San Francisco 49rs quarterback Colin Kaepernick has stirred up a bit of controversy in the past week for his decision to not stand for the American pledge of allegiance. Kaepernick, 28, justifies this decision by saying he refuses to “show pride in the flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
It should go without saying that such a decision made by an American athlete as high profile as Kaepernick would draw instant criticism on the subject of his patriotism, as well as bringing the patriotism of many other Americans into question. But what are we really talking about when we talk about Kaepernicks refusal?
By all means, Kaepernick is well within his rights as a citizen. The first amendment is a beautiful thing and one of the beautiful things about it is not that you have the right to speak, but that you also have the right NOT to speak to express an opinion, and by opting out Kaepernick is sending a very stark message to the flag itself. That message is to stay humble.
The backlash itself shows a stark double standard in how free speech is viewed in contemporary America. Of course you have the right to speak, just don't make any critiques about the current state of America. You have your right to an opinion, but any refusal to pledge to a country whose history is build on the dehumanization of multiple groups of people won't be seen as a plead for positive change, it will be seen as unpatriotic and ungrateful. If the flag were truly as deserving of respect as many claim, Kaepernick would have nothing to protest to begin with. He shows the flag no disrespect, he shows the flag its true reflection.
A pledge is a promise. If I, as a black American, were to place my hand over my heart and pledge allegiance to anything, I would want it to be to something that loves me the way I love it. I would want to make a promise to something that I know would never break a promise it made to me. The promise America makes to its citizens of color is a promise that always was broken, and even as we continue on into the 21st century, where the image of a burning flag causes more anger than any video of an unarmed black person being killed by a police officer, it is a promise that continues to break.
