While headlines will scream about Colin Kaepernick and his apparent act of defiance, if not civil disobedience, the subject of the sentence above could well describe John Adams or another of America’s founding fathers. It could describe a Native American leader. It could describe Martin Luther King. Or Susan B. Anthony. The list goes on and on.
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Some people who protest for civil rights are considered heroes. Others are looked upon with scorn. Why is that? What makes one man or woman virtuous in a stand for a cause and another a heel?
Perception. That’s a start.
But maybe what we’re talking about with Colin Kaepernick is something different. And if it is, if criticism being aimed at him is because he is a black man sitting to take a stand against a problem he sees in this country, there is something wrong with America.
Why do we continue to treat certain groups of people like second-class citizens? Why can’t we judge everyone on his or her own merit?
In February 1960, four black college students sat down at a lunch counter in North Carolina. When they were refused service, they remained seated in peaceful protest. in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus — in the black section, to a white man. In 1968, a terrible and tragic year, King was assassinated. Two black track stars took the medal stand at the Olympics in Mexico City with their feet bare and their gloved fists raised to protest the treatment black men and women faced in a country that billed itself as the greatest in the world.
Has anything really changed?
Neither the 49ers nor the NFL require players to stand during the national anthem. Nor is it mentioned in the collective bargaining agreement.
For a white man whose family has been in this country since the first member arrived in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, it is difficult to relate to the problems faced by minorities. Pick a color in the rainbow of humanity, and few people can see beyond the hue.
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No matter how little people understand the plight of one group or another, we cannot deny problems exist. No matter whether it’s race or sex or orientation or financial status, we cannot deny there is oppression and inequality in America.
We, the people, are guaranteed the right to protest. Protest is too often the only outlet available. Or the only one short of violence.
Don’t hate Colin Kaepernick for sitting during the national anthem. We guarantee him the right to do so.
We also guarantee the right for people to disagree with the actions of Kaepernick, who is a bit player in a much larger struggle.
Maybe it would be best if more people would take a seat with Colin Kaepernick.
