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Kaepernick Protest
On September 13, 1814 Francis Scott Key wrote the famous Star-Spangled Banner as he
watched the Maryland fort being bombed by British forces in the War of 1812. Key was still able
to see the United States flag that was flying over Fort McHenry when the sun rose back up.
Many years later on March 3rd, 1931, the Star-Spangled Banner was chosen to be the national
anthem of our country. In the article “Colin Kaepernick and Radical Uses of The Star-Spangled
Banner” William Robin looks at the racist aspect of the song itself for Kaepernick’s protest. He
also talks about the general history of the song and how it became our countries National
Anthem. Robin’s main argument throughout article is that Kaepernick is protesting the
StarSpangled Banner due to its racist backgrounds in the original version, but I believe
Kaepernick is protesting due to the social injustice in today’s world.
Let’s discuss Robin’s main point in his article. He asks “Is ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’
racist? The short answer is yes, insofar as almost every older piece of American iconography
cannot be rid of the stain of slavery” (Robin). The writer of the Star-Spangled Banner, Francis
Scott Key, was actually a slave owner. Also, in Key’s original writings, he did have a short mention
of slavery. “No refuge could save the hireling & slave / From the terror of flight or the gloom of
the grave.” Those words from the original text does have a mention of slavery, but this is also
the original version and it has been changed. Robin argues that the reason why
Kaepernick is protesting the national anthem due to the fact that the song is connected to
slavery. Although the song may have slavery associated with it, Robin includes a quote from
Kaepernick in which I believe he is protesting. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag
for a country that oppresses black people and people of color”. Robin mentions this statement
from
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Colin Kaepernick, but does not go into that subject, instead he continues to talk about the history
of the song. He explains the different versions of the song and how it has changed throughout
the years. Overall Robin concludes "perhaps we should build on the raised fists and refusals to
stand, and seek out the spirit of the era in which the anthem’s text and music were not so
sacrosanct". In other words, he is not opposed of Kaepernick’s protest, instead our country should
grow from this protest. Our country has been built on protest and change, and Robin believes this
is just another opportunity to grow as a nation. Still, Robin provides a hasty argument, due to the
fact the Kaepernick controversy has nothing to do with the racist ties of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Kaepernick’s protest has to do with a whole another issue, which leads me to believe that
Robin’s article is misleading and not very informative.
While Robin brings up some aspects of the background of the Star Spangled Banner, I
feel as though the real reason why Kaepernick is protesting because of social injustice. In this
past year, there has been a lot of attention on some cases where police officers killed unarmed
black men. It has created a movement called "Black Lives Matter" and has also created a major
divide in our country. People apart of the movement claim that police discriminate against
African Americans and that there is social injustice. The question is does this matter have a valid
stance? Does law enforcement unfairly target African Americans? In the article titles “5 Statistics
You Need to Know About Cops Killing Blacks” it states “According to data compiled by The
Washington Post, 50 percent of the victims of fatal police shootings were white, while 26
percent were black. Most these victims had a gun or were armed or otherwise threatening the
officer with potentially lethal force, according to Mac Donald in a speech at Hillsdale College”
(Bandler). Some say these statistics are these prove that there is racism in our country because a
majority of the population is white. But statistics show that African Americans are responsible
for the majority of crime in our country. Another fact from the article says that Blacks are more
likely to kill cops then be killed by cops. It says “This is according to FBI data, which also found
that 40 percent of cop killers are black. According to Mac Donald, the police officer is 18.5 times
more likely to be killed by a black than a cop killing an unarmed black person”. Due to the recent
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target on police in America, police officer deaths have also increased. Officers are also under
amounts of tremendous pressure and know at any time their lives may be taken only because of
their badge. There has also been a lot of bias in the media for this idea of social injustice. The
fact is that more unarmed white men actually get shot by police officers, but those events are
not publicized by the media. Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter movement really have no
merit behind because it does explain the true facts behind law enforcement.
Finally, the biggest question is, is Colin Kaepernick doing the right thing? Kapernick's
protest started sparking arguments throughout the country and throughout the league. There
have been many African American players that publicly announced that they are against
protesting the national anthem. One player that was not all for Colin's protest James Harrison
tweeted before one of his games “If you on my team and not standin for Anthem better be from
a broken leg or I'm gonna give you one” (Harrison). Another issue of Kaepernick’s protest, is the
people he is disrespecting. In the article titled “My Father Stood for The Anthem, For The Same
Reason That Colin Kaepernick Sits” Keith Woods explains that if his father, who was an African
American who served in World War 2, would see Colin Kaepernick today he would say “You
stand during the national anthem, he'd say, punctuating his words with fire. People died for that
flag” (Woods). There have been millions of lives that were sacrificed so we could have the
freedom that American citizens have today. The national anthem is a pivotal part of this country
and it should be considered an honor to sing it. Although Kaepernick received a lot of criticism
for his actions, he also got some support. Some NFL players were actually inspired by
Kaepernick's actions before the game and have joined in protest. Other teams in the league
have locked arms together in another type of protest. President Barack Obama backed
Kaepernick’s actions saying “I'd rather have young people engaged in the argument and trying to
think through how they can be part of our democratic process than those who are just sitting on
the sidelines” (Obama). Professional basketball player LeBron James also gave his opinion
mentioning “me standing for the national anthem is something I will do. That's who I am. That's
what I believe in. But that doesn't mean I don't respect and don't believe in what Colin
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Kaepernick is doing. You have the right to voice your opinion, stand for your opinion, and he's
doing it in the most peaceful way I've ever seen someone do something” (James). There are
many people who voiced their opinions of Kaepernick’s demonstration and whether he is doing
the right thing or not is all based on personal judgement.
When Francis Scott Key wrote that poem that night, he had no idea that it would
become our nation’s anthem. It is true that Key was a slave owner and there are some aspects
of his original words that he wrote that involved slavery, but I believe Robin is missing the bigger
picture. Colin Kaepernick is not protesting the anthem because of the song, he is protesting the
anthem to make a point about what is going on in today’s world. It is important to realize that
Robin’s article sways away from what is really going on and it is misleading to what is really
being disputed. In my personal opinion, I respect the fact that he is standing up (or in this case
kneeling down) for what he believes is right, but he is creating more controversy than good.
Right now it feels like our country is divided and in my opinion Kaepernick's protest does
nothing, but split our country up even more. There have been many fans who decided to stop
watching the NFL due to Kaepernick’s actions. I do think that there is some racism is in our
country and culture, I would not go as far to say that law enforcement is targeting and killing
certain people do to the color of their skin. The job of a police officer is dangerous and they
must always protect themselves. There have been some incidents of police brutality but to all
Americans, not just African Americans. We need to put race to the side and see how we can get
better as Americans. As a country we can stop police brutality and other problems our country
faces. Colin Kaepernick has every right to do what he is doing, but in the grand scheme of
things, Kaepernick should just stay on his feet and drop his protest.
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Works Cited
Bandler, Aaron. "5 Statistics You Need To Know About Cops Killing Blacks." Daily Wire. N.p., 07
July 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016. <http://www.dailywire.com/news/7264/5-statisticsyou-
need-know-about-cops-killing-aaron-bandler>.
Bailey, Issac. "Injustice, Not Kaepernick, Is the Problem." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 Sept.
2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/21/opinions/colin-
kaepernickinjustice-bailey/>.
McCarthy, Michael. "Terry Bradshaw Warns Colin Kaepernick, Protesters 'will 'pay' for
Disrespecting Flag." Sporting News. N.p., 04 Oct. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/terry-bradshaw-colin-kaepernick-national
-anthem-protest-flag-fox-nfl-sunday/z72sdf09w6041pe0lby10lsl8>.
Woods, Keith. "My Father Stood For The Anthem, For The Same Reason That Colin Kaepernick
Sits." NPR. NPR, 31 Aug. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/08/31/492086321/my-father-stood-
forthe-anthem-for-the-same-reason-that-colin-kaepernick-sits>.
Wyche, Steve. "Colin Kaepernick Explains Why He Sat during National Anthem." NFL.com. N.p.,
27 Aug. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
<http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000691077/article/colin-kaepernick-
explainswhy-he-sat-during-national-anthem>.
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