Why You Can't Win In America By Speaking Your Mind
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Politics and Activism

Why You Can't Win In America By Speaking Your Mind

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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Why You Can't Win In America By Speaking Your Mind

It seems like you can never win in America. I don't mean that you can't succeed or that you can't build a comfortable life for yourself, I just mean that you can't even stand up for something without people hating on you. It's just odd to me that people in a country that was born from dissent really REALLY hate it when people speak their minds about certain issues, but if you don't say something you're also criticized for it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't

Colin Kaepernick is sitting down during every National Anthem before games, and it seems like everyone is in an uproar about it. People, mostly from right-leaning tendencies, are basically calling bull on it. He's a multi-millionaire how is he oppressed? He's disrespecting our service men and women, he should just leave if he doesn't like America. What has he done to help out? Every single trick in the book to discredit him has been used. Not what he's saying, just him as a person. That's when it all clicked for me, and I finally understood.

The people who are angry and saying they aren't angry at what he did, they're angry for what he is protesting about. They are angry about what he's protesting, because they don't want to talk about it.

I don't understand how the same people who ask Colin Kaepernick what he is doing to help people of color are the same people who protest abortions and want to make it illegal, but have no plans for the mother after they force her to have a baby. What are you doing to help those mothers? Are you adopting babies? Are you making sure the government fully funds day care, or other social safety nets to ensure the child grows up in a healthy environment? You're doing nothing.

How come when Colin Kaepernick talks about injustices that are happening in the United States he is told he should leave, but you're going to vote for a man that has been doing nothing but talking about how the United States is weak, dumb, not respected, a laughing stock to the rest of the word, and all the other crap he gets to spit out, but you think he should stay?

The same people who hate political correctness are all of the sudden up in arms about seeing a tweet about someone not standing during the National Anthem? What happened to quit being babies? What happened to "the constitution doesn't protect your feelings?" Where did all that go?

Russell Brand once said, "When I was poor and complained about inequality they said I was bitter; now that I'm rich and I complain about inequality they say I'm a hypocrite. I'm beginning to think they just don't want to talk about inequality." The same exact thing applies to racial injustice. If you're a person of color with no platform, you're just a thug who deserved it, and if you're a rich and successful person of color, you don't get to have an opinion because look at what this country did for you.

Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks decided to sit during the National Anthem and the team's official twitter released a statement by Pete Carroll about it. Carroll said, "it's a totally individual decision...I'm proud of the progress we're making in the conversation."

Somebody decided to tweet to the Seahawk's twitter handle, "Then black communities need to get educated and produce less criminals. This is a problem of ignorance." Let's take a moment to laugh at the irony of someone, who said black people produce criminals, and calling somebody else ignorant.

I decided to just say my two cents because I clearly can't keep my mouth shut. It's been a problem ever since I can remember. I replied back and tried to explain that Colin Kaepernick, and others, aren't protesting criminals getting in trouble. They're protesting things like a 12-year-old boy getting shot in under two seconds, playing with a toy gun, in an open carry state. Then someone else chimed in and said, "No it's NOT. They want the right to commit mayhem without any consequences. Disgusting." There in lies the problem.

I know it's twitter and I know that these two people who are saying very questionable things aren't indicative to the larger population as a whole, but it brings up the fact that nobody is really paying attention to the message, and ironically, making his point.

Colin Kaepernick never said once that white people were the cause of all things wrong in the world, yet you said he did. He never once said he hated living in the United States, you said that for him. All he wants is for people of color to not be automatically assumed a threat to a police officer's life instantly, and for cops to be held accountable for their actions. So when you say that black people produce criminals and it's their fault, or that all black people want to do is cause mayhem without consequences, you're proving his point that we as a society have a lot to work on when it comes to race relations in the United States.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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