Colin Kaepernick part of Nike's 30th anniversary of 'Just Do It' campaign

crimsonaudio

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Worthy read for some folks...

How it all started, and how we got here.

(Unfortunately, the people that could learn something by reading this likely won't bother).

Did you know this?

Aug 14, 2016- Colin Kaepernick sits for the national anthem.....and no one noticed.

Aug 20th, 2016- Colin again sits, and again, no one noticed.

Aug 26th, 2016- Colin sits and this time he is met with a level of vitriol unseen against an athlete. Even the future President of the United States took shots at him while on the campaign trail. Colin went on to explain his protest had NOTHING to with the military, but he felt it hard to stand for a flag that didn't treat people of color fairly.

Then on on Aug 30th, 2016 Nate Boyer, a former Army Green Beret turned NFL long snapper, penned an open letter to Colin in the Army Times. In it he expressed how Colin's sitting affected him.

Then a strange thing happened. Colin was able to do what most Americans to date have not...
He listened.

In his letter, Mr. Boyer writes:
"I’m not judging you for standing up for what you believe in. It’s your inalienable right. What you are doing takes a lot of courage, and I’d be lying if I said I knew what it was like to walk around in your shoes. I’ve never had to deal with prejudice because of the color of my skin, and for me to say I can relate to what you’ve gone through is as ignorant as someone who’s never been in a combat zone telling me they understand what it’s like to go to war.
Even though my initial reaction to your protest was one of anger, I’m trying to listen to what you’re saying and why you’re doing it."

Mr. Boyer goes on to write "There are already plenty people fighting fire with fire, and it’s just not helping anyone or anything. So I’m just going to keep listening, with an open mind. I look forward to the day you're inspired to once again stand during our national anthem. I'll be standing right there next to you."

Empathy and understanding was shown by Mr. Boyer.........and Mr. Kaepernick reciprocated.

Colin invited Nate to San Diego where the two had a 90 minute discussion and Nate proposed Colin kneel instead of sit.

But why kneel? "We sorta came to a middle ground where he would take a knee alongside his teammates," Boyer says. "Soldiers take a knee in front of a fallen brother's grave, you know, to show respect. When we're on a patrol, you know, and we go into a security halt, we take a knee, and we pull security."

Empathy, not zealotry under the guise of patriotism, is the only way meaningful discussion can be had. Mr. Kaepernick listened to all of you that say he disrespects the military and extended an olive branch to find a peace.

When will America listen to him?

We can all learn from this backstory. The truth often lies in the middle. Seek to learn the opposing side's point.
 

Bamabuzzard

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I don’t know your background, but I’ll draw on my experience growing up
in small town Alabama and pretty much guarantee a large % of the shade thrown toward CK is due to racism
.
So you're taking your experiences with people in small town Alabama and projecting them on to people across the country who you've never met simply because their skin color is the same as those in your experiences in small town Alabama?
 

AlexanderFan

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Worthy read for some folks...
You don't get to tell people how to receive the message you send.

Honestly, there were about 150 million Americans treating other Americans of different race appropriately way before he started his protests.

As far as I'm concerned the American flag represents far more amazing people than trash, and not standing for the Anthem is judging many over the actions of a few. Sounds like stereotyping to me.


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CharminTide

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Worthy read for some folks...
You don't get to tell people how to receive the message you send.

Honestly, there were about 150 million Americans treating other Americans of different race appropriately way before he started his protests.

As far as I'm concerned the American flag represents far more amazing people than trash, and not standing for the Anthem is judging many over the actions of a few. Sounds like stereotyping to me.
Well, you can lead a horse to water...
 

NationalTitles18

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You don't get to tell people how to receive the message you send.

Honestly, there were about 150 million Americans treating other Americans of different race appropriately way before he started his protests.

As far as I'm concerned the American flag represents far more amazing people than trash, and not standing for the Anthem is judging many over the actions of a few. Sounds like stereotyping to me.


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crimsonaudio

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You don't get to tell people how to receive the message you send.

Honestly, there were about 150 million Americans treating other Americans of different race appropriately way before he started his protests.

As far as I'm concerned the American flag represents far more amazing people than trash, and not standing for the Anthem is judging many over the actions of a few. Sounds like stereotyping to me.
You're missing the point completely here - no one is telling you how you should feel (Mr. Boyer himself refuses to participate), it's simply a clear explanation as to why it's happening.

You can be angry that the sun rose this morning, but that doesn't change why it rose.

Just shared this as so many here are so wrapped up in this story and seemingly missing the entire point of it. Want to be angry because you're missing the intent of the protest? By all means, that's as much your right as it's his to protest. But it's projection (at best) to suggest anyone is trying to force you to receive the message in any way.
 

AlexanderFan

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So you're taking your experiences with people in small town Alabama and projecting them on to people across the country who you've never met simply because their skin color is the same as those in your experiences in small town Alabama?
Yes, they are.


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AlexanderFan

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You're missing the point completely here - no one is telling you how you should feel (Mr. Boyer himself refuses to participate), it's simply a clear explanation as to why it's happening.

You can be angry that the sun rose this morning, but that doesn't change why it rose.

Just shared this as so many here are so wrapped up in this story and seemingly missing the entire point of it. Want to be angry because you're missing the intent of the protest? By all means, that's as much your right as it's his to protest. But it's projection (at best) to suggest anyone is trying to force you to receive the message in any way.
Countless times you hear," It's not the military, it's the Injustice. It's not every police officer, it's the inequality." If you have to correct or explain your protest I think the method of protest is a little off. The boycotts and sit ins of the Civil Rights Movement needed no explanation or clarification.





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92tide

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Countless times you hear," It's not the military, it's the Injustice. It's not every police officer, it's the inequality." If you have to correct or explain your protest I think the method of protest is a little off. The boycotts and sit ins of the Civil Rights Movement needed no explanation or clarification.





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umm.









 

crimsonaudio

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Countless times you hear," It's not the military, it's the Injustice. It's not every police officer, it's the inequality." If you have to correct or explain your protest I think the method of protest is a little off. The boycotts and sit ins of the Civil Rights Movement needed no explanation or clarification.
People have willfully ignored and / or distorted the reasons behind protests as long as there have been protests. As 92 clearly showed above, it's white-washing history to suggest the CRM was immediately understood by white people. In fact, they were constantly accused of any number of nasty things for simply (and peacefully) asking for equality.

People of color block streets, start fires, ransack and loot and people understandably suggest this is not how you promote your message. Now we have a man of color kneeling during the anthem - as peaceful protest as one could ever desire - and he's castigated for it. How exactly should someone protest a perceived injustice?
 

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