hello america!!! life can get agonizingly twisted real quickly &, a prime example of that is colin kaepernick---his status, his cause, his platform, his actions &, other's reactions...
his status---currently a multi-talented nfl free agent that seemingly was black-balled by the nfl & the owners because of his 'sitting/kneeling' during the playing of our national anthem (the nfl's position is his performance level dropped off)---he opted to drop out of his contract at the end of the 2016 season...
his cause---"i am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people & people of color. to me, this is bigger than football & it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. there are bodies in the street & people getting paid leave & getting away with murder"---those were kaepernick's own words during a post-game interview in 2016---he went on to say that he would continue to protest until he feels like 'the american flag represents what it's supposed to'...for reference, CLICK HERE...
his platform---the football field sideline during the playing of our national anthem & the post-game media...
his actions---'sitting/kneeling' during the playing of our national anthem...
other's reactions---other pro-players have taken to 'sitting/kneeling' during the playing of our national anthem &, in a show of continued support, locking arms...
his status in a nutshell---if it's truly about talent, kaepernick should be playing this season---there are too many squads that could actually benefit from his skill-set so, there must be another reason (other than what a new contract-signing would cost) for why he isn't playing---i honestly feel he was/is being black-balled because of the distractions his protest caused/is causing---having said all that, kaepernick voluntarily opted out of his contract so as to become a free agent which has not worked out well for him...
his platform in a nutshell---first, one must realize that we have 31 full-time national football league stadiums (not 32 because the giants/jets share one) &, they all have their own name---secondly, what transpires on those fields (all 32 of them) is directed by the national football league &/or owners---thirdly, those fields are national football league employee/employer work-places PERIOD!!! i know the question 'if not there, where?' is coming so, allow me to address it like this---i do not believe this particular platform is going to be conducive for the original issue---we tune into the games for the entertainment they provide, not to see somebody protesting (any issue) on a platform they have no control over---if you watched the cowboys/cardinals monday night game, you saw how both squads showed their support & yet, stood for that beautiful rendition of our national anthem (thank you jordin sparks)---&, because this was the wrong platform, the cause has been glossed over & the focus has been on the actions...
his actions & other's actions in a nutshell---his actions were to purposely show his disdain for our flag by sitting/kneeling during the playing of our national anthem PERIOD---his own words talked about not standing to show pride in a flag for our country (i'll get to the rest of his sentence in a minute) &, many others have taken to sitting/kneeling in support of kaepernick---now, others have tried to downplay &/or deny that his actions (to include those that followed his lead) displayed disrespect for our national anthem & national flag but, you cannot just will the facts away---he deliberately directed his cause at our flag by refusing to stand & show pride to it &, he admitted that PERIOD!!! his actions, as well as the actions of his followers, are the actions of blatant disrespect towards the american flag...
his cause in a nutshell---racism is very real/oppression is very real/indentured servitude is very real/police brutality is very real &, i applaud kaepernick for bringing that out, however, i just wish he had chosen a better platform & way to do it---unfortunately, it seems everybody is arguing on whether the actions are disrespectful or not &, not the issue---at this point, none of the media are focusing on the issues that so very much need addressing---until the messaging is consistent & wide-spread, no amount of pro-players kneeling will alter any of the problems one iota---instead, they will only create more division...
