Friday night, San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick made a political statement protesting racism against African-Americans. Specifically, the rash of killings of black people by police officers.
Taking a side on big issues isn't exactly a new thing for Kaepernick. He's been outspoken on social media before. But he ruffled some feathers by doing it differently Friday night: he refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem.
Courtesy of ESPN.com:
"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 told NFL Media's Steve Wyche, confirming Pro Football Talk's original report. "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."
Personally, I don't find this all that offensive. Perhaps it could be viewed as slightly disrespectful, but I think people get too worked up over symbolism and don't worry enough about substance. I could start ranting about how I think the playing of the national anthem at every single sporting event is a tradition that's outlived its usefulness, but that's a different post for a different bunch of ShortBus passengers.
First of all, he accomplished his goal -- we're talking about it. He wanted to bring attention to a deep divide in this country along racial lines, and he's succeeded. It may not have any effect on the big picture, but gigantic social problems can't be solved without conversation. Any attention to the subject spawns more of that.
Second of all, all he did was sit down. He didn't scream obscenities over the tune. He didn't hold up middle fingers. He didn't take out a gun and start shooting it. He simply voiced an objection by not participating in an over-used, overblown ceremony of patriotism during a time when he's not feeling all that patriotic. Feel free to not like it, but if this bothers you for more than five minutes, that's on you, and you need to get a friggin' life.
His people (Colin Kaepernick is bi-racial) have been systematically oppressed for centuries, and it's now reached a point where the people who are sworn to help protect them are now part of the problem. We could debate for a month about the scale of the issue, or the reasons for it, and people on opposite sides are unlikely to do or say anything that could change the other's minds. Hence, the divide. But the reaction has been disappointingly predictable.
The shitstorm on Twitter and Facebook has all the usual suspects -- the ones who jump up and down and scream about American values and patriotism whenever they're confronted with an idea they don't like -- are talking about how disrespectful Kaepernick is, and calling him "un-American." And I'd like to respectfully tell all those people to shut the fuck up. (Wait, there's no respectful way to do that? OK, so just shut the fuck up, then.)
For one thing, he's got legitimate reason to be complaining. Hell, just yesterday, the guy running for President and alleged human being Donald Trump posted this on Twitter (which has since been deleted):
What? A white guy running for president sees a story about a famous black person having a relative violently killed and decided to pat himself on the back? A presidential nominee is doing this, but KAEPERNICK is what has people pissed off?
Goddamnit. People have a right to protest things they don't like. Even if the protest takes form in a way that makes you uncomfortable. If I have to see the pictures of those dipshits with the "God Hates Fags" signs showing up at soldiers' funerals, you can handle someone not singing the Star-Spangled Banner. Standing up for something you believe in IS American. In fact, it's one of the core ideals the place was founded on. You don't get to accuse someone of hating America just because they disrupt your perfect fantasy of a country where everything is great for everyone all the time.
There are a lot of places in this world where expressing one's self the way Colin Kaepernick did would see them hauled off to prison somewhere. Here, we're entitled to speak out and criticize. Calling that un-American is completely misunderstanding what it means to be an American.
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