Collin Kaepernick's Stand, He Refuses to Stand

I am sitting here alone at work on Labor Day I am looking through some of my friends Facebook posts. Of course, there’s the usual, Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump posts.

There’s been one topic that hasn’t’ died and seems to have a life of its own. You know the one, the San Franciso backup quarterback Collin Kaepernick’s and his refusal to stand for the national anthem. Last week, Kaepernick made the following statement when asked why he wouldn’t stand for the national anthem.

"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."

This week, President Barrack Obama weighed in on Kaepernick’s position.

“[H]e’s following his constitutional right to make a statement,” President Obama said at a press conference in Hangzhou, China. “I think there’s a long history of sports figures doing so. ”The president added, “I don’t doubt his sincerity. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, he’s generated some conversation around some topics that need to be talked about it.”

Like I have said in the past, I am not all that fussed about Kaepernick's refusal to stand for the national anthem. As an American, he has that right to take this stand, or in this case, not to stand. Whether we like it or not, it’s protected speech under the first amendment.

It doesn't matter if we have a pen and a phone. We're a nation of laws. We can’t pick and choose what amendments or  laws we like to follow. As a constitutional conservative, I am not offended by this man's opinion. Do I agree with it? Nope. But it's not about me.

This is America, people are allowed to have differing opinions. We also have the right to "respectfully" disagree with these folks. Not everyone is going to see the world the same way or have the same personal experience. In my case, I have no idea what it's like to be a rich person or a minority.

There’s another side to this story. Kaepernick has also worn socks that depict cops as pigs. This move has offended police and law enforcement officers nationwide.

Now, the Santa Clara Police Officers Association (their police department's union) has come out and said some of their officers aren't going to work the San Francisco 49ers games.

"I'm already hearing it this week that next week on Monday Night Football, some officers are not going to work," said Frank Saunders, president of the Santa Clara Police Officers Association.

Before you go off on these police officers and say that they’re ducking their responsibilities and disregarding safety, they're not. They're exercising their first amendment rights. Like Kaepernick, they also have the same protected speech. They have choice to not work these events, this isn’t mandatory overtime. This is an overtime gig to supplement their incomes. They’re also exercising their freedom of speech by failing to sign up for the overtime shifts. There will be other officers that will take those shifts.

This is the beauty of America, you can’t pick and choose. It's hypocritical to approve of one’s protected first amendment speech and then turn around and say, “Hey! They can’t do that.” Everyone is protected under the first amendment, whether you like it or not. Live with it. In other words, the law enforcement officers that Kaepernick attacks can also turn around let him know their feelings about his actions. That's life.