TO KNEEL, OR NOT TO KNEEL?
National Anthem Protests
THE CONTROVERSY
11/12/17
Everyone seems to be talking about the National Football League, and Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel or sit during America’s national anthem. Kaepernick started this movement to protest racial injustice and police brutality, but it has become much more than that. Now, many more players like DeAndre Hopkins of the Houston Texans, are kneeling, sitting, and protesting the national anthem that has been around since 1931. Furthermore, many other countries and teams are kneeling as well because of Kaepernick, such as the Hertha Berlin soccer team in Germany. His movement has spread worldwide, and is causing conflict. Written during the War of 1812, The Star-Spangled Banner is a piece of poetry that signifies the country’s freedom and hard work to achieve it. It was written by Francis Scott Key during the battle at Fort McHenry, while he was on a British ship trying to save a prisoner. Key had to watch the bombs being deployed and see the horror right in front of his eyes. He was inspired by the flag surviving the British’s bombing, and wrote The Star-Spangled Banner.
The NFL is viewed by millions of Americans every weekend, whether it be in person, on TV, on a website, or on the radio. So, when these players start kneeling during the opener, those millions of viewers see it, and form an opinion on it. Racial equality is definitely important and should be enforced, but not this way. Most of these American football fans are very patriotic and devoted to their teams, so seeing their idols protesting their country’s anthems can really affect them. To many viewers, the National Anthem is a symbol of freedom that veterans fought and died for, so protesting the most symbolic song in the nation doesn’t really add up. While this movement gets attention, it is not the best way to protest racial injustice and police brutality. There are better ways to protest that won’t cause as many problems and will be more effective, such as protesting outside of a police department or in front of a legal building. Not only does protesting at these locations make more sense and is a direct battle, it prevents a lot of controversy and does not effect the players' lives or jobs as directly. The NFL players technically have the right to kneel during the national anthem, but when they decide to do so in their stadium, it jeopardizes their job and only source of income. Furthermore, kneeling just happens to be easier for them and doesn’t take much effort. While all of the players do have freedom of speech, they are not protesting the correct thing. What they are protesting is not bad, it is HOW they are doing it that should be changed. The NFL stars should not be allowed to disrespect the national anthem without punishment, such as suspension, or immediate ejection. This way, they still do have their right to protest, they just need to understand it comes with consequences, and it will help solve a lot of the arguing around this situation. Racism is a very cruel and dark problem in the world and absolutely needs to be taken care of, but it needs to be done in a more direct way, rather than attacking the nation’s flag and anthem that millions of Americans fought for. The National Anthem is not a racist symbol and is not meant to cause harm, so people should not disrespect it. It is meant to symbolize freedom from Britain and a victory in war, not racism.
