keasley45
Well-known member
I know this thread is about football and Kaep as a player and so I'll get to that, but...
Seriously? Do you have any idea what it's like to live in a country, be a citizen of it, have voluntarily joined the military and gone to war to die for your country, been disabled for life in that service AND then have to face the abject humiliation of being the subject of racist discrimination by the citizens you protected, the police officers sworn to protect you, and even the military for which you served? AND to have suffered all of that both before and after yiu gave almost 30 years of your life in voluntary service to defend the freedoms of America and its citizens?
Suffered it to a degree that when you hear the national anthem, and are listening to it alongside people who have not and would not sacrifice what you did for the freedoms you gave your life to secure, and who didn't have to withstsnd the racist hate you had to endure, that that feeling of pride that should pump through your veins unfettered for those 103 seconds, is tainted with a painful awareness.. . a reminder that those words aren't meant entirely for you? Don't ring for your service, your history, or your peoples history? Or that if you fool yourself into thinking that they ARE equally for you, that you do so at the risk of being reminded, maybe even on the drive home from the stadium, that your skin color defines who you are in this country BEFORE anything else. Doesnt matter if you are a decorated war veteran, your life, your opinion , accomplishments and service, mean less, simply because your skin is brown. Doesnt matter if youre a retired police officer, a CEO, dedicated soccer mom, or college student... as if you HAD to be those things to be worthy of fair treatment... you aren't entirely one of the 'Americans ' for whom Francis Scott Key dedicated his words.
My father served this country and nearly died for it. He dedicated 30 years of his life to it. To this day, he will stop and honor the national anthem when it is played, every time he hears it, because he is an American, a soldier, and has lived the sacrifice the words in that song were written to describe. He understands them more than the vast majority of the inebriated fans that pound their chests and go on and on about the 'red white and blue' on Sunday afternoons, claiming the title of 'patriot ' just the same but without the same sense of sacrifice...worse, he is constantly reminded that in America, his White countrymen are seen by default, as more patriotic. He can't ignore the ugly side of those colors because he wont ever be allowed to forget that before he is a retired soldier, he's a black man, worthy of doubt and suspicion as often as he is honor and respect.
For him, and many people - black, white, military, non military, but ESPECIALLY MILITARY, what Colin Kaepernick did wasn't disrespectful at all. The disrespect happens each and every time that song plays and we as Americans don't take the time to consider whether it rings true for all of its citizens, or claim that we do, and don't act to make sure it's true - deciding instead to willfully ignore the reality that the tears that might run down the brown faces of our fellow countrymen ( and soldiers of color) as that song is played could be tainted with the pain of feeling and knowing they are not equal, regardless of what they sacrifice. I can't think of anything more disgraceful, disrespectful and unpatriotic than that.
As to Kaep as a player and potential Hawk - he's played in the league and his stats, when you take into consideration he had a season plus, marred by pretty significant injury, don't scream 'I suck'. I didn't care for him when he played but that was in part because he was a niner. He took his team to the Superbowl and was a tipped pass away from another, pushing our vaunted LOB to the limit consistently while he played. He's got arm talent for sure. His accuracy... soso, but better than some starting qbs in the league today. His legs now at 35... questionable, but what exactly do we have to lose?
The idea that we wouldn't bring him in because his kneeling to shine a light on inequality in this country ( inclusive of military) is somehow on par with having committed some unforgivable crime... i dont even know what to say about that. Well, I do, but I wont.
