At this weeks Rose Cafe Judge Scott Miller brought up many fascinating topics. One topic he brought up was the fact that people aren’t 100% good or 100% bad. I think by putting people into binaries is not only limiting but absurd. A lot of times its easier to label someone you don’t like or don’t agree with as bad. One instance in society right now is the burning of Nike shoes by people who think Colin Kaepernick, more accurately what he stands for, is bad. There is a lot of miscommunication in our society. Looking at the people who are engaging in this Nike Boycott they think anyone who supports Kaepernick is anti-American. This is not the case in my opinion.
In order to fully understand the situation we need to understand why Kaepernick decided to kneel during the national anthem. In a statement to NFL media in 2016 he said “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he then went on to say “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.” (Source: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-explains-protest-of-national-anthem)
That statement to me says I need things to change and I need to be respected by the country I live in before I show pride for that country. He’s not saying he hates America he’s saying he hates the way America treats people of color. This aligns with the Black Lives Matter movement. A lot of people who support the all lives matter movement simply do not understand the meaning of the black lives matter movement or are most likely racist. The black lives matter movement is not saying that only black people matter its saying people of color deserve to be treated equally. Dear straight, cis, white, man: the black lives matter movement is not trying to say you don’t matter. However people of color have been oppressed and therefore have a reason to have a movement. Straight, cis, rich , white men have been disregarding the rights of people of color in America since 1492 when Christopher Columbus “discovered” America. You cannot ignore the trail of tear, slavery, the treatment of African Americans pre-civil right movement. By the way, just because the civil rights movement happened and slavery is illegal doesn’t mean African Americans (and people of color in general) aren’t discriminated against. Respect is a two-way street. Why would I respect someone or something that has absolutely no respect for my rights. What kind of country do we live in where unarmed people of color are shot for no reason by the people who’s job it is to protect and serve? I’m not saying I’m not proud to be an American, I’m saying it is absolutely atrocious how people in this country treat minorities. Don’t even get me started on the discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Queer people could not get married until 2016 which is absurd but just because we can get married doesn’t mean there aren’t bigger problems affecting the LGBT community.
I will end my rant here but if you would like to engage in a conversation please comment down below.
I strongly agree with everything you said about the history of oppression in America, but there’s a question I’d like to ask. There are many (including myself, to some degree) who oppose Kaepernick’s endorsement of Nike for an entirely different reason. That being, Nike is a massive corporation with a long list of humans rights violations. Moreover, being a brand in our Neoliberal Capitalist structure, Nike carries the weight of the status quo and is this in alignment with the white, straight, male privileged American. By aligning himself to the capitalist structure, Kaepernick has seemingly commodified his protest, and taken any weight out of the claims that once were meaningful and powerful. The argument would claim that he does an immense disservice to his message by allowing it to be used in advertisement. If the enemy is the privileged American, why should we support Kaepernick’s decision to ally himself with the greatest weapon of the privileged American – corporate capitalism?
I hadn’t considered that point. Thats very interesting and Nike definitely has made some very questionable decisions ethically. At the end of the day I’m pretty sure Nike doesn’t really care about the right of anyone. They’re here to make money off of millennials who are more liberal than older generations. A lot of companies promote things they don’t support in order to get people to talk about them. For example Tess Holiday, a plus sized model, was on the cover of cosmopolitan magazine. Does cosmo really care about body positivity? No they have a history of putting very thin, “fit”, women on the cover. The reason they put her on the cover, in my opinion, is to get people to talk about it.