Remember when Colin Kaepernick was a knucklehead backup QB not standing during the national anthem?
That was so last week.
Seems now that Kaepernick’s stand, or rather seat, now kneel, is spreading like wildfire. He was joined by a teammate at the San Francisco 49ers’ final home game, then U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team star Megan Rapinoe kneeled.
Now there’s talk of something involving the entire Seattle Seahawks team.
The heat from the burned jerseys is going to extend summer a couple of extra weeks.
But this, too, shall pass, right?
No. It’s already reached critical mass, this movement.
Rosa Parks was one lady who didn’t sit where she was supposed to on a bus. She ignited the civil rights movement.
Kaepernick is still a knucklehead backup QB, but he has us all talking, and taking sides.
There’s no being equivocal about what he started. You either kneel with him, or you think he’s beneath contempt.
Generally speaking, your view on the act is defined by where you are on the Democrat-Republican x-y axis.
You like symbolic protests, or you think they’re disrespectful.
Both sides have it right and wrong. Because of course what Kaepernick and crew are doing is disrespectful, by definition.
That’s how what they’re doing works, by shock and awe.
But you can’t be against this protest because it’s disrespectful and then share on social media the latest nonsense meme about Barack Hussein Obama trying to take your guns away or Killary Clinton starting yet another Middle Eastern war and call that your free exercise of political speech.
Football players, soccer stars, you and me, we all have not only a right to say what we think in terms of policy and politics, but a duty.
Even burning a jersey in protest of the player whose name is on the back is political speech.
It’s also a waste of $99.99, but that’s another story for another day.
Column by Chris Graham
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