Colin Kaepernick had good intentions. Noble intentions. He wanted to bring more attention on racism and police brutality. I applaud him for that. He tried to do something. He tried to take action. Only he took the wrong action and disrespected the National Anthem and American flag.
Some people try to say that its not disrespecting the National symbols. I have heard it was a military man who came up with the idea. They will point out that a lot of military soldiers are actually behind the action. You know what I say? I don't give a crap who is behind it or designed it!
If Kaepernick didn't think it was disrespectful, he would never have knelt in the first place. The very reason he knelt during the National Anthem is because he knew that disrespecting the National Symbols would draw a lot of attention. And he was right. But the first simple fact I will point out is "Yes" indeed it is disrespectful to the American Flag and the National Anthem. So lets be clear on that and move on to the next point of this article.
He meant to draw a lot of attention. That is understood. But it is the wrong attention. Because there are so many millions of people (Not all veterans) who are offended by this blatant disrespect for the country they still love, nobody is talking about how we need to stop racism. Nobody is screaming about how we need to stop police brutality. Instead the debates have only been about whether it is right or wrong to kneel. When you protest something, the focus should be placed on the problem you are protesting. In this case it isn't. I don't remember one debate on Facebook or on the news or anywhere about whether racism is bad or not. Every time the kneeling comes up the focus is strictly on the disrespect of the National symbols. For that reason alone they should stop kneeling. But that's not the only reason and its not even the biggest reason.
IF you took a poll, I would bet over 95% of Americans would say that racism is wrong. Just as many would say police brutality is wrong. You may get some who will argue that its not only whites who are racist or that the truth is that only a small percentage of cops are actually corrupt, but even those would say racism and police brutality is wrong. So it would only be logical then to do something that would draw attention to the problems and unite the country against them. Only kneeling doesn't do that. It doesn't unite us for a common cause. It divides the country instead.
Some would say that racism causes division. Some might say that its the opposite and its division that breeds racism. One thing anyone would have to agree on is that racism and division go hand in hand. I see racism and division as similar to an NFL Offense run game and passing game. They need each other to reach their potential. One doesn't make the other. They both feed off each other. Racism and division feed off each other. So how does it help to stop racism by doing something that causes more division?
Again, I know Kaepernick had good intentions. I appreciate that. More power to him. Unfortunately the way he decided to act was the wrong choice. It didn't bring attention to racism and police brutality so much as it took the focus off those horrible things and placed it on the kneeling and disrespecting America. Because of that, instead of uniting 95% of Americans for a common cause, it is offending half of America. It is taking millions of people who would actually want to get on board and fight racism and pushing them away because they wont take part in disrespecting their own country!
I don't know who it was that started this, but most of the players in the NFL have started linking arms instead. I cannot even begin to say what a great idea that is! That is what is called finding a way to protest in a positive way that ALL Americans can get behind. It does not disrespect our symbols. It does not say all Americans are racists! It does not say ALL cops are corrupt. It does not upset anyone! Yet it still makes a statement.
If the NFL players were smart, they wouldn't just continue linking arms with each other, they would start urging the fans to do the same thing in the stands. Get all fans to link arms in a stand against racism! Those who have been kneeling can make a statement that makes people want to join them rather than turn against them!
Because of the debates I have been having over this, I designed a simple logo to stand for "Unity"...
This is to represent a black arm interlocking with a white arm. A show of uniting against Racism. Maybe it some sort of grandeur in my head or something, but I can see players wearing arm bands with this logo. I would bet you that if it meant no more players kneeling, the NFL would even allow them to place it on the sleeves of uniforms. Think about all the pink players wear in support of finding a cure for Breast Cancer. Look at the support that gets! That is what the fight against racism should be trying to accomplish. Not offending half the country.
Racism is a monster. It is a beast! If you want to see racism destroyed, the people of this country will need to unite to fight the beast. Not feeding it!
Kaepernick had great intentions, but he made a mistake in his choice on how to make his stand. He needs to put his pride aside and stop dividing this country and instead start uniting it!
I have placed this symbol on a few items in a Zazzle store if you are interested in them. More items will be coming. I am not looking to get rich. I have not sold a single item in any store anyway. I just want to get people on board with Uniting America against Racism instead of dividing it.
Unite to Fight Racism
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