If someone had asked me six months ago who Colin Kaepernick was, I would not have been able to answer. While I still can’t tell you what football team Kaepernick plays for, he’s famous amongst my peers for a different reason. Starting August 14th, 2016, Kaepernick has gained attention for sitting during the national anthem. While many consider this disrespectful to the soldiers who have risked their lives to protect what the anthem stands for, other professional and even high school athletes have followed in his footsteps. While this controversial move has raised the question “Is it okay to kneel during the national anthem?”, this situation isn’t as black and white as people want it to be and there probably will never be a unanimous agreement. However, in order to decide opinions, we have to look at the reasoning behind Kaepernick's decision.
As of now in 2016, 188 African-Americans have been fatally shot by the police, and in 2015, 260 were fatally shot. This has caused some anger in the African-American community, and individuals have shown their outrage from peacefully protesting in the streets to even looting stores and destroying buildings. These deaths have also made an impact on Kaepernick because the reason why he has been sitting down has been in protest of the treatment of African-Americans. In a recent interview, he even stated: “I’m not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
While Kaepernick is not required by law to stand, individuals believe that there is a respect that needs to be shown to soldiers who protect our rights and our country. On the flip side, one of the rights that is being protected is the right to protest. Some claim that African-Americans only protest violently. However, Kaepernick has influenced peaceful protest amongst the nation including high schools in the Greater-Atlanta region such as Archer, Centennial, Alpharetta and Norcross. This is a cause that means something to Kaepernick, and he is using his platform to address it. While it may not be in the most conventional way, it has helped people to start talking about an issue that's been around for decades. So, is this movement really controversial if it can lead to a conversation on how to solve this problem? Is it okay to sit during the national anthem? You decide.
