Holly Pryle
Emily Chappell
English 121
22 March 2018
Kneeling for the Anthem
Every American child is raised with the knowledge that they were born in a country that by law gives them freedom of self-expression and the right to protest. However, this right does not mean that people must agree with you and in many cases, groups wind up at odds over differing opinions. Over the past few years America has seen many examples of this, most notably football players protesting injustice by kneeling during the anthem. This form of protest has sparked much controversy and has caused more harm than good. The protesters have divided their fans and disrespected the nation.
Should I stand, or should I kneel? This is the question most people will be wondering…show more content… For instance, Eric Reid wrote in his article “Eric Reid: Why Colin Kaepernick and I Decided to Take a Knee” that he “remember[ed] thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy” (Reid). Clearly, the protesters were not intentionally attempting to be disrespectful and view their actions as respectful, however, that does not change how they are viewed by others. According to Quin Hillyer, they should not “denigrate the symbols of a nation of good people” (Hillyer). Although the protesters feel they are being respectful they need to realize that from the opposite point of view their actions appear quite disrespectful (Hillyer). In addition, Eric also states that “we . . . live in a fair and free society, which includes the right to speak out in protest” (Reid). Eric’s statement is entirely true, which means that those who disagree with a protest have the right to speak out as well. Freedom of speech and protest works both ways which means I, and many other Americans, have the right to disagree with the protesters (Reid).
The football protesters are not wrong by protesting injustice, however, their form of protest does the opposite of bringing awareness and merely divides the people they desire to bring together. We should stand together as Americans who want to stop injustice
