Kaapernick and Not Standing for National Anthem Protest

[Greenday]

For those who aren't aware, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the 49ers has been refusing to stand for the American national anthem prior to his football games. It all started in the pre-season when he was caught on camera sitting down when the national anthem started against the Packers. After the game, he was interviewed and asked about it. He responded, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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".

Cue the outrage. He's not patriotic. He's disrespecting the soldiers. People demanding he get suspended, cut, denied pay, etc., etc.. There's so much wrong with this.There are causes bigger than a country and human rights is one of them. Also, disrespecting soldiers? Soldiers have died for his rights to do this. Trying to deny him his first amendment rights is about as un-American as it gets.

And forget the hypocrisy. All these people mad he and other players won't stand for the national anthem, but you don't catch them standing when the song is played on TV (Though I went out for lunch yesterday and one family stood during the anthem while everyone stared).

Finally, something I've noticed is that the most outspoken people who are upset over this protesting tend to be white. So it's no surprise that a protest for the rights of non-white people isn't of importance for those white people.

[Kheldarson]

What's hilarious to me is that the ones who are upset think he's doing something amazingly wrong. Guess what, folks? There's no rule, no law, that says you have to stand for the Pledge. If he wanted to just sit there just because, that would be in his right.

I say it's more patriotic for him to be using the symbolism of the moment because that shows he understands.

[Kheldarson]

An article on it: http://www.slate.com/articles/sports...s_working.html

And a line I thought interesting:

No NFL player stood for the national anthem until 2009—before then, the players stayed in the locker room as the anthem played. NFL teams got patriotic in recent years because it was good for business.

So people are getting upset because he's breaking a business decision.

[D_Yeti_Esquire]

Is it wrong that I was bored by this story the split second it was announced what he was doing?

Is it worse that we are several weeks in and I'd pretty much guessed every single way this story has broken?

Muhammad Ali risking something this ain't. Still, can't find anything wrong with it other than I don't want to hear about it. At least Colin will have a lucrative career as a public speaker out of this.

[Rageaholic]

The ones saying that he's disrespecting the soldiers make no sense. It's basically a non-sequitor.

[drjonah]

And I'll bet if you panned the crowd at the same time, you'd have probably seen numerous people not removing their hats, talking on their cell phones, taking selfies, etc. Oh wait, they aren't celebrities

[s_stabeler]

for that matter, a lot of the more...ceremonious... attitudes to the Flag are surprisingly recent- as in, within living memory. The Pledge, for example, I believe was introduced during the Cold War.

[Kheldarson]

for that matter, a lot of the more...ceremonious... attitudes to the Flag are surprisingly recent- as in, within living memory. The Pledge, for example, I believe was introduced during the Cold War.

Nope. The original pledge was written in 1892. It was updated in 1923, and our current Pledge is from the revision done in 1954. The salutes have changed over time, too, but that was independent of the word changes.

http://www.ushistory.org/documents/pledge.htm

[Mr Hero]

The main criticisms I've seen is that as a professional athlete with a lot of money, he could do a lot more for the cause than stay seated for the National Anthem.

[Kheldarson]

The main criticisms I've seen is that as a professional athlete with a lot of money, he could do a lot more for the cause than stay seated for the National Anthem.

He's donating money to the local communities. But part of protesting is calling attention to the issue so others can do something to help.

[mjr]

For those who aren't aware, Colin Kaepernick, quarterback of the 49ers has been refusing to stand for the American national anthem prior to his football games. It all started in the pre-season when he was caught on camera sitting down when the national anthem started against the Packers. After the game, he was interviewed and asked about it. He responded, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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".

Unfortunately they, in classic media fashion, didn't play his full quote, either.

I get that they have a limited amount of time for their stories, but his answer was much longer and much more detailed than that. I think the full video and/or transcript is online.

[bara]

He is standing up/sitting down to help bring wrongs to light. He is NOT against soldiers or even the police in general. He is speaking about the injustice that is happening to black people everyday. As a Veteran, I fully support him exercising his first amendment rights and I respect him for using his fame to help bring these injustices to light.

[mjr]

What's hilarious to me is that the ones who are upset think he's doing something amazingly wrong.

1. That's their right, isn't it?
2. I'm giving you benefit of doubt, but I think you mean National Anthem, not Pledge of Allegiance.

[Kheldarson]

1. That's their right, isn't it?
2. I'm giving you benefit of doubt, but I think you mean National Anthem, not Pledge of Allegiance.

Nope. There's no law whatsoever that covers the National Anthem. There's a code of conduct, but it's voluntary.

And it is their right. I can still find it hilarious though.

[mjr]

And it is their right. I can still find it hilarious though.

Indeed you can. That's what's great about living in a country where you have that freedom. Too many, though, think that particular freedom doesn't come with "consequences". That they can almost literally say whatever they want. They don't understand the 1st Amendment.