Why We Must Support Colin Kaepernick’s National Anthem Protest [Editorial]

Colin Kaepernick has the internet, my mistake, the left wing of the internet on fire right now. As you already know he decided to exercise his First Amendment right of self expression & free speech in protest of the police murders of unarmed black people.

Sounds like a great move right? Sounds like a move that American hero Muhammad Ali would make, right?

Except for the fact that this is 2016 where everyone has an opinion online. There is nothing wrong with disagreeing with Kaep but it is going too far. It is getting disrespectful, distasteful, and down right bigoted.

This is the problem.

Amer…. White America loves athletes as long as they stay the guys under the helmets. No one really wants to see the ills of race in society as they watch an exciting football game. I get it. But to be offended that Colin Kaepernick or any other athlete has an opinion on what is going on with the policing of Black Americans is ridiculous.

Colin Kaepernick is a man first. A man who has an African background, and a man who has an opinion. He is not a football playing robot. Sorry.

If you really loved America and all of the freedoms “our military died for” then you’d respect Colin’s freedom of free speech.

Colin has never issued a statement on the military. It’s not even about that, but of course right wing nut jobs instantly ran to the “white man said so” patten of logic and made it about that. The meme of the legless solider saluting has nothing to do with Kaepernick and why he chooses to sit out of the anthem.

He clearly said this is about police murdering unarmed people and not getting punished. Nothing more, nothing less.

What if I told you Kaepernick actually respects the flag? What if I told you there was undeniable visual evidence too?

This is why I like to stick to facts. No need for the emotional back and forth on twitter. Colin exercised his First Amendment right as an American citizen and you got your panties in a bunch because you don’t like it and moved the goal posts to make it about military. Good try.

The irony is the same people who take arms against “the tyranny of the government” and speak out against the government nonstop are the same people who are demanding Kaepernick be punished.

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This circles back to my initial point: Why are some White Americans offended when Black athletes simply have a political opinion?

Colin isn’t disrupting the game. He isn’t doing anything outside the rules. He isn’t doing anything illegal. He is being completely respectful in his silent protest. This is the spirit of America, exactly.

And because of that we all must support him.