Oppressed!

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I have no idea what it's like to be a black man in America.

I also have no idea how difficult it is to make a hundred million dollars for throwing a ball, or sitting on the bench of a professional football team.

So perhaps that makes me a bit of a nitwit when it comes to talking about Colin Kapernick, the mediocre QB for the San Francisco 49ers.

But we ARE in America...so I can say what I feel!!

Kapernick can make a stand by not standing for the National Anthem.

He's free to do that just as Curt Schilling was free to bash Muslims.

But Schilling got shit-canned and Kapernick has now become public enemy number one.

Free to do it!

And that's where Kapernick's message loses a whole lot of its steam.

What trials and tribulations has he been through?

My youngest Sam, was mystified.

"Was he a slave?" He asked.

"I think he has been free to amass a fortune for tossing a ball," I said.

And of course Kapernick is looking at things in a much more broad sense.

Has there been a widespread conspiracy against the black man here in the United States?

An argument certainly can be made in that direction.

I have a tendency to believe that things have definitely improved over the past 50 years.

The civilized among us understand that there were certainly wrongs that we've tried to right.

The collective "WE".

The ignorant among us still suck.

(Again...I'm not a black man. I feel for anyone who feels left out or forgotten here. I really do).

But I don't believe, unless he follows it up with some sort of intelligent statement on it, that not standing for our National Anthem will help.

And now I think that Kapernick owes us a response.

Help to be the change you want to see.

Arguing about being disrespected is difficult when you're being disrespectful.

I'm sure he knows that he made a whole lot of people hate him.

Will that help?

Maybe it will.

Perhaps there will be an open, honest discussion that will change the mind of the ignorant.

I have my suspicions.

Those of us who have evolved have recognized the need to make continued improvements.

Sadly, some never will.

Kapernick's move may have added fuel to a fire that should've been stamped out a long time ago.

The man is certainly free to say it.

But he brought himself into a fight that he can't win on his own.

And there's one more thing he should have thoroughly considered:

He's done okay here in America.

He truly has.

One final thought to ponder on it though, and I know that most everyone is pissed at Kapernick, but...

...the day we are all forced to stand for the anthem...

...is the day when our freedoms are gone.

That's no good either.

Comments

Cynde Route said…
Thank you for saying this. We can all think he's disrespectful, ignorant,and un-patriotic,but I don't want to live in a country where you can be fired (or worse) for holding/expressing unpopular views.I think he should follow up his protest by using his money and fame to work for change, but he doesn't have to do anything.
29 August, 2016
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