Colin Kaepernick is a name commonly heard and recognized; a name that has circulated the media industry for the past three years, and has recently left an even more bitter taste in the mouth of a large group of Americans.

Nike recently made Kaepernick the face of their new advertisement ploy, sporting the quote: "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."

The release of this lovely sentiment held in the extremely poor taste of advertisement-- which could draw in to question the competence of Nike's media team-- sufficiently made people very, very angry.

After the release of this poster, a slew of dramatic tantrums (conducted by full-grown people, mind you), filled with the burning and destruction of Nike products, whilst demanding a world-wide boycott, quickly ensued. Not really bringing attention to anything new, seeing as how Americans literally boycott everything, this explosion of even more ludicrous behavior from the layperson than usual, is enough reason alone to point out the second-hand embarrassment I feel.

Anyone who knows me personally can surely attest to the fact that I am a very passionate, opinionated person. I can appreciate a good, old rallying up against stupidity. But, this fails to be effective when the rallying is equally as childish as the problem.

The fact that we are surrounded by people who are willing to fly into a fit of righteous rage over a questionable ad sporting a professional jock is laughable. The amount of hypocrisy oozing from this rage is so out of hand that you have to laugh. Or you'll cry.

Personally, sure, I dislike the ad. I dislike disrespect. But videoing myself setting my socks on fire and hash-tagging my anger on Twitter is a waste of all of our time, and a waste of a perfectly functioning pair of socks.

It's hypocritical. People are quick to throw away a pair of shoes to make a political statement. They're quick to boycott a brand, but not nearly as quick to boycott something if it's nuisance to them, such as, -- gasp--, the NFL. If your distaste for the issue is truly so strong that you feel you need to boycott anything even remotely associated with Kaepernick, then boycott everything across the board.

The difference here, fostering this hypocritical luke-warm boycotting, is that boycotting Nike is currently hip and convenient, whereas boycotting football is termed unnecessary and inconvenient. Neither boycott is founded differently, as they're literally derived from the same principle. This choice of which boycott to stand behind merely boils down to this fact: one action taken makes you look tough and other just is tough for you to commit to.

Despite the fact that boycotting has become generally unintelligent— as most boycotting tends to be ineffective as of late, especially when it is as inconsistent as this—, it would be literally impossible to boycott every company, sport, political party, or person that has ever associated with an idea, practice, or opinion that offends you.

By-product outbreaks of the enormous offense taken over everything, and this immediate reaction to throw the word "boycott" in the face of every problem, is exactly what makes movements like this so cheap in today's society. This is merely the boycott of the week, and no one will bat an eye as they put on their Nike shorts and head to the gym next month.

There are legitimate reasons to boycott companies, but an ad not lining up with your political and/or religious views is not one of them.

These protestors of the flag are living in a country that gives them the right to protest. They are granted the right to freedom of speech and expression, and the right to their own opinions and beliefs. They are practicing very rights that I appreciate; the rights that play a role in my choice to stand for the national anthem, as I take pride in those freedoms.

You can disagree with people, and you can surely have a distaste for a disrespect towards your flag, but making a fool of yourself over it doesn't pay reverence to the American flag any more than Kapernick's protesting does.

There are many things in this world that are worth pitching a fit over. But Colin Kaepernick isn't one of them.

We'd be a lot better off if people could take half the anger and passion they conceive over issues as trivial Nike's ad and Colton Underwood being named the next bachelor, and redirect that rage and intensity towards issues of actual status and consequence. Such as the fact that people are literally participating in the trade of human trafficking, abusing children, and slaughtering the foster care system-- just to name a few.

Sure, Nike's ethics are clearly iffy, but really, can anyone argue they aren't a popular topic in media as of late? I'm sorry, but isn't the exact goal of large company advertisement to create discussion in the first place?

When your actions are childish, and your foundation is hypocritical in the face of your "stand" against controversy, no one even has to attempt to discredit you.

You've already done that yourself.