When Colin Kaepernick originally decided to kneel for the national anthem last year, I doubt he imagined it would transform into the league-wide protest it has today.
Kaepernick’s original message was one against police brutality and racial injustice in America, and although many people still fight and kneel for this purpose, it has primarily become a collection of anti-Trump protests. Kaepernick’s message still holds value, but the president’s actions have drawn support from more anti-Trump activists than police brutality activists.
After the president called for anyone who kneels during the national to be fired on the spot by NFL owners, and also referred to the protestors as, “sons of bitches” (strong wording that was not seen for even the Charlottesville protesters), the NFL joined together as numerous teams and players locked arms together in protest to the president.
Trump supporters have used the argument that they are disrespecting the military, and those who fought for this country’s freedom. They hide behind the rhetoric of patriotism when in reality, they are far from patriots.
Americans every day violate the U.S. Flag Code, which states the flag should never be put on clothing as a design (like swim trunks, t-shirts, and bikinis) or carried flat (like they do before football games on the field). Although these are written violations of the flag code, I have never seen these so-called patriots rioting over this.
I believe that those who are calling for the heads of these protesters are using the issue as an excuse to push their anti-black motivations. Using the protest provides an excuse for people to spew hate towards African Americans, as 70 percent of NFL players are black, according to the Huffington Post. They aren’t actually passionate that people stand for the anthem; they just want an excuse to be racist.
Sitting for the national anthem is not about disrespecting the military. The soldiers who fought for our country didn’t do it for the respect of people at a football game, they did it to protect our freedom, and that includes our right to peacefully protest.
And as JFK said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible only make violent revolution inevitable.”