It was the protest that was heard around the world. It was silent, subtle, but it created a firestorm, which hasn't simmered down almost a week later.
In a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49er quarterback, Colin Kaepernick refused to stand for the National Anthem, citing state sanctioned violence against black people as his reason for not celebrating a country, which did nothing to eliminate it. Scroll Kaepernick's Twitter timeline, and you are instantly made aware that him lending his voice to social justice issues is nothing new to this young man.
To give you a bit about his history, Kaepernick was born to a white mother and black father in 1987. That white mother for reasons unknown, chose to give him up for adoption, and he was adopted by a white affluent family.
Fast forward to his heroic stance, and the firestorm that it unleashed, and it shows you everything that is both wrong and unpatriotic about this country. White racists took to Twitter calling him all kinds of niggers, insulted his playing ability, posted memes to Facebook, where they compared him to other players who had served in the military, or who showed themselves being patriotic, and essentially told him to shut up since he was making over 19 million a year. Black coons like Montel Williams referring to him as a "spoiled diva" (I guess all of the medical marijuana has gone to his Uncle Tom brain), even his birth mother piped in via Twitter to chastise him. (Imagine living with the knowledge that the woman who gave you up, because she loved black penis more than she liked raising half black children, would add further insult to injury by trying to humiliate you via social media).
The up side to all of this controversy is that 90% of the black people unconcerned with the white gaze and basic common sense, support Kaepernick, his team supports him, and so far, no backlash has ensued from the NFL. (I won't hold my breath on that last part).
But before you get indignant and filled with righteous patriotism, let me remind you of a few things:
Frances Scott Key who wrote the Star Spangled Banner owned slaves and was against ending slavery, so when he wrote, "The land of the free, and the home of the brave", he wasn't talking about black folks, so why pay allegiance to his song?
You say patriotism; yet, Cheeto Jesus aka Donald Trump is the leader of a major political party and spews racist rhetoric each day.
You say patriotism; yet, there are photos online of Dylan Roof (the Charleston mass murderer) burning the American flag, and he got Burger King and an online GoFundMe.
You say patriotism; yet, you allow black people to be murdered like dogs in the street, and give their killers paid vacations via tax payer dollars; while you post about lost dogs and dead animals, but don't bat an eyelash over a black mother losing her child; instead, you find ways to assassinate their characters and to blame them for their deaths.
You say patriotism; yet, the armed forces have been notoriously racist and unattentive to black soldiers and veterans alike.
So is this patriotism unanimous, or just for those who allow you to treat them like garbage, while you expect them to smile and keep quiet about it?
For those of you who say, if you don't like this country leave, last time I checked the only true and original inhabitants of this country were Native Americans. I know very few 100% Native Americans, so when are we both leaving? If you tell Kaepernick and me to return to Africa, when are you returning to Europe, since this isn't your original homeland either?
Until Amerikkka gets her priorities straight, I will be joining Kaepernick and refusing to stand for her former slaveholder's song, and if you were really serious about patriotism, and not the fake pretense that you hide behind, you would also!
Until next time.....
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