Kaepernick: To sit or to stand?
My freedom-loving coping skills are simple…When I see something that makes me angry, I ask myself what are they trying to communicate? Why did they feel it necessary to take such an extreme action to get our attention? And who can I talk to about this issue so I know if I should lend my support in ways that I feel appropriate?
Because while I love this country and am grateful every day that I was born here, I also believe we can be better, and in fact, we must be better. That starts with more listening, more understanding and far fewer rules about who deserves to be heard.
— Amy Donaldson
Deseret News
I do not understand this racial divide because honestly, there is no need for it. Look around at today’s America. What do you see? You see blacks and whites getting along! Look at our military, our police departments, our first responders, corporate America, our hospitals, airports, on and on. Look at the increase in mixed-race marriages. And yet, as is so often the case, a minority of our population is bent on destroying that good will. Why? I surely don’t have the answer. I do know, however, that your display of disrespect is not helping.
— Nora H. Kuester
The Charlotte Observer
Patriotism isn’t just getting teary-eyed on the Fourth of July or choked up at war memorials. It’s supporting what the Fourth of July celebrates and what those war memorials commemorate: the U.S. Constitution’s insistence that all people should have the same rights and opportunities and that it is the obligation of the government to make that happen. When the government fails in those obligations, it is the responsibility of patriots to speak up and remind them of their duty.
…What makes an act truly patriotic and not just lip-service is when it involves personal risk or sacrifice.
…We should admire those who risk personal gain in the service of promoting the values of their country.
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
The Washington Post
While I may find Colin Kaepernick’s boycotting of the national anthem to be short-sighted, I also will vigorously defend his right to stand for something he believes in. I’ve heard people say things that intimate the 49ers should release Kaepernick. Others point to the nearly $17,000,000 he is making this season alone as a rationale for why he should stand during the anthem.
Neither of these positions makes all that much sense. Whether you are poor or wealthy, you have just the same right to voice your opinion on something that is of importance to you…Either we want people to stand up for issues or we don’t. You can’t have it both ways.
— Jason Page
NBC News
Kaepernick’s comments weren’t just an insult to the over one million Americans–many thousands of whom were African-American–who have given their lives in defense of the United States from wars as far back as the American Revolution to the more recent conflicts in the Middle East.
Kaepernick also turned his back on the thousands of police officers–again, a tremendous number of whom were African-American–who have died defending their communities and upholding the rule of law at home.
— Scott G Erickson
Fox News
Why are we, as sports fans, continually surprised when one of our heroes turns out to be a real person, with real feelings who is living in the same world we also live in? And when that athlete is black, why does white America respond with anger, as if the hero has broken some kind of sacred rule or understood deal? That deal seems to be, “You just go out and win games, collect your check, and if we really like you, you can retire and sell us stuff in TV commercials.”
— Gerald Harris
The New York Times
Joe McCastle, who is currently serving in the U.S. Army, said he stands behind Kaepernick’s message as well as his right to freely express himself.
“Too much focus was given to the symbol of (Kaepernick) sitting rather than the message,” McCastle said. “His message was being clouded by constant slander … there are veterans who are not only not offended but are actually behind him and are indeed proud of how he exercises the rights we fight tirelessly for.”
— Julia Craven
The Huffington Post
All lives matter. So much going on in this world today.Can we all just get along! Colin,I respect your stance but don’t disrespect the Flag.
— Jerry Rice
