Disrespect.
I remember when Colin Kaepernick first knelt for the National Anthem in 2016. I was surprised when no one did anything about it and instead it got celebrated and more and more athletes started kneeling to the point when it is more rare to see players stand up for it rather than kneel. Every single time I see it I feel disgusted. It makes me so mad because they our disrespecting our country.
America is the best country in the world, because of all the freedoms that we have in it as citizens. And I completely understand the reason why the players feel like they need to kneel. I would just ask them to protest in a way that doesn't disrespect our soldiers who risk their lives to protect everyone in our country even those who kneel for the flag and disrespect them. I have a lot of family members who have and still are serving in the United States military and every time I see it I think of them. I think there are a lot of better ways to go about a protest than attacking the men and women who are on the battlefield each and everyday fighting for your rights and freedoms.
I feel passionately about this issue and I know that it is a legal form of protest and I wouldn't want to change that because it is protected by our first amendment rights. But I also think that there are better ways to protest that would be more effective. I think an alternative way of protest would be to get a huge group of people and march through DC. I really hope that in the the near future people will try and find a different way to protest this issue without disrespecting our military.
When Colin Kaepernick first knelt for the pledge, I thought the same as you. But when I was awakening to everything that has happened to people of color since the founding of the United States and continues to happen every day, my perspective changed. I talked to my parents about it and they told me their experiences in this country. I never saw the pledge the same. And when these horrible things that happened to my parents happened to me, I felt humiliated, offended and disrespected. Although I see your point, I truly believe people kneel for the flag, not out of disrespect, but for change. Colin Kaepernick was fed up with all of the police brutality and racial injustice occurring in our country and used his platform to say, this cannot happen anymore. It has disgusted me that black Americans are afraid for their lives everyday they leave their homes because their skin color makes them a target. I myself do not stand for the pledge because as a Latina, I have been disrespected by people who say they love their country.While America is an amazing country, my family didn’t immigrate here to be hated by other people. They did not come to this country to be called illegal, criminals, drug dealers and the list continued. Because of what my family and I have had to endure as a result of being of color, I cannot stand for the flag because it has disrespected me, as an American. America was founded by immigrants,European immigrants,but now that it is immigrants of color, the story changes. They are not given the same respect. My own parents have been discriminated against by others assuming they are poor or don’t have successful careers. Someone even assumed that I had no running water or electricity on my own. I am just as American as anybody else in the country. The difference is that when I go into the world, my ethnicity puts up a barrier that causes biases to come out. When people’s true colors show, when they have offended me because I’m Latina, when I’ve been offended time and time again, by teachers , students and random people at the supermarket; how can I stand for the flag? The flag is the representation of our country, but this country although I am grateful to be from here, is not perfect. There are many issues that need to be addressed such as racial injustice, police brutality, mental health awareness, drug abuse, homelessnes, poverty. All things that need improvement. At this moment in time I cannot stand for the flag because I see what has occurred in this country, what has happened to people who are considered different. To me that is the most disrespectful. I am not disrespecting the people who sacrifice their lives, in fact I applaud them for their service. Many of my cousins are stationed overseas, and I hope that someday I can be a doctor for the military. I will stand for the flag when “with liberty and justice for all” has truth to it.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your spirited argument Maia, but let me set things straight...Our flag, our pledge, and our anthem was made to show respect for this nation and those who serve...those who put their lives out in danger to protect the freedom of millions. There are plenty of other ways to protest "social injustice" which is a topic in it of itself. You know what makes America so great? The mindset. The pride. The sense of freedom and protection of peace. Kneeling for the flag shows disrespect to not only the nation but to our vets as well. Every country has its problems, and yes racism is still found in some places. But a minority doesn't represent the majority. America is a melting pot. I myself am a true immigrant...I moved here from France when I was 2. Why? Because America had the most economic opportunity...the American Dream. Which is still alive, and is honored by our anthem. You want to protest? Because apparently that is not enough for the "social justice warriors", as seen with the countless riots last year which cost 2 billion USD in damages. Kneeling gets nobody nowhere. Protest like MLK and his movement or rather that of Susan B. Anthony, which brought more change than any other civil rights movement...peacefully. Speak to your local and federal legislators, speak to those in power who can bring change. You talk about liberty and justice for all....that sounds an awful lot like unity...for the nation. Kneeling only deepens the divide, politically and socially. Progress is made when we work together, not when we are against one another. So stand for the anthem...stand for our nation...stand for our vets....stand for you and the millions of other US citizens who call this country our home. Because we are better than this...as human beings, we don't need violence to make our point...we just need a little awareness and civility:)
DeleteI think that you saying "America is the best country in the world..." is a bit of an exaggeration because if we were the best nation, they why would people feel the need to kneel during the national anthem? There could be other forms of protest to stop disrespecting veterans an active military families, but would a march hold the same image as kneeling during the national anthem? I feel that kneeling during the national anthem makes a big statement that people will continue to remember for years to come but how many of us will remember a march through DC. I feel like a march would just become a distant memory while kneeling stays relevant because of the fact that it is constantly being talked about.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for commenting. I do not believe that I exaggerated on calling America the best country in the world. As people of this country we have more freedoms than any other nation. I would like to ask you a question "Can you think of a better country than America?" To your point about how kneeling makes a statement that will last for years to come. I agree with that, I believe that people will remember all these athletes kneeling, but I also think that as a result of this it divides us even more and it won't accomplish anything but division.
DeleteI do understand the perspective that kneeling may appear disrespectful towards soldiers and veterans. But you do have to keep in mind the multiple perspectives here. Colin Kaepernick was using his platform as an athlete to call attention towards the issues of racial inequality and police brutality, which is fantastic. We need more public figures like him to address these extremely troubling issues.
ReplyDeleteI do see that you suggested using an alternative protesting method to avoid disrespecting the soldiers, but it isn't that simple. One suggestion you made was to mirror previous protests, like marches made from MLK. These are effective strategies, but they aren't practical. Organizing a protest is much harder than taking a kneel, especially during a time like now. You could say that just because it's hard doesn't mean it shouldn't be done- and I do acknowledge that- but the kneel was extremely effective. He may have faced repercussions as a result, but everyone was talking about it, and the attention he desired was drawn from the public.
There is a specific phrase in the pledge of allegiance, "with liberty and justice for all." I don't think, especially recently, that there has been liberty and justice for all. Asian hate crimes are on the rise, along with the previous hate and injustice minority communities face. If the pledge these sports players are standing for isn't actually true, then why should they stand for it?
I don't think this issue is entirely (if at all) created from a foundation of disrespect. The whole point of the protest was for Colin Kaepernick, a person under the watchful eye of millions of people, for an issue he believed needed fixing. What made this case different from all of the marches and other peaceful protests is that he had a platform by which to reach a broader audience. Since his form of protest was so unique, it has become memorable - evidently. As a result, the issue is brought to the spotlight. America is not a perfect country; it has many flaws including (but not limited to) racism. Having people with a sense of celebrity stand up for issues that are far too often ignored brings the attention back to the roots of the problems, which is the first step in improving the country as a whole, for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point Elizabeth, but when you say "improving the country as a whole", that is in complete contradiction with what the effects of kneeling for the anthem cause. America is deeply divided at the moment...and any disrespect towards the nation will anger at least half the country. That is why it becomes memorable...because it causes conflict, which in turn solves nothing. Barely any productive legislation was passed after the riots last summer...but we all definitely remember the scenes of looting and arson. America is flawed because there are two types of people operating solely on their own perspective, and not gaining a broader view. How do we approach people who don't have the same sets of views? With peace, and politeness. Not threats, not violence, and not blatant disrespect to their values...which is exactly what kneeling for the anthem is.
DeleteYou definitely sparked something here. I do think that we should respect the flag in many ways, which could also include not wearing it on clothing or taking care of flags that are hanging outside.
ReplyDeleteI think most people can agree that if something is wrong then it needs to be fixed. America is not the best country in the world, it has flaws. Some flaws include being 45th in press freedom, 176th in infant mortality rate, 46th in life expectancy, 55th in starting businesses, 23rd on the Inclusive Development Index, and 20th in economic freedom. I’m not disregarding the good things that America has, but to say that one country is the best is incorrect because no country can be the best in every category. Because there are so many problems in America, it makes sense that people would fight for change by having their opinion heard. As some of our peers have already said, kneeling is a simple and effective way to spread a message while marches are difficult to organize and are usually not as memorable. I have seen some people argue that kneeling only leads to the further division of this country, but this is natural with any form of protest because there are always opposing viewpoints. If there is no division and no differing of opinions—if all people stood complacently rather than attempting to fix what is wrong—America will never progress. Kneeling is a way to advocate for change and progress in this imperfect nation, and though it divides people of differing opinions, these opinions deserve to be recognized and properly heard, especially if they advocate for making America the land of “liberty and justice for all.”
ReplyDeletehttps://rsf.org/en/ranking_table || https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison || https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/life-expectancy-at-birth/country-comparison || https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/rankings || https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-inclusive-development-index-2018 || https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking