I have to chime in on the Colin Kaepernick situation.
It’s happening in my backyard.
It’s happening on my team.
So here are my thoughts.
The Endgame
What’s the endgame here?
How does sitting for the national anthem create social change?
I have no idea.
He wants to bring awareness to the racial dynamics in America?
Was it a secret?
It’s on the news all the time.
In
fact, I would go so far to say that if you are walking around,
completely oblivious to the racial dynamics in this country, one, you
are either not observant or not paying attention, and two, a backup
quarterback on a (hopefully .500) ball club is not going to bring you to
the intended epiphany Mr. Kaepernick is shooting for.
Awareness?
Seriously? Maybe he hasn’t noticed all the riots, shootings, reactions
to shootings, etc. that have been a constant for the last two years.
Ferguson?
Baltimore?
Good thing Colin is sitting down before a game, or the world may never have been aware of this issue.
Hallelujah!
What
is sitting going to do? We were talking about racial tensions every
day. Now all we are talking about is you sitting, not the racial
tensions you are “bringing awareness” to.
Bravo.
Obviously a well thought out plan.
For Those Of You That Are Offended
I have to admit. I am one of them.
Colin’s actions really do bother me.
The sitting down part?
Hell no, his QB play the last 3 years.
It offends me.
Adjust my man!! Learn the defense! Holy s***.
For
everyone else that is offended, you all are idiots. You can’t be
offended unless you let yourself be offended. Remember that. What Kaep
does or does not do should have no effect on why you are as patriotic as
you are.
Did
Kaep standing make your “American” experience better? Hell no, so
neither should his sitting.
Stop being such a p***y and enjoy the game.
Your family served in the military? Good for them.
You are a cop? Good for you.
What the hell does that have to do with the backup QB for the 49ers? Absolutely nothing, unless you let it.
He
is not a terrorist (although, if he keeps growing his hair and beard
out I am certain of a “random” NSA check at the airport in his near
future). He is not saying he hates the country. He is saying he doesn’t
like where we are racially at this point. It’s not like there aren’t
racial tensions. It’s not like there isn’t racism. It’s not like he is
wrong about what is wrong in this country. And just because I don’t see
how sitting down is going to do anything to solve any of those issues,
his points are valid.
If you don’t see that, you are mentally retarded.
If you are letting this one dude get you pissed off, you are a dumb-dumb.
There are much more important things to get mad about.
Like his accuracy.
Like his decision making.
Like his pocket movement.
You know? Important stuff.
Rodney Harrison
He said the worst thing you can possibly say to any mixed race individual, you are not black (or black enough).
Ouch.
Way to help the ‘ol racial tensions there Rod.
He is technically fighting for your “team.” The least you could do is not take a s*** on his head.
Kaep
is black because society says he is. Does he have a white mom, yes
(whom he needs to forgive and meet. I think 90% of his issues come from
that. Get some closure bud. Move on). But he is black because in America
you are either white or black.
Black mom, white dad? You’re black.
Black grandma? You’re black.
Why? Because of the “one drop” rule (from the 1800s, way to evolve America!!). One drop of “black” makes you “black.”
As much as Rodney thinks Kaep doesn’t know what it is like to be a black man in America, he does.
I guarantee he has been called a n***er.
I guarantee when they read Tom Sawyer in middle school, every time they said n***er they looked at Kaep.
He
may have been just Colin when he was younger, a mixed kid, but society
made him black. It is an identity because “we” force that identity on
people. He can’t just be a person. He has to be either a white or black
person.
So, he
is not white, and what happens on the other end? You get dicks like
Harrison that say you aren’t black, or black enough either.
“So what team am I supposed to be on? No one wants me.”
You end up making race part of your identity because race has been made a part of your identity.
How does this manifest?
You stop being a person and you start focusing on your race.
Instead of Colin, you become The Black Guy Colin, or, The White Guy Colin.
If
you let guys like Harrison get to you, you get pulled out of being just
you, something special and unique, and you start trying to be “white”
or trying to be “black.”
What the hell does that even mean?
How do you “be” black?
How do you “be” white?
That’s
when you start grasping on to stereotypes. You start imitating whatever
your interpretation of whatever you are trying to be is. You are all
over the place. You are not you. You are the created identity of you.
You are what you want your identity to be.
That’s a strange place to be.
Focus On Being You
You can’t let people tell you that white people don’t do this and black people don’t do that.
We are all people.
Do what you like.
Ignore stereotypes.
Love yourself.
Be yourself.
You can sit, or you can stand, but if you are always looking out, you are never looking in.
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