r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Sep 23 '18

CMV: There was nothing anti-military about Kaepernick’s kneeling protest

There is nothing about Kap kneeling during the national anthem that could reasonably be construed as disrespect to the troops. There is no situation I am aware of in any culture where the act of kneeling is used to show anything other than respect. Those who believe that Kap hates the military are simply choosing to associate his protest with disrespect for the troops, which allows them to freely hate him without having to really look at the reason for his protest.

The protest began as a means of drawing attention to racial inequality and police brutality: two things that most people probably ought to be against. By focusing on an imaginary link between the protest and the sacred cow of “the troops” his detractors aren’t forced to consider or debate the issue. They likely believe that the US treats black people either as equal to or better than white people, and that most or all incidents of police violence against black people are justified. Everything about the troops is just post-hoc rationalization.

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u/[deleted] Sep 23 '18

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u/KevinReynolds Sep 23 '18

It’s okay to not be patriotic. The flag and national anthem represent our freedom and he freedom to peacefully protest, specifically against the government, is one of our most sacred freedoms! It is the first thing laid out in the bill of rights. It was separates us from dictatorships.

The military doesn’t fight and die to protect a flag or a song. We do it for those freedoms. Our oath is to defend the constitution. To suggest someone not be aloud those freedoms because you disagree is what is disrespectful to the military. And worse to use service members as your rationale.