Travis Crawford,
Visalia, CA.
NFL players (and others) are kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and other injustices toward African Americans (that is my understanding of the situation). First, they are free to do so, as is their right. I feel that (mostly white) people have the right to complain about it and to say they feel like it is disrespectful, as that is their right. Nobody gets to decide what is offensive to someone else, right? That is not the issue here. The issue is that police brutality and other injustices against minorities needs to stop. My question is: how or when does it stop? Who decides when police brutality or other forms of discrimination have been reduced enough for players to stand during the Anthem? Is it based on statistics? (most people don’t trust statistics) Is it when there are less reported instances of such injustices? (as we all know, the media can easily sway public perception) It seems that people only believe what they want to believe anyway, and so no amount of statistics or media coverage will matter much. And if players quit kneeling, do they need to state the reasons why they stopped? (just as they stated the reasons why they started). I guess I am just confused by players making what is historically deemed a disrespectful action toward the Anthem, yet telling me it is not about the Anthem, but about police brutality, etc. And I’m wondering what exactly white America needs to do to make it OK for the players to stand. And what metric will be used to justify it (statistics, media, etc.). Thank you!
