I hate Colin Kaepernick.

A couple years ago I took Kaepernick as my first QB for my fantasy team. He was coming off a solid season where he led to the 49ers to the Super Bowl, racking up stats on the ground and through the air as he went. But as luck would have it, the following season was a letdown and it seemed whenever I started Kap, I got little to no production from the QB position. To add to the frustration, the few weeks I sat him on the bench, he actually performed very well.

All this is to say, Colin Kaepernick is most productive when he sits.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the “controversy” created by the 49ers QB who sat during the national anthem before a preseason game and later declared that he wouldn’t “stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.” Criticism came swiftly and from all mediums, with many former and current players expressing their opinions ranging from polite but firm disagreements to rather loud and fiery condemnations from the likes of former teammates and the perpetually uninformed professional ranter Tomi Lahren. The bulk of the criticism was based on a supposed opposition to a stand that disrespected the flag and by extension the soldiers that fought (and continue) to fight under that flag. And while the “VeteransForKaepernick” hashtag did a great job showcasing many military personnel who stood by Kaepernick and who took exception to others speaking for them, I’d like to add some of my perspective and take a look at the unsettling irony of someone being demonized for exercising his freedom with the backdrop of the anthem celebrating the “land of the free.”

First off, to paraphrase a quote I’ve heard down in the Bible belt, standing for the anthem doesn’t make you a patriot any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. We’re suckers for symbolism and few symbols are as iconic and pervasive in their reach as the American flag. But many have stood proudly with the flag and acting in decidedly un-American manner, including the KKK in its earlier days and politicians such as George Wallace and his modern day incarnation Donald Trump. In a less extreme example, many senators and US representatives proudly pin the flag to their chests while voting against bills such as the Zadroga Act which provided funding for healthcare for 9/11 first responders. Is the supposed patriotism portrayed by displaying the American flag not drowned out by a refusal to aid 9/11 first responders on a party-line decision?

Secondly, the act of criticizing Kaepernick is, in theory, just as valid an exercise of First Amendment Rights as Kaepernick’s actions were. But the nature of the criticism is one that closes dialogue instead of entertaining it. As with most controversial things in our country, people already have their mind made up in terms of how they will respond to certain situations. If someone brings up racial inequalities in America, a portion of America will respond by supporting their expression of this belief and a portion will shout them down and denigrate them for questioning America’s mythical exceptionalism. And in this case, the Kaepernick’s critics exactly exemplify a facet of the oppression Kaepernick is protesting. A person of color speaks out based on his experiences and observations as a person of color and the response is to tell him he’s wrong? That his experiences are invalid? That what he sees and goes through is not true? The very fact that a person of color’s statements are so often met with skepticism and dismissal is not only problematic in the realm of social movements; it’s the reason that African-Americans represent a large majority of wrongful convictions in America. Maybe that’s what Kaepernick refuses to stand for.

The greater question raised by Kaepernick’s actions and the negative responses to them is whether this country will ever fully respect a minority’s rights to protest and free speech. Jay Z’s, “My President,” a remixed ode to President Obama, eulogizes the progression of black leaders in America by saying “Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk; Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run; Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly.” But it’s worth remembering that Rosa Parks was arrested for sitting, Martin Luther King (and his supporters) were hosed and beaten for walking, and Barack Obama had his nationality, religion, and patriotism questioned while (and after) running. And we’ve seemingly come full circle to Colin Kaepernick taking a seat and while castigation is a step up from arrests, is that really the best we can do in terms of progress over 50 years? The continuing lack of equality in American society is demonstrated by the very fact that decades ago, Rosa Parks was told where she could sit and today, Colin Kaepernick is being told when. We as a country rejoice when four African-American women run for the gold medal in the 4X400 relay at the Olympics but off the track when an African-American runs for the country, 20% of the country simply refuses to believe he is eligible. And here the problem of societal inequity is encapsulated. We cannot pretend that oppression and inequality doesn’t exist when even today, people of color are told when they can and cannot sit or when they can and cannot run. And until everyone in this country can sit, walk, and run as they damn well please, we can forget about Jay-Z’s optimistic dream of all children flying.