If you're not up to date with the current drama surrounding San Francisco 49er's Quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, let me catch you up to speed real quick. As we all know, the National Anthem is played at the beginning of every football game. Kaepernick recently decided to sit down instead of standing at attention with the rest of the stadium while the anthem played. This has caused huge controversy and has captured the attention of the entire nation. His reason for not standing during the Anthem of our country is that he feels the ideals that this song was built on are no longer being valued. He doesn't believe people are being treated fairly and explained: "there are bodies in the streets." Many people feel as though Kaepernick is being disrespectful and have gone as far as burning his jersey, sending him hateful messages with threats of violence, and calling him racial slurs. Now that you're all caught up on the story, let me give you some reasons why I am on his side.
1. As the 49ers (Kaepernick's team) stated in the statement they released on the topic, "In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem." Kaepernick is exercising his first amendment rights: freedom of speech and right to protest. There is not one person who can tell him, nor is there a law that says he absolutely must stand up during the playing of the National Anthem. He has every right to sit if he feels he has a justified reason to do so. If you feel as though he's being disrespectful, that is also your right but honestly, I don't know why you care so much about whether a person is sitting or standing. Let me also say that this happens all of the time and he is not the first person to do so. There are students who don't stand up during the pledge because they just don't feel like it. There are people (like Gabby Douglas) who don't put their hand over their heart during the National Anthem because they were taught by a military family background to stand at attention instead. If we could stop being so particular about what is "respectful" and what is not when it comes to a person posture choice, maybe we could focus more energy on real issues. Hmmm...it almost sounds like this was Kaepernick's point. Wow.
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2. He presented and continues to present his reasons for sitting respectfully and fully cooperates with the press that has been bombarding him for interviews. He has not once gotten out of hand or yelled at anyone or even responded to the cruel things being said to him because of his choice to sit. He's refusing to get on the level that so many Americans are on just because they believe he's being disrespectful. I'm sorry, but when I was disrespectful my parents told me I was wrong and maybe grounded me. I don't believe he deserves threats and racial slurs. Who's really the disrespectful one here?
3. Everything he's saying is absolutely true. There are bodies in the streets. There are people getting paid leave and getting away with murder. People of color and of Hispanic descent are being treated poorly. Police brutality is rising. Let's face it, America is on edge and we are having problems. Maybe you don't agree with his method of trying to spread awareness, but it could be so much worse. There are people who are fed up and angry and have been burning buildings and killing policemen and rioting. Collin Kaepernick SAT DOWN DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM. I beg you to look around. Look at the bigger picture here. He's not breaking a law. He's not hurting anyone. He's standing up for something he believes in. I can't argue with that.
4. The National Anthem is supposed to represent "the land of the free and the home of the brave." Are we not then being hypocritical by being so passionate about a song that talks about freedom when we are refusing to give it to all of our people? Are we really the land of the free if white privilege still exists, people get killed just for being a certain race, and other minorities get kicked out of the country? If we're going to be so dedicated to our Anthem, then we should be dedicated to making sure it stays true. The song was written about a country that was supposed to represent equality and the people serving our country who protect that freedom. Many people have argued that they believe Kaepernick is disrespecting the military by sitting during the National Anthem. But are we not disrespecting them by not distributing equally the freedom they fight for us to have? Many veterans have actually spoke up and said that they are on Kaepernick's side. You can search the hashtag #VeteransforKaepernick if you would like proof.
5. We need people like him to stand up for us. He has a platform many of us are not lucky enough to have. Our voices just aren't loud enough on their own. He has the power to get the attention of the entire nation in 3 minutes. We need those kinds of people on our side to help us fight for a better America. An equal America. An America that we've talked about and strived for throughout our entire history. Kaepernick felt a moral obligation to speak out on an issue that was much bigger than him. In the midst of all the recent tragedies surrounding police brutality and discrimination against minorities, he reached the same point many of us did: he became angry. He felt he couldn't be quiet anymore and needed to do something. But instead of carelessly reacting with rage and violence, he did his research and thought everything out. I will not be okay with that decision. We should all be working towards a larger goal. We should all be working towards equality.
His controversy will not come to an end yet. He is still fighting for the starting position as the 49ers Quarterback. He could very well be cut and/or traded and be out of a job. I really hope that's not the case and he can continue to have the platform he needs to spread these important messages. Some players are even starting to follow in his footsteps. Maybe you agree with his cause but not his method. Maybe you disagree with him completely. But I, personally, want to see more people like him respectfully protesting and trying to spread awareness so that we can all work together to accomplish a bigger goal. This is something that has been going on for far too long and it can no longer be ignored, until there is liberty and justice for all.
Collin Kaepernick, I am with you.
