Kaepernick won't stand for national anthem, One soldier's opinion

[J Cord]

I think this belongs in the political section because of why Kaepernick, QB for the San Francisco 49er, refused to stand for the national anthem during Friday's game. Here is what he said in the presser after the game:

"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."

Needless to say, this caused quite the uproar. But out of the uproar, I saw an American soldier give his opinion, an opinion that I think applies to this election as well as the Kaepernick controversy. It from Jim Wright's facebook page, and I would like to quote it in full. It's a little bit long, but it is well worth the read imo. Here it is:

I've been away from the internet all day.

I came home from a family picnic on the Blackwater River to find my inbox, as usual, overflowing like a ripe Port-O-Pottie.

One of the first messages I read was about 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, quoted above, who last Friday night at the beginning of a preseason game suddenly decided to become the most hated man in America du jour by deliberately not standing for the National Anthem.

Yes, that's right, a football player didn't stand for the National Anthem.

As you know, this means Kaepernick is scum, a horrible human being, a likely member of ISIS, a Muslim terrorist, a black thug, a communist, a socialist (and not the cool share your weed Bernie Sanders kind of socialist but the Red Brigade kind of Socialist who sleeps under a poster of Chairman Mao), a radical, a Black Panther, and he probably has Fidel Castro's phone number in his contact favorites.

Yeah. Okay.

I answered the message and went on to the next one.

The next message was about Kaepernick. As was the next one. And the next one. And...

They all begin pretty much the same way: Jim, AS A VETERAN, what do you think about this? Well?

Let me answer all the messages at once
__________

AS A VETERAN, what do I think about Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit during the National Anthem?

As a veteran?

Very well, as a veteran then, this is what I believe:

The very first thing I learned in the military is this: Respect is a two-way street. If you want respect, true respect, sincere respect, then you have to GIVE IT.

If you want respect, you have to do the things necessary to earn it each and every single day. There are no short cuts and no exceptions.

Respect cannot be compelled.

Respect cannot be bought.

Respect cannot be inherited.

Respect cannot be demanded at the muzzle of a gun or by beating it into somebody or by shaming them into it. Can not. You might get what you think is respect, but it's not. It's only the appearance of respect. It's fear, it's groveling, it's not respect. Far, far too many people both in and out of the military, people who should emphatically know better, do not understand this simple fact: there is an enormous difference between fear and respect.

Respect has to be earned.

Respect. Has. To. Be. Earned.

Respect has to be earned every day, by every word, by every action.

It takes a lifetime of words and deeds to earn respect.

It takes only one careless word, one thoughtless action, to lose it.

You have to be worthy of respect. You have to live up to, or at least do your best to live up to, those high ideals -- the ones America supposedly embodies, that shining city on the hill, that exceptional nation we talk about, yes, that one. To earn respect you have to be fair. You have to have courage. You must embrace reason. You have to know when to hold the line and when to compromise. You have to take responsibility and hold yourself accountable. You have to keep your word. You have to give respect, true respect, to get it back.

There are no short cuts. None.

Now, any veteran worth the label should know that. If they don't, then likely they weren't much of a soldier to begin with and you can tell them I said so.

IF Kaepernick doesn't feel his country respects him enough for him to respect it in return, well, then you can't MAKE him respect it.

You can not make him respect it.

If you try to force a man to respect you, you'll only make him respect you less.

With threats, by violence, by shame, you can maybe compel Kaepernick to stand up and put his hand over his heart and force him to be quiet. You might.

But that's not respect.

It's only the illusion of respect.

You might force this man into the illusion of respect. You might. Would you be satisfied then? Would that make you happy? Would that make you respect your nation, the one which forced a man into the illusion of respect? If THAT's what matters to you, the illusion of respect, then you're not talking about freedom or liberty. You're not talking about the United States of America. Instead you're talking about every dictatorship from the Nazis to North Korea where people are lined up and MADE to salute with the muzzle of a gun pressed to the back of their necks.

That, that illusion of respect, is not why I wore a uniform.

That's not why I held up my right hand and swore the oath and put my life on the line for my country.

That, that illusion of respect, is not why I am a veteran.

Not so a man should be forced to show respect he doesn't feel.

That's called slavery and I have no respect for that at all.

If Americans want this man to respect America, then first they must respect him.

If America wants the world's respect, it must be worthy of respect.

America must be worthy of respect. Torture, rendition, indefinite detention, unarmed black men shot down in the street every day, poverty, inequality, voter suppression, racism, bigotry in every form, obstructionism, blind patriotism, NONE of those things are worthy of respect from anybody -- least of all an American.

But doesn't it also mean that if Kaepernick wants respect, he must give it first? Give it to America? Be worthy of respect himself? Stand up, shut up, and put his hand over his heart before Old Glory?

No. It doesn't.

Respect doesn't work that way.

Power flows from positive to negative. Electricity flows from greater potential to lesser.

The United States isn't a person, it's a vast construct, a framework of law and order and civilization designed to protect the weak from the ruthless and after more than two centuries of revision and refinement it exists to provide in equal measure for all of us the opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is POWER.

All the power rests with America. Just as it does in the military chain of command. And like that chain of command, like the electrical circuit described above, respect must flow from greater to lesser FIRST before it can return.

To you the National Anthem means one thing, to Kaepernick it means something else. We are all shaped and defined by our experiences and we see the world through our own eyes. That's freedom. That's liberty. The right to believe differently. The right to protest as you will. The right to demand better. The right to believe your country can BE better, that it can live up to its sacred ideals, and the right to loudly note that it has NOT. The right to use your voice, your actions, to bring attention to the things you believe in. The right to want more for others, freedom, liberty, justice, equality, and RESPECT.

A true veteran might not agree with Colin Kaepernick, but a true veteran would fight to the death to protect his right to say what he believes.

You don't like what Kaepernick has to say? Then prove him wrong, BE the nation he can respect.

It's really just that simple.

 

[SkyWriting]

Then prove him wrong, BE the nation he can respect.

It's really just that simple.

I have my own set of priorities and trying to
impress athletes is not on my list.

 

[J Cord]

I have my own set of priorities and trying to
impress athletes is not on my list.

I think you might have missed the point. Did you read the whole thing?

 

[The Cadet]

As nice as this article is, I feel the need to point something out.

IF Kaepernick doesn't feel his country respects him enough for him to respect it in return, well, then you can't MAKE him respect it.

"Respect" is often used in two distinct ways: "You must acknowledge my humanity" and "You must show deference to my authority". You must respect authority, and everyone deserves to be respected as humans. Two different meanings of the same word, essentially. Here, the author makes the classic error of conflating the two. As do many others. The trick is such: people say, "If you won't respect me, I won't respect you," but what they're really saying is, "If you won't defer to me, I won't acknowledge your humanity." Here, it's clear: Kaepernick is expected to react with deferment and honor his country... And if he doesn't, his country won't treat him like a human being.

This is a bit of an issue, wouldn't you say? I'd say it puts his complaint into the right context, personally.

 

[J Cord]

As nice as this article is, I feel the need to point something out.



"Respect" is often used in two distinct ways: "You must acknowledge my humanity" and "You must show deference to my authority". You must respect authority, and everyone deserves to be respected as humans. Two different meanings of the same word, essentially. Here, the author makes the classic error of conflating the two. As do many others. The trick is such: people say, "If you won't respect me, I won't respect you," but what they're really saying is, "If you won't defer to me, I won't acknowledge your humanity." Here, it's clear: Kaepernick is expected to react with deferment and honor his country... And if he doesn't, his country won't treat him like a human being.

This is a bit of an issue, wouldn't you say? I'd say it puts his complaint into the right context, personally.

I read it differently. I thought the author said the opposite, that Kap should not be expected to defer to the country, but the country should defer to Kap.

My interpretation, what I took from it, I didn't see Kaepernick as the subject, I saw him as the catalyst. I read it, and thought about myself, and some of my posts, and not in a good way. It made me realize I could and should do a better job. What he said struck home.

It also made me look at the candidates in a different way, that the powerful should always show respect for the less powerful, regardless of how the less powerful behave.

 

[SkyWriting]

I think you might have missed the point. Did you read the whole thing?

Nope. Too long.

 

[J Cord]

Nope. Too long.

OK.

 

[AirPo]

I have my own set of priorities and trying to
impress athletes is not on my list.

Nope. Too long.

Then all you really need to know is that it had nothing to do with you.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Here, it's clear: Kaepernick is expected to react with deferment and honor his country... And if he doesn't, his country won't treat him like a human being.

Given that this country used to refuse to treat millions like human beings, that's a pretty substantial threat, don't you think?

 

[PeachyKeane]

Nope. Too long.

What if we made you a YouTube video?

 

[Magillacuddy]

I have my own set of priorities and trying to
impress athletes is not on my list.

Exactly. Who cares what this over payed clown has to say.
He should focus on actually trying to play football.

 

[J Cord]

Exactly. Who cares what this over payed clown has to say.
He should focus on actually trying to play football.

Did you take the time to read what the soldier said? It's very inspiring, well worth the time to read imo.

 

[cow451]

We do not have to agree with Kaepernick's reasons or actions in order to respect that he engaged in a lawful expression of his belief. We should be able to agree in the freedom to engage in such expression.

 

[USincognito]

Tinker v. Des Moines

 

[Freodin]

Exactly. Who cares what this over payed clown has to say.
He should focus on actually trying to play football.

Well...

... if you see it this way, perhaps all these over payed clowns should focus on trying to play football (and managing and organizing football) instead of using it to promote politics?

 

[RDKirk]

Here, it's clear: Kaepernick is expected to react with deferment and honor his country... And if he doesn't, his country won't treat him like a human being.

Where in God's Name did you get an abominable concept like that? Certainly not out of the Constitution. Certainly not out of anything the Founding Fathers wrote.

What he's supposed to do is obey the law. If one disobeys the law, then one faces the penalties prescribed by that law. The penalties prescribed by that law.

Do you even know the penalties prescribed by the law for not standing up for the national anthem?

 

[[serious]]

Well, in this soldier's opinion, that anthem is supposed to be about exactly those freedoms to stay seated. I've gone to school with Jehovah's witnesses who did not stand because of their religion. He did not stand because he feels compelled to speak out against continued racial inequality in law enforcement. I'm sure somewhere there is a guy who doesn't stand because it might compromise his tinfoil hat's ability to block the chemtrail mind control of the reptilians. Regardless of what I think of the relative merits of each reason, each has the constitutional right to do so and we should accept that decision. Any less and we are doing more to dishonor the anthem than they ever could.

 

[[serious]]

Where in God's Name did you get an abominable concept like that? Certainly not out of the Constitution. Certainly not out of anything the Founding Fathers wrote.

What he's supposed to do is obey the law. If one disobeys the law, then one faces the penalties prescribed by that law. The penalties prescribed by that law.

Do you even know the penalties prescribed by the law for not standing up for the national anthem?

I think you misread his post.

 

[The Cadet]

Where in God's Name did you get an abominable concept like that? Certainly not out of the Constitution. Certainly not out of anything the Founding Fathers wrote.

Oh, I agree. My point is that this is the kind of sleight of hand many use when talking about "respect". When they say, "If you respect me, I'll respect you", what they mean is, "If you don't defer to my authority [first version of respect], I won't treat you like a human being deserves to be treated [second version of respect]". I see a fair amount of that here. It's a terrible double standard.

 

[Paulos23]

I always read what Jim at Stone Kettle Station has to say. I don't always agree with him, but I can always follow his logic and where he comes from. He is a great writer.

And he is right on the button here. If some QB doesn't want to stand for the national anthem because he feels the nation does not respect him and his kind, he should be free to do so. And we should really ask ourselves as a nation how we lost that respect.

Yes, it was a political stunt and protest, but one I understand fully. And one that has been going on to long.