Colin Kaepernick: I won't stand 'to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses

[Thage]

Black Power movements are cool and powerful? Are Nazi Swastikas cool and powerful as well? What about a Tshirt with a picture of Pol Pot smiling that just says "the killing fields" how cool would that be. Im sorry but your statement is disgraceful.

Yeah, how dare those Olympians use a symbol of unity against legalized oppression back in the 60s, when black people were fighting for the same rights white people had. In the '60s, a raised fist wasn't just the symbol of the Black Panthers; "Black power" was a term used to get people out on the streets and joining in sit-ins, marches, and other forms of protest. It was simple and catchy, and so it caught on. And for the record, the moment Crissi mentioned happened in the 60s. The Bronze Medalist who joined the two black Gold and Silver Medalists was a white Aussie whose experiences with Apartheid showed him that those medalists were fighting a good fight.

You may find Crissi's statement disgraceful, but I find your historical ignorance moreso.

[Krille]

Its called "respect" and "pride". We beat the shit out of the world at the Olympics by a shit ton.

Hahaha what? Are YOU doing that? I couldn't care less either way.

[twelvethirty]

Vain attempt to stay relevant. Enjoy the bench, oh wait the 9ers must be racist for benching him.

[PC2]

Hlmgtfy...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Flag_Code

Interesting, but yeah, 1st amendment is king.

[THE Bigzoman]

I'm too out of the loop to comment on that, but sure!

In a layman's terms.

Colin Kapernick sucks.

[Xargoth6634]

I don't really care about this "issue" at all, but it amuses me that the majority of people who can't stop crying about perceived "disrespect" towards the flag/anthem/etc. are whiny entitled vets like Tony who can't deal with the fact that things like the flag and anthem are symbols and thus regularly used in protests, and take any such protests as personal affronts. They constantly bitch about how much they sacrificed to give people at home the freedom to engage in methods of protest the vets don't like, then bitch when American citizens actually engage in those methods of protest.

Also, modern vets are hilarious for another reason: they voluntarily signed up to go fight in meaningless conflicts like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but think that they're the "Greatest Generation" storming the beaches of Normandy in wars that actually mattered. You didn't get drafted, you chose the military because it was a job you were interested in. Get over yourselves. And the whole "AMG WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOMS!!1111oneone" No. No you're not.

[Sky High]

In a layman's terms.

Colin Kapernick sucks.

right, I just don't know much about either of them.

[Xargoth6634]

Hlmgtfy...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Flag_Code

Man, my eyes rolled pretty far back in my head while reading those rules.

[PC2]

I don't really care about this "issue" at all, but it amuses me that the majority of people who can't stop crying about perceived "disrespect" towards the flag/anthem/etc. are whiny entitled vets like Tony who can't deal with the fact that things like the flag and anthem are symbols and thus regularly used in protests, and take any such protests as personal affronts. They constantly bitch about how much they sacrificed to give people at home the freedom to engage in methods of protest the vets don't like, then bitch when American citizens actually engage in those methods of protest.

Also, modern vets are hilarious for another reason: they voluntarily signed up to go fight in meaningless conflicts like the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but think that they're the "Greatest Generation" storming the beaches of Normandy in wars that actually mattered. You didn't get drafted, you chose the military because it was a job you were interested in. Get over yourselves. And the whole "AMG WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR FREEDOMS!!1111oneone" No. No you're not.

This is a strawman concern unless you can point it to a specific person who actually said his behavior should be banned by law. The real issue is regarding why he did it and his explanation.

[Arachnofiend]

Man, my eyes rolled pretty far back in my head while reading those rules.

I like how the first paragraph talks about how the rules were struck down in a Supreme Court decision.

[aerosyne]

There's a difference between "bashing the US" and what's accepted as a social norm.


This article itself proves Endus right ironically enough. If the US wasn't as nationalist (Not saying that's a bad thing though), this article wouldn't exist since no one would care that he was sitting. No one would be in this thread insulting a guy for not standing up.

So all I got out of this is that instead of reading the responses in the thread, you felt like projecting because making incorrect assumptions is easier to do. Disappointing, to say the least, considering there was only about one and a half pages worth of responses which would've taken about five minutes to go through at most before firing off something that didn't even make sense.

Kaepernick is incapable of making a sensible argument, but you leap immediately to calling people retarded as your first point.


Okay buddy.

To be fair, those who generally use the term 'people of color' come from the Social Justice crowd which is rife with people who are extremely uneducated and some that are, indeed, questionably retarded in the clinical sense of the word. That doesn't make his point less flimsy, though, just that there's possible reasoning behind it.

I for one can't believe the silly pride you show during the anthem. Standing up and saluting, like what are you? Puppets? Lol.

It's okay to be jealous of how crazy good our national anthem is, man. Just own up to it; there's no need to hide behind low-grade pot shots.

[Zenfoldor]

America and football go hand in hand. Hope this ruins his career. Bringing politics into football is okay if you are the best player in the game. Kaepernick was a flash in the pan a few years ago, and I suspect this may lead to his obscurity.

ETA: The shit winds are blowing.

[Polyxo]

Its called "respect" and "pride". We beat the shit out of the world at the Olympics by a shit ton.

Speaking as someone who's competed athletically at an international level, I find it funny someone like you wants to take credit for other peoples' skills.

[Independent voter]

He's part of the "yes but what have you done for me lately" crowd. We've improved black lives so much over the last 40 years it's amazing but you have people who don't care about the past they only want to know "yes but what have you done for me lately?"

[ujx]

Whites are killed more than blacks by police but #WhiteLivesMatter would sound racist.

[De Lupe]

My question is why anyone cares.

Seriously. Why does ANYONE care if some athlete decides not to stand. It's his choice and it affects no one. So why is this CNN News worthy?

This is right up there with JB's haircut on list of stupid things the news reports.

[PC2]

Speaking as someone who's competed athletically at an international level, I find it funny someone like you wants to take credit for other peoples' skills.

It isn't about taking personal credit. What countries can achieve is based on how much resources and people they can integrate. Big countries are almost by definition better at that thus they can bring back the most medals, have the biggest organizations, go to the moon, etc.

[shadowdasher]

He's right, why show respect to a country where he has the freedom to make millions of dollars being a horseshit athlete. He must have been so oppressed getting those scholarships.

[PC2]

My question is why anyone cares.

Seriously. Why does ANYONE care if some athlete decides not to stand. It's his choice and it affects no one. So why is this CNN News worthy?

This is right up there with JB's haircut on list of stupid things the news reports.

It could effect some people. Making poor overgeneralized statements can appeal to the people who look up to them as celebrities and are more likely to take their points at face value. Without applying critical thinking.

[Katchii]

I find it incredibly ironic that he's protesting the oppression of black people in a country where we allow them (or any person who can make the cut, but c'mon...black people make up 2/3 of the football players for a reason, their athleticism is generally higher) to have the freedom to protest all while paying them millions of dollars a year to play a fucking game.

He has the right, and I'm not going to argue that. But HIM being the one doing it is fucking pointless and doesn't help the actually oppressed population....which I'm not entirely convinced there is one. I'm not saying people aren't oppressed here on an individual or even a community level, but to say the entire black population across the US is oppressed, as much as or more than any other population.... Don't believe that for a second.