OPINION: Critics of anthem protests are ‘far from patriots’

By Jack Hauser
GSS Correspondent

When former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick originally decided to kneel for the national anthem before a football game last year, I doubt he imagined his action would transform into the league-wide protest it has today.

Kaepernick was taking a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in America, and although many people still fight and kneel for this purpose, kneeling before football games has primarily become a collection of anti-Trump protests.  Kaepernick’s message still holds value, but President Donald Trump’s actions have drawn support from more anti-Trump activists than police brutality activists.

After Trump called for players who kneel during the anthem to be fired on the spot by NFL owners, and referred to the protesters as “sons of b——” — strong words he didn’t even use for the Charlottesville protesters — the NFL joined together as numerous teams and players locked arms together in protest against the president.

Trump supporters have argued that people who kneel during the anthem are disrespecting the military and those who fought for this country’s freedom. Such critics hide behind the rhetoric of patriotism, but in reality, they are far from patriots.

Every day, Americans violate the U.S. Flag Code, which states that the flag should never be put on clothing as a design (like swim trunks, t-shirts or bikinis) or carried flat (like they are before football games on the field). Although these violations of the flag code are common, I have never seen these so-called patriots rioting over such actions.

I believe that those who are calling for the heads of these protesters are merely using the issue as an excuse to push their anti-black rhetoric. Using the protest provides an excuse for people to spew hate towards African Americans — 70 percent of NFL players are black, according to The Huffington Post. Those criticizing kneeling players aren’t actually passionate about people standing for the anthem; they just want an excuse to be racist.

Kneeling for the national anthem is not about disrespecting the military. The soldiers who fought for our country didn’t do it for the respect of people at a football game — they did it to protect our freedom, and that includes our right to peacefully protest.

And as former president John F. Kennedy said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible only make violent revolution inevitable.”

This story was originally published in The Mustang, the online student publication of San Dieguito Academy in San Diego.