Why are we talking about Kaepernick in 2020?

Some of you may be wondering why Kaepernick is starting to show up in a lot of your feeds lately.

Well... the short answer doesn't explain itself well enough. So, here's the long answer. Kaepernick originally stayed seated during the anthem to protest, acknowledging that it was an issue of respect. However, few people noticed. There are stories, but it didn't make the mainstream media the way his eventual decision to kneel did. However, some did notice and one of them is rather significant: Nate Boyer, a Green Beret.

The Green Beret wrote an open letter to Kaepernick and told him it was disrespectful to sit during the anthem. It was a heartfelt letter that tried to see the situation for what it was while still expressing the hurt and initial dismissal of what he was doing. Even then, Boyer explained to the Los Angeles Times that his concern was that it is "hard for a lot of people to get past the gesture because of when it is happening. It's during the anthem, and that's a sacred time for a lot of people." While Kaepernick had wanted to raise contention about respect, he hadn't meant to insult the military nor shut people out from hearing his message, so what did he do?

Kaepernick reached out to Boyer, sent an uber to him, and asked for a Respectful way to communicate. Not only did the man respond, but he met with Kaepernick and another player (Eric Reid) for a long in person meeting, riding three hours to get there. They went over the issues and concerns they all had and how best to protest the issue without being disrespectful.

The conclusion they came to together was to kneel.

Here is why: One reason was practical. This would allow Kaepernick to be with his teammates and to show that essentially he wasn't just "sitting it out."

However, another reason was that kneeling was already a socially acceptable way to show respect, especially in the military. They acknowledged that both soldiers and players kneel to show respect for those who have been injured. They agreed that this not only represented those literally injured in the issue Kaepernick wished to highlight, but the state of the ideals our country was founded on were also metaphorically injured by these behaviors and thus kneeling during the anthem showed both respect and hurt for the country and those injured by it. It was literally based on the idea that kneeling is a widely recognized historical and cultural gesture of respect.

Boyer was vocal about this at the time of the decision (see links above) and even stood behind Kaepernick in plain clothes, hand on heart, on the field as Kaepernick and Reid kneeled for the first time.

So where did Kaepernick go "wrong?" Well, obviously for anyone not involved in that in depth, in person conversation, they may not have even known or recognized or put together the respect given to the kneeling stance, and thus interpreted it as disrespectful. So, the one thing Kaepernick could have done better was to hold a press conference in advance, I guess, one that would get a lot of attention, and explain the thoughtful reasoning behind his actions and explicitly state he wasn't trying to be disrespectful to military members or to just, the country as a whole.

However, I can completely see why he would not have thought this was necessary. I can see why he thought explaining after the fact would garner a bigger audience. After all, Boyer's letter was an open letter the public had seen and the man had stood with him. I can see why he would have assumed he'd be given the benefit of the doubt when it came to respecting the flag/country, despite or maybe even because of, the previous interaction with a famous Green Beret.

Or, let me explain this another way:

This is one of the most thoughtful peaceful protests I have seen in recent history, where a man chose to use his visibility and power to bring light to an issue in a symbolic, meaningful, and respectful way, damn the powers that be. And he did not act alone or on his own assumptions. Even before sitting, Kaepernick had spent months learning about the issue and discussing with family. While he did not seek permission from the NFL, nor did he feel he needed their permission (makes sense), he did it during a time that did not disrupt the actual game (and one the NFL had no policies on at the time) but a symbolic one which so many, many, many more people would see and understand the severity of than if he had bought some PSA time or sat outside the stadium before or after the game being harassed for autographs. And he took feedback about his actions seriously and made adjustments accordingly in a meaningful way.

Additionally, he was backing his protests with his actions and charity toward the communities and issues he is most concerned about.

Yes, the protest made people uncomfortable, but protests are meant to make people uncomfortable. To shed light on an issue you may not be affected by.

So, essentially, as far as protests go, he did everything right except warn us it was coming in an attempt to brace for multiple interpretations of the gesture.

And he was punished for it. Joe Lockhart, the NFL's vice president of communications at the time of the protest, has now confirmed that no team wanted to sign a controversial player like Kaepernick, regardless of skill.

Sure, not everyone was furious, but students told me stories of their parents burning all their NFL gear on the lawn. People were hurt. People were upset. People were insulted. And, a Quinnipiac University Poll suggested that only 38% of people supported the idea. If you google Kaepernick kneeling memes, the vast majority even today are still in mockery of him and of him losing his job over it. The NFL, which originally had said it was a player's choice to participate in the anthem or not, began to threaten players because their profits were at stake. They ignored his and Boyer's public explanations. In 2018, they made it an official policy punishable by fine.

Kaepernick, thoguh, was pushed out of his profession for it. Made an example of.

To make matters worse-- and here's the really important part in terms of why Kaepernick is showing up in your news feed-- before any major repercussions felled him, the fury of those feeling disrespected took hold of the conversation.

And the conversation moved VERY QUICKLY away from the very thing he was protesting about, away from the people he aimed to help.

The conversation became instead about when is the proper time to protest.

The conversation instead became about whether kneeling was respectful or not.

The conversation instead became about the setting.

The conversation instead became about celebrities' right to protest, or the decorum of celebrities bringing politics into their public lives.

The conversation became instead about the NFL's response and whether it was appropriate.

The conversation became instead about Trump's reaction.

And everyone, both those who disapproved and even those who did approve, fell into the trap of arguing what Kaepernick could have/should have done differently.

Boyer has even spoke out recently (in the same Los Angeles Times article above) stating that the message of the protest and his and Kaepernick's intent have been "intentionally hijacked." Boyer is upset both with people who categorize him as "telling" Kaepernick what to do and how to protest, and with those who would categorize all veterans as upset. But mostly, how far the conversation has been sidetracked. "It's not fair to Colin, it's not fair to me, and it's not fair to the cause," Boyer says. "And it's not good for the country."

Because, it has been almost 4 years since then, and what has changed? Did this massive, peaceful, thoughtful, well reasoned, group-effort protest effect any major change in the treatment of people of color, specifically black men and women harassed, abused, traumatized, and killed by a flawed system?

Martin Luther King, Jr was not a supporter of riots and violent protest. But he warned us that when peaceful protest is ignored or deemed ineffective, some people will break inside, and meet the violence enacted against them with damaging anger (See the Letter from Birmingham Jail). Also, historically, people take advantage of these situations as well. Trever Noah actually explains the appearance of riots in a heartfelt and heartbreaking way here, as well. (It wouldn't let me embed it, but it's an 18 minute video that is worth every minute).

So when a vast majority of people's response to the massive amount and wide variety of protests happening today is to zero in only on the rioters and say that these small, but yes hurtful acts, have all the power and are "ruining" the cause and that everyone should just settle down and protest quietly, and peacefully....

It isn't that we disagree with that statement -- that peaceful protest is the way or that peaceful protest is the best way.... etc. We're on the same side there. It's that we did that, and no one truly listened.

It's really hard not to think about all the peaceful protests that have not only been ignored, but punished like Kaepernick's, in our history -- AND the fact that the riots are STILL getting more attention than the massive amount of peaceful protests. Of the voices standing up. Of individuals trying to educate and share. More attention than the people cleaning up their communities after they've been hit by rioters.

It is hard. It is hard to see this, realizing that peaceful protest is STILL being ignored by the very focus of most of our social media on "rioting is the wrong way" and "people would listen if you asked nicely..."

This is why Kaepernick is showing up in your feeds. Usually in memes and images that won't explain all of this to those who need it explained.

Kaepernick is a modern quintessential symbol of asking nicely and being misunderstood. Explaining himself and being ignored. Having others explain for him, and being ignored. And to top if off, being made an example of, punishing him for his efforts.

People have asked nicely.

People ARE asking nicely.

And some people are getting mean.

And still, no one listens.

Still, those most capable of enacting the change needed fail to act.