A few of you, if not most, may have heard of the football player Colin Kaepernick and his action to sit on the bench during the national anthem. He did this in order to illuminate the racial discrimination that law enforcement has towards African-Americans. Since doing so, Colin has sparked a national uproar in the controversy of whether or not it is appropriate to use this action to demonstrate his opinion. Since his action, a slim amount of his fellow peers have attempted to replicate his action. A sparse amount of NFL players have even decided to kneel during the national anthem or simply sit down.
So, why am I bringing light to this subject today? It's because I believe that Kaepernik's actions are completely and utterly disgusting and disrespectful to so many invaluable law enforcement individuals that risk their lives each and every day for our beautiful country. Yes, I agree, there may be an issue with how African-Americans are handled in law enforcement today, but this does not mean all law enforcement is corrupt or cruel. We as people are humans; we make mistakes, and we may not always do the right thing, however it does not mean we can disrespect all of those who do make the right choices. There is an abundance of police officers who make the right decisions each and every day, yet the media decides not to cover those stories because it'll receive less attention. I think that's why Colin Kaepernick ultimately made the decision he did.
There are so many other ways to shed light on racial discrimination instead of sitting on the bench during the national anthem. By sitting down, he is disrespecting and dismissing all of the good that law enforcement has done for this country. In my opinion, I think he should of made a speech or given a press conference if he really wanted to illuminate racial discrimination in the appropriate way. I am aware that there could be an issue with how African-Americans are treated in law enforcement and around the country, but that does not give Colin Kaepernick any right to disrespect the majority of law enforcement that are doing the right thing.
Colin even has disrespected law enforcement by continuously sporting black socks with pigs wearing blue police hats since early August. He also stated in a 20 minute exchange with the press that, "Cops are getting paid leave for killing people." Colin is completely ignorant to the fact that nearly 50% percent of the victims of fatal police shootings are white and that only 26% were African-American. Many may argue that this statistic is insufficient because Caucasians make up for 62% of the population and African-Americans make up 13%, but let me tell you this. The Wall Street Journal states that statistics obtained in 2009 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that African-Americans were charged with 62% of robberies, 57% percent of murders, and 45% of assaults in 75 of the largest counties in the country, despite African-Americans making up only 15% of the population.
Colin Kaepernick's viewpoint on law enforcement is perfectly unacceptable. According to what he has said to the media, and what he has worn on the field and furthermore, what he has done during the national anthem, is absolutely preposterous, disappointing, and shameful. What Kaepernick has started shows how oblivious he truly is. America may not be the nation it once used to be, but it is still is deserving of a standing ovation during our national anthem with our hands held over our hearts.
