"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"
(Wyche, Steve (August 27, 2016). "Colin Kaepernick explains why he sat during national anthem"NFL.com. )
Kaepernick has since stopped this particular form of protest. Yet, as I learn more about our political environment and as I try to anticipate what could happen over the next four years, I want more of those who have been given so much to do a lot with their resources. However, Kaepernick did not vote, defending his action by claiming the system is so broken anyway it is not much good or much effect to cast his ballot. This is where I disagree. Kaepernick failed to utilize an opportunity to vote in Senators and members of the House, who obviously would hold great weight in passing legislation outside of executive actions.
His distrust in the establishment is fair to voice, but his protesting, to me, fails to hold as much clout because he did not take every measure in his control to affect change. I think his protest represented a dangerous, growing discontent among millennials who are bought in and struggle to free themselves from the agency of social media. I think he promoted discord rather than peace, and, as it stands now, I think long lasting influence by the quarterback may not occur. If we (millennials) are soon to be taking our turn at influencing this country, this world, I would rather ration my resources (time, finances, education) to cultivate hope rather than stir up anger and promote distrust in a system which has allowed a country to flourish and stand as one of the most powerful nations in the world. I do not know what millennial superstars like Kaepernick need other than hope in a country that works for reconciliation because of a hope greater than themselves.
Are you saying that Kaepernick's kneeling at the anthem is a dangerous sign of discontent and that it promoted discord?
ReplyDeleteYou've written and interesting blog post. I just need some clarification on your stance.
Raven, from what I understand, David is referring not to the kneeling but referring to him not voting which is something I agree with. I think not voting because our "system is broken" is a fine thing to believe but with our current president-elect, I think many people would go back in time and vote rather than use their non-voting as a protest. I think one part of our system that is broken is the electoral college- I'm not quite sure why or how this still exists, but without it we would have a different presidential-elect. I think this is the opposite of democracy. I will say that I definitely saw my vote impact my state positively. Texas, a historically red state was nearly considered a swing state this year because of the overwhelming votes for Hilary Clinton. As someone who has opposed many of the politicians in Texas, this was encouraging and certainly encouraged me to continue voting, especially in presidential elections for years to come because I would love to see Texas turn into a blue state.
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