As an American patriot, I believe what NFL players are doing is a necessary protest, but is unfortunately misunderstood by many people who don’t understand the symbolism behind why they take a knee during the national anthem.
It all started on August 27, 2016, when Colin Kaepernick shocked millions of people across the US by sitting down during the National Anthem. After gaining widespread attention, he explained that he sat down to protest the oppression of black people, specifically police brutality. He stated that he felt it was extremely necessary to do so, because the majority of the people affected by this don’t have the same platform Kaepernick had. He used his platform to hopefully gain attention and start the tough conversations about modern-day discrimination in America. After Kaepernick sat during the anthem, other athletes gradually began to kneel in solidarity with Kaepernick’s cause. This has sparked a huge debate in America—people claim sitting down during our national anthem is not only disrespectful to our flag, but to our troops as well. This common misconception couldn’t be further from the truth.
Kneeling during the national anthem in no way is meant to disrespect our troops. Kaepernick explicitly stated, “I have great respect for the men and women that have fought for this country. And they fight for freedom, they fight for the people, they fight for liberty and justice, for everyone.” When the players don’t stand during our anthem, it is their way of saying they don’t stand for the discrimination and racism that is plaguing America. They cannot stand for a country where innocent people of color are killed for no reason by government officials. They should feel safe in their country, not threatened by it. Until they see this change, they will continue to kneel. This is not a direct attack on our soldiers. This is merely meant to be a peaceful protest to bring light to the social injustice and discrimination haunting our nation.
Kneeling during the national anthem is also not meant as a stance against our president. Although many of the people kneeling might not be in support of him, the protest is there to represent something much bigger than disliking Trump. This is another misconception that has only been brought to light because of the way that Trump is handling the situation. The message they are trying to convey is much more powerful than being Republican or Democrat, but because of the way Trump has handled the situation, many people who don’t understand the full meaning immediately turn it into yet another “hate on Trump” party. This needs to stop. Trump needs to acknowledge that this is not a political protest against him, rather, a stance against police brutality.
Ron Rogers • Oct 8, 2017 at 9:21 pm
What this article states is all BS. These protests are invalid and should not be displayed on our sporting event fields which have been paid for by our countries tax payers! The nations police forces are guilty of attempting to protect and serve the general public and enforce our laws! If the perpatators were law abiding individuals they would not have any interaction with the police!