TBS Sports Desk

The Fumbled Reception of Kaepernick’s Comments

NFL player Colin Kaepernick decided to protest America by sitting down during the national anthem, but what did the world of social media make of it?

 

San Francisco 49er Colin Kaepernick made a stand. He kept his seat during a performance of the national anthem, citing that he was “… not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color …” before adding, “… 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.” Kaepernick’s surmise of the issue being “bigger than football” is absolutely correct, but probably not in the definition that he hoped as his statement has been substantially muted by the gesture that underpinned it and has been leapt upon as a metaphor for whatever predeterminations that have been thrown at the quarterback.

In layman’s terms, Kaepernick’s move has jimmied the lock off the Pandora’s box marked “cray,” loosing the brutish forces of Internet insanity high above the lanes of the information superhighway. The issues of animal cruelty, his upbringing, careerism, and also his athletic ability have been questioned, but seldom the issue that Kaepernick raised.

So, the question here is a trite, What the fuck?

Is Colin Kaepernick’s opinion ruled ineligible purely on the basis that he’s Colin Kaepernick?

The above meme seems to be a popular avenue of detraction over on the rusted tripwire of Twitter. Does Kaepernick’s upbringing thereby bind him to the suburban take on the pale facts facing present-day black America? His perceived platform of privilege, moreover his wealth, seems to be another sticking point, with commentary along the lines of, “You’re too rich to complain,” or tritely:

Beyond the realms of “upbringing,” or the digits in his bank account, is the besmirchment of the act itself. The act of remaining shackled to his seat undermined those who stood for the flag who were physically unable to.

Those who stand for the anthem, therefore, do not respect those who do not. Which in a binary exchange is fair enough, but the reasons “why” are being whitewashed in favor of a red, white, and blue. Needless to say, there are waves of support for Kaepernick:

But those who disagree seem to be kicking Kaepernick toward a different goal.

This confusion is best summed up in the effigy below. But those who burn the jersey of Kaepernick are missing an obvious point. For their act of protest, and their freedom to protest, is the same freedom that Kaepernick used when he made his point. Freedom might not be free, but on certain back patios of America, it absolutely lacks definition.

 

 

TBS Sports Desk

Presents you the alternate world of sports. Well, not alternate, because it's primarily based on sports. A deeper look into the world, villains, and loss surrounding the gaudy world of professional sport? Yeah, that'll do.

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