When you ascribe to the stolen narrative of veteran disrespect and disdain for our nation, you completely miss the mark of Kaepernick’s protest, which directly confronts our proclaimed adherence to American freedom – equality and justice for all. Kaepernick’s kneeling demands more than the recognition and value of Black lives – but embodies centuries of racial violence, injustice and systemic disenfranchisement for communities of color. Only white privilege can morph the message “Stop Killing Us” into utter contempt for America. The fierce backlash and elaborate presidential administration PR stunts, only illustrate the extraordinary measures of which white resistance seeks to ensure racial dominance. White supremacy is so embedded into American thought that seeing past privilege isn’t even an afterthought for an overwhelmingly number of Americans. In fact, refusing to recognize an issue that has plagued this country from inception, and resorting to personally attacking him, his message, and stealing the narrative in its entirety, perpetuates the current and historical trend of White Supremacy in America. White supremacist ideology is habitually used to justify, even romanticize, the oppression, violence, and subordination of communities of color. So how dare Kaepernick take a knee for racial injustice and racial violence, how dare he speak truth to America – an America that refuses to even acknowledge his existence outside the football arena.
Challenge The Narrative 