Friday, September 30, 2016

Collin Kaepernick Final Draft



Micah Metz
Dr. Stephanie Brown
English 306
September 15, 2016

A More Perfect Union
Football, as one of America's most popular sports, is deeply infused with patriotic ritual. The singing of the national anthem before each game, and, on more special occasions, jets flying overhead, creates an atmosphere of national pride and reverence to all institutions that help protect it. With that common understanding in place it's understandable why Collin Kaepernick’s actions have started so much controversy within the football community. During the latter half of the NFL pre-season, Kaepernick began sitting during the national anthem before games. While widely interpreted as disrespect to flag and country, Kaepernick has identified his actions as a protest for racial injustice in the nation, most explicitly citing incidents of police brutality against minorities. With several isolated incidents of this kind of brutality being publicized in close succession in recent times, there is an air of distrust for authorities and animosity towards institutions that reflect a bias against people of color. With Kaepernick’s celebrity status and a taboo protest method, this comprises one of the more recent rhetorical strategies employed in the discussion about institutionalized racism.

           
 Kaepernick's actions follow a series of tumultuous events over the past few years involving police killings of unarmed black men. Individuals such as Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and the subsequent protests that arose because of their fatalities has created a political climate more sensitive to the methods of police forces and the most common type of victims in these instances. While there seemed to be a notion that institutionalized racism has decreased over the years since the days of the civil rights movement, the spotlight on these events has persuaded many that perhaps the nation has not come as far as many people once believed. Kaepernick, in an interview, alludes to the turbulent atmosphere between minorities and police force, and posits that there needs to be greater awareness:
People don't realize what's really going on in this country. There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust. People aren't being held accountable for. And that's something that needs to change. That's something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it's not happening for all right now (ESPN).
            Kaepernick’s purpose can be seen as a drive to raise awareness about unjust policies, tendencies, or laws that target minorities. Taking the current political climate into perspective one could assume that many people are already pretty familiar with the topic, but past demonstrations and decries have left many spectators with mixed, undecided feelings on the subject, with a specific divide among spectators of different racial backgrounds (Vega and Thee-Brenan). The rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, for example, was seen negatively for the destruction that ran rampant throughout the town, regardless of the persecution that the residents might have felt threatened their community’s safety. Kaepernick's nonviolent, celebrity-status protest is one that has the potential to speak to a wide audience of people who are both in the category that he intends to represent (minorities who have been consistently been more likely targets for police assault) as well as onlooker patrons of the sport whom he might sway. While his actions are still seen as disrespectful by many people, with a supposed slight decrease in popularity as a player in correlation with his protest (Rowell, ESPN), it’s presented in a way that the media tolerates; it has generated discussion with an interpretation more positive than that of a violent riot.

           
 Kaepernick’s contribution to this wider civil rights movement is a well-rounded strategy that takes advantage of the ethos of American values, the logos of how the current state of the nation is falling short of upholding these values, and the and the pathos of citing the destruction that comes as a result. The flag that is honored ceremonially along with the singing of the anthem is an important item of national identity and is closely associated with military forces who are said to protect the freedoms that it represents. Any protests involving the display of the flag necessarily bring up the positive attributes of our nation; the choice to use this object of protest in a way deviant to the customs of respecting it is taboo and generates emotional response. But when asked about whether or not his form of protest was acceptable or not, the NFL player said:
To me, this is a freedom that we're allowed in this country. And going back to the military, it's a freedom that men and women that have fought for this country have given me this opportunity by contributions they have made . . . This is something that has to be said, it has to be brought to the forefront of everyone's attention, and when that's done, I think people can realize what the situation is and then really affect change (ESPN).
While national pride is alive and well in America, an important distinction that Kaepernick makes and is popular in the minds of citizens is that the honor due to the flag is still optional; being a symbol of freedom, it grants the freedom to behave deviant from norms. This commonly held notion makes Kaepernick’s demonstration and proclamation of beliefs effective because it’s meant to deviate from norms in a way that doesn’t denounce the intended framework of the norm’s original implication. Through this superficial defiance there is potential to affect a meaningful change to come about; That is to say, his subtle decry of national trends is meant to say that the standards outlined by patriotic belief are not in effect in the real world, but need to be, and that there is potential for them to be.
            Considering Kaepernick’s purpose to raise further awareness and to inspire people to affect change, the media coverage his actions have garnered demonstrate, in some respect, a degree of success in his strategy; most notably by targeting an emotionally changed aspect of patriotic ritual. While Kaepernick has seen a decline in popularity as a player in the NFL among some viewers, he has received support from his teammates. And while the broader public’s reception of him tends to be mixed, he hasn’t been made into an anathema for his actions. The notion of his that national policy needs to change before the identity of this country is to be respected calls for a higher level of performance from Americans is a social criticism that is made from a perspective of a member of the society rather than an outside; that is what makes this protest agreeable to a wider audience.




Works Cited

Rowell, Darren. “Poll: Niners QB Colin Kaepernick most disliked player in league.” ESPN.com.   22  September 2016. Web. 27 September 2016.

 

Vega, Tatiana. & Thee-Brenan, Megan. “Poll Shows Broad Divisions Amid Missouri Turmoil.”            Nytimes.com. 21 August 2014. Web. 27 September 2016.

 

Wagoner, Nick. “Transcript of Colin Kaepernick's comments about sitting during national           

anthem.” ESPN.com. 28 August, 2016. Web. 15 September, 2016

 


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