Kaepernick's Protest

I can understand why some maybe upset and find what Kaepernick did in protest disrespectful, but you know what else I find disrespectful?

I find it disrespectful when government officials wrongly kill people and get paid leave instead of being prosecuted.

I find it disrespectful when a soldier who serves their country can come home from a deployment and not get the proper support they need to become a part of the civilian population and sometimes end up homeless or without proper healthcare.

I find it disrespectful that a woman can be raped and the man responsible gets a couple months in jail because the judge doesn't want to ruin the man's future.

I find it disrespectful that in this country people of privilege are told to shut up and be grateful for what they have instead of being supported when speak up for others who are less fortunate.

I find it disrespectful that in this country a man who says America isn't great, and incites racist, sexist, and bigoted behavior is the Republican nominee for President of the United States.

I find it disrespectful to the people of this country that we speak about what our country represents but we don't fairly uphold those values.

I understand people feel what Colin is doing is disrespectful, but I also understand that there is are serious problems in this country being ignored. People protest peacefully and that's fine for the majority because the protest can be ignored and the majority keep on with their lives.  This issue is brought to the forefront of many people's consciousness and it makes them uncomfortable because it's something they have to address personally not knowing that many people  (including myself) live with this discomfort daily.

What Colin is doing is bringing the issues into an arena where it is hard to ignore and it's impacting something people care about. Now being confronted with it, people get mad and harp on his wrong doing and deflect what's at the heart of the matter.

We have a man crying out for his fellow Americans and putting what he has on the line trying to fight for what is right. I thought that is what patriotism is about? Or those rights only for a select few?