1L
In 2016, during a pre-season NFL game, Colin Kaepernick, who is an athlete from the San Francisco 49ers, chose not to stand for the pre-game national anthem (Michaels 125). He refused to stand up because of his negative view on the country’s treatment of racial minorities. All kinds of public figures have debates on Colin Kaepernick’s action. Dominant white culture representatives resented his silent protest and regarded the action as an “angry approach” (Coates 141). Moreover, people even compared his protest to the Civil Rights Movement of 1960, such as Martin Luther King’s speech, the Freedom Riders, and the March on Washington. As an athlete, Kaepernick does have the right to choose his way of protest, but kneeling during the national anthem seems (at least to Leonhardt) not a right action to do. The kneeling seemed more like a rebuke to the whole country rather than a patriotic action (Leonhardt 137). Questions arise: Was Kaepernick ’s kind of dissent patriotic? And why did people get so dissent by this peaceful sacrifice of Colin Kaepernick? After giving an examination on the articles of Leonhardt, Ta-Nehisi Coates, and Daisy Michaels, the controversy of the Kaepernick can be identified as the false example for the execution of the patriotism.
First of all, the opinions based on the action of Colin Kaepartrick are varied. Leonhardt, who is a columnist at The New York Times, who regarded that the manner of Colin’s protest seemed to opposed patriotic symbols. Leonhardt compares Colin’s protests with the civil rights movements. He mentioned that civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr or John Lewis aligned the civil rights issue with the "symbols and ideals of America" which made the process of civil rights movement successful (Leonhardt 137). For example, Leonhardt mentioned a severe historical evidence during the civil rights movement "Segregationist hecklers along the route held up Confederate flags. Within six months, Lyndon Johnson had signed the Voting Rights Act" (Leonhardt 137). Also, in his article, he presents an opinion on the popularity of civil rights. Though the protests of the civil rights movement were unsuccessful and unpopular at the very beginning, leaders who were involved in the movement were regarded as heroes. The reason why those leaders were regarded as heroes is that the "leaders understood how to use patriotic language in order to generate long-term effects" (Leonhardt 137). However, Colin Kaepartrick protest rejected patriotic symbol. He refused to use the symbol as "a shortcut to persuade outsiders of the real issue" (Leonhardt, 137). Thus, his protest was regarded as "full of courage but lack of affluent and famous" (Leonhardt, 137). This was Leonhardt’s answer to the question of why people get angry about the manner of Colin Kaepernick.
In addition, Daisy Michaels also states that people are upset because America is divided along due to racial injustice and Colin Kaepernick’s protest made these lines apparent through her unpublished essay. Michaels indicated that Colin Kaepernick utilized NFL competition as a platform to present the nation’s cultural divide. She pointed out that "not all Americans have been provided the same freedoms, protections, opportunities, or avenues for empowerment. These Americans have different stories to tell – stories in which racism, sexism, oppression, and injustice prevail" (Michaels 125). Indeed, Colin raised the attention and awareness of social justice issues. When confronting a topic that they would not mention during daily life, people feel anxious and angry.
Last but not least, all of the three writers wrote about agreed that Trump’s government was wrong about the opinion on those minority groups. Leonhardt mentioned in his article that Trump is the heir to yesterday’s racist demagogues (Leonhardt 137). Meantime, Daisy said that "the president was the person who initiated the firestorm of those reactions" (Micheals 12the 5). From their perspective, the Trump government did not listen to the opinions of oppressed people.
After reading three articles related to Colin Kaepernick's kneeling, the questions raised in the first paragraph could be answered. From the three columnist’s perspectives, the reason people get angry on the manner of Colin Kaepernick was that he forced the people in the United States to discuss difficult questions related protest, patriotism and free speech that most people would rather ignore. The New York Time evaluated the whole incident as "though Kaepernick might be imperfect in his manner of protest. However, people should worry more about the rest of the United States since the social issues related to our daily life is more than a kneeling could tell."