has done is got people talking about whether or not he should be standing. The method is drawing more attention than the actual issue at hand and that in a sense is a problem with the people in this country but also the execution of the protest.
Halfback Rashad Jennings of the New York Giants also agrees with my position on this issue. He says, “find another way to attack the issue outside of the national anthem.” He is also another African American man who believes the protest should be handled outside of the football field. “The significance of Sunday is for us to continue to do what we’re here to do, and that’s go out there and play football,” he added.