The Irony of America

Chidiebube Nwadiogbu

English 1100
September 17th, 2017
Prof. Young

The Irony of America

On August 26th, 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a football player for the 49ers, gained the attention of viewers during the national anthem. A picture of him sitting down was posted on social media causing his story to quickly spread across the nation. The confirming statement released by the 49ers that he did sit down sparked a plethora of questions within the country. People reacted quite differently when it came to the story. Some were furious, some were happy and others were stuck in the middle on whether to support him or not. Overall, what the population wanted to know was "why?" It definitely seemed strange for an athlete who played the most popular sport in America to not acknowledge the power of the national anthem. When asked about it, Kaepernick gave a well resounded statement saying "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color" (Gregory 39). With this statement, people understood his motive and formed their opinion to either condemn or support him as seen in the video below. 

Although some might say it was "disrespectful" and completely wrong for Kaepernick to bring his political views into his job, he had every right to raise awareness and speak up for the injustice in the communities for people of color. 

Kaepernick's critics condemned his actions due to the reason that he was a public sport figure. They expressed their concerns that they did not want any political view to ruin their entertainment and leisure time. What seems to be slipping people's mind is the fact that even though Kaepernick is a public figure, he is still a human! He is not a robot that just plays football games and then powers off when the game is over. He has a life outside of football and he as well as everyone else face struggles and tribulations that are thrown everyday. Another thing people fail to realize is that he is an American citizen. With that being said he is entitled to Freedom of Speech that every other American is entitled to. For people to take away that right because he is a public figure goes against the American values that this country was built on. It is simply ironic. 

This also further perpetuates his point that black people are oppressed in the country. This is an endless cycle that we see each time. Look at the "Black Lives Matter" movement for example. When the movement started, it was a response to the police brutality and racial profiling that was happening around the nation against blacks. African Americans were getting killed while they were defenseless and the police that were killing them were not getting the justice that they deserved. It was a cry for help and to raise awareness against the injustice that was going on. That movement was quickly suppressed by the "All Lives Matter" movement. The All lives matter movement painted the BLM movement in a negative light by trying to display blacks as "selfish" and "inconsiderate" for only caring about their race. Not only did that misconstrue the main point of the BLM movement, it took away the focus. By taking away the focus, blacks still have to deal with the problems that they were complaining about in the first place.

Critics also claimed that him not standing up was disrespectful to the military veterans who go out and fight. What they fail to realize is that these vets went out to fight for other countries and other people to have freedom. It's simply ironic. You cannot go out there fighting for others to have something that you deny another in the so called "land of the free". People need to learn to practice what they preach. They need to stop using the idea of "respect" to take away from the injustice that is still going on. Kaepernick even changed the way he approached his protest and started kneeling down instead of sitting down to honor those who fought. Yet, that was not enough for some who couldn't fathom someone not standing up while a song is playing. Ignorant comments such as the one seen in the picture below are, again, the epitome of why Colin is doing this. To tell someone to "leave" the country because they are standing up for the mistreatment of a group of people, emphasizes Kaepernick's point even more. Instead of people trying to help fix the problem, they are telling him to leave the country and to also leave the problem brewing because it doesn't directly affect them. 

What really bugs my mind is that people would fight for whether someone is standing up or not to a national anthem but won't have that same energy when it comes to someone's LIFE being taken away in an unjustly manner. If people would keep that energy up when they see the injustice going on in minority communities then maybe, just maybe, Kaepernick wouldn't have take a kneel. 

This all goes back to the topic of Indifference. Just like Wiesel warned us about the danger of looking the other way, we see that happening here. The fear and concern that those critics brought up about politics interfering with leisure time just shows how ignorant they are. Do people actually believe that when they avoid talking about these injustices they simply just go away? Kaepernick chose not to be ignorant. He chose to take a stand to express how he felt in this society. He chose to use his platform to show everyone that these problems are still present and that was the right thing to do. 

Now the question some might ask now is, "did the protest actually have an effect in helping with the injustice that is going on?" My answer to that is a solid yes. With Kaepernick's help, more and more people are following in his footsteps and also kneeling down during the national anthem. "So on sept. 9, one day before Woodrow Wilson's first game of the season, the coach stood in the field and announced that he planned to follow Kaepernick's lead and kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice" (Gregory 38). People like Preston Brown (coach) and many others mentioned in the "Perilous Fight" article were influenced by Kaepernick and what he did. With more and more people protesting, no longer could the injustice in this country be ignored. No more are people keeping quiet and biting back their tongue to express how they feel. With this push from Kaepernick no longer are we indifferent. 

I'll leave you all with a quote that I found was pertinent to this movement: