Real Progressives’ Trending on Twitter hashtag of the day is #ColinKaepernick #Respect. There has been a media firestorm because he chose to not stand during the national anthem because of institutionalized racism (a view Real Progressives supports). He comments about that in this article:
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. “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.”
Looking at his timeline, you can see that this isn’t the first time he has spoken about this issue:
What a lot of people don’t know is that the lyrics behind the national anthem after the first verse that we know are tinged with racially-charged words. Here is the third verse of the Star Spangled Banner (with the offensive wording in bold):
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Based on his stance, a number of people have tweeted and retweeted negative comments about him and his stance:
Other people who support him have come to Twitter to show that he is not alone:
Please like, comment, and share this article as well as keep this hashtag, #ColinKaepernick #Respect trending on social media.