Let’s Be Clear

This past weekend a professional athlete made a political gesture on a national stage that has a lot of people talking….and shouting. Colin Kaepernick, a young quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, chose not to stand, but kneel during the National Anthem before a televised pre-season game, as a protest against what he feels is the mistreatment of people of color by elements of the American government. As a minority himself and watching, as we all have for the past few years, the apparent rise in the shooting deaths of young unarmed black men by white police officers, he evidently felt the passionate need to ‘do something’. Being a prominent and visible figure in the sporting public’s eye, he chose to give voice to his frustration by ignoring the social norm to stand while honoring the country during the anthem, making for a powerful, if not shocking, public statement. If that wasn’t bold enough, his comments after the game left himself with little maneuvering room to diffuse what would certainly be a galvanizing choice on his part.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

It was certainly an audacious move for a young man to make, and likely one that will cost him personally more than he may realize now, because speaking out like he has will have consequences. But in saying that, I believe it is imperative that we all step back and not conflate the wrong issue at hand because what I have been hearing from the media and co-workers is not the issue at all, at least as I see it.

The alarming issues that prompted his stance, as noted above, is the number of instances of white police officers who have killed unarmed black men at seemingly benign confrontations. A few of the cases could be reasonably viewed as potentially dangerous situations where officers felt the need to react decisively in the heat and confusion of the moment. Officers are trained to maintain control of any situation, after all, which must be considered when performing our own ad hoc analysis. It is simply not possible for the public to view a 10 second clip of a confrontation and extrapolate the actual context the officer(s) were faced with. But….there have been other instances where much less ambiguity could be detected, which should invite a much deeper look at the role that race plays in how law enforcement handles these situations.

Without getting into the specifics of any single case, the main point that comes to my mind regarding Kaepernick’s defiant gesture is the social protection that we must afford individuals who have legitimate, heartfelt concerns with our government’s behavior……or its indifference, because peaceful political protests are a fundamental right protected by the constitution.

In fact, the founding fathers took very specific steps precisely to address the inherent asymmetry between a powerful government and its subjects by safeguarding the freedom to protests against that government……it’s called the 1^st Amendment. The reason they made ‘free speech’ the nation’s first Amendment, and therefore most important imperative, was their unease over that power inversion. It’s very purpose was to give power back to the citizens, that a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” requires something from the people that had never been explicitly granted before, which is a good faith engagement in the political process. And that good faith engagement entails speaking your mind regarding social concerns.

Of course, Kaepernick wasn’t arrested, what he  did was not against the law, but judging from the public’s reaction, many believe it should be. It is for that reason, I believe it’s important during social protests like this to step back and remember that we are the recipients of an  amazing political document and to earn our inheritance to it, we all must work to keep the same ideals that our founders had in mind, and the right to peacefully protest our government is not only an element of our freedom, but the foundational stone to it.

Most every comment that I heard or read felt Kaepernick had disrespected the National Anthem by kneeling instead of standing at attention, but that is lazy thinking in my opinion. Had he and his teammates been shown sitting on the bench casually talking and laughing, then YES, that would have disrespected the moment, but look again, they are not disrespecting the anthem at all, but are solemnly, with the weight of the moment fully present, exercising their 1st Amendment right to express their protest.

We should never allow ourselves to unthinkingly follow patriotic dogmas simply because of their tradition, nor walk, lockstep, into confusing the flag, or the National Anthem for the very ideals they represent. Retreating back to simplistic, bumper sticker rhetoric, such as, “American, love it or leave it”, is a retort that Jefferson would have renounced. If, for instance, my own State legislature passed a bill outlawing political protests, I would most definitely join all like-minded people in protesting against that erosion of rights….after all, who would be the more patriotic…..me protesting for my rights, or those supporting their erosion?

It’s an emotional issue and one that cuts to the core of how we feel about ourselves and our country. And I am not even advocating his position, but let’s by very clear…….political protests, such as Kaepernick’s is at the very heart of our 1^st Amendment right to freely express our concerns. The protest itself should not supplant the reason for the protest, whether in the media or in our communities. We simply cannot allow ourselves to confuse legitimate, peaceful protests to be seen as analogous with political subversion. We owe our Founders more than that.