So last week when I was getting ready for the Fourth of July, one of my favorite holidays, buying fireworks, groceries, and beer (what’s more American than that?); the sports world mixed with the political world again. That has happened often in my lifetime, but no one has crossed over more as a focal point in those two worlds than Colin Kaepernick.
The former San Fransisco 49er quarterback who now is known more for kneeling during the National anthem than taking his team to the Super Bowl made news again by telling his bosses at Nike, yes you read that right, his bosses, to pull back the release of shoes featuring Betsy Ross’s first American flag with the thirteen stars in a circle representing the colonies because it may be offensive to some because of the history of slavery during that time. To say I was shocked Nike buckled and recalled the shoes on the week of Independence Day would be an understatement and foolishly the political lines were drawn again in this country.
The whole thing proves what I have been saying for years, Kaepernick isn’t concerned about making a difference and easing the tensions between a law enforcement community who doesn’t know if their next traffic stop is their last (no matter the race of the person they are pulling over) or the African American community who fears the next time they get pulled over it may end in tragedy. Kaepernick just wants to stay relevant by stirring the pot over enraging one side who calls him un-American and the other side who blindly supports him.
I am not ready to get to the point where we are going to look at every symbol of the United States before the Emaciation Proclamation as offensive. Instead I accept the fact our history isn’t perfect, in fact much of it is quite ugly, but we need to learn from it. I roll my eyes when people say, “I can’t tell someone they shouldn’t be offended.” If we use that narrative, then buckle to everyone who is offended by everything, we won’t be able to say or do anything. At some point common sense has to take over, and that goes for both sides of the political spectrum, left or right.
