Colin Kaepernick and NFL protests

I am going to burn my Nike shoes because they used someone in their ad that is disrespecting our flag, country and those who have fought for this country.

If you don't like America and how you are treated here, then just leave.

What are you even protesting? Kneeling during the anthem is wrong and does nothing.

If you live in the U.S and watch the news, I am sure you are aware of retired NFL player Colin Kaepernick and how he has been protesting police brutality by kneeling when the national anthem is sung during football games. The outrage and controversy this has caused has many people up in arms about respect and love for our nation. I find it fascinating that the act of kneeling could cause so much uproar but it definitely goes to show how certain populations of people are so attached to America and how the flag has become such a big symbol that denying it can make you an outcast.

What do YOU think? Does kneeling during the anthem automatically mean you hate this country and what it stands for?

I come from a culture where your nation is everything, love for your people and your country is huge, so I see why some people get so upset. BUT the level of anger is upsetting to the point where black NFL players who do kneel are called barbaric, compared to monkeys and told to go back to where they came from if they don't like how they are treated in America. Which I never understood, these players are born here, so how are they supposed to go back to where they come from because this is where they are from. 

Unless you go back in time and tell the people that stole their ancestors from their country and forced them here into slavery to keep them there, there is no "go back where you came from".

The claim that Kaepernick's kneeling in protest is a disrespect to veterans who have fought and died (or are still living) for this country is also an argument with very little proof. There are veterans who have come and said by fighting for this country they have fought for people like Kaepernick to PROTEST for their rights. That it is his and others right to protest when we feel our rights are not being served and there is no justice. But of course people love to use veterans as an excuse when they feel the nation is being disrespected but yet do we care that are so many homeless veterans?

Can you imagine fighting for this country and coming back and having nothing? That people love to bring you up when they feel angry but are they angry that your needs are not being met and you are not taken care of?

Even as I am writing this post I feel both angry and sad, angry because we are so fixated on respect of this nation, we cannot begin to think of those who live in this nation who do not get fair treatment and respect. You tell us to go back to where we came from instead of addressing the issues at hand. 

You are so concerned about respect for a nation that has torn apart other nations to climb to the top and be in power, a nation built on the injustice of people of color, of minorities who both come from nations that are broken and minorities that existed here before and that the founders massacred and abused before this nation was built. 

Sad because instead of being upset and looking at the facts about why people protest and why Kaepernick and other black players are refusing to stand for a flag that belongs to a nation that does not give them proper respect. Sad because people are choosing to burn their Nike gear instead of put that energy into doing something about the injustice others experience.

Whether you support Colin Kaepernick or not, he has created discussion and awareness on a topic we otherwise choose to ignore and refuse to discuss. And whether we agree with his form of protest or not, he has continued to strive for what he believes is right despite the people and organizations who choose to hate on him and ban Nike , it has not stopped his success and drive for change.