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Don't judge Colin Kaepernick until you've walked a mile in his shoes

By: Steve Deace | August 30, 2016

The scars of racism are lasting, and they are terrible.

After all, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first arrived on the national scene when his white coach, Jim Harbaugh, stuck it to him by benching another white guy. Thus allowing Kaepernick to take over the most important position in all of sports, for a team that would end up playing in the Super Bowl.

No wonder #BlackLivesMatter has become so important to him. His life didn’t matter to such an extent that he is now filthy rich to the tune of a $125 million contract. Have talent, get paid. That sucks, man. But such are the times that try men’s souls.

There’s more, though. So much more. Pretend scars upon pretend scars. And when you learn more about the loving white family who adopted Kaepernick, you’ll see just how deep those scars really don’t go.

Rick and Teresa Kaepernick, who had struggled through the pain of losing two infant sons to congenital heart defects, nonetheless found the strength to open their arms to Colin. After his unknown black father ran from his responsibilities, and his white 19-year-old mother gave up on the idea of raising him in the final month of pregnancy.

Look at all that white privilege talking. Just walking around with a silver spoon in their mouths and never doing a darn thing for nobody except raising someone else’s child in a safe and loving environment. Really makes your skin crawl, doesn’t it? All that overcoming-real-hurt-and-loss-in-order-to-let-grace-abound-all-the-more is just one giant micro-aggression when it comes right down to it.

It would be nice at this point in such a horror story if somebody stepped in and did something to help poor Colin out. But no. Just more jerks. First, his white high school football coach Larry Nigro didn’t like the lack of attention Kaepernick was getting from big-time college football programs. So he back-stabbed him by making a highlight reel of his best performances and then helped send it to roughly 100 schools.

Where do you find the fortitude to get up off the mat when someone betrays you like that? No wonder Kaepernick has so much lingering resentment. And when it rains, it pours. One of those tapes was sent to the University of Nevada, where two more white guys – head coach Chris Ault and assistant Barry Sacks — piled on Kaepernick once more. They had the unmitigated gall to offer him a scholarship to fulfill his persistent nightmare scenario of playing college football. Then they piled on by throwing in a free college education to boot.

Most people don’t rebound from that kind of sabotage. How Kaepernick put the pieces together and got a chance to become a starter as a freshman, as well as go on to finish in the top 10 in the nation in several categories at his position, we will never know. If only amidst the systemic prejudice somebody had given him a chance.

Ultimately, Kaepernick’s four-year trail of tears at Nevada concluded with him ranking as the only quarterback in the history of Division I FBS college football to pass for more than 10,000 yards and rush for more than 4,000 yards in a collegiate career. But now, let me see you and raise you on the pain-and-suffering-O-meter. Kaepernick is also the only Division I FBS quarterback to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season three times in a career.

Shattered dreams like that are only possible if the white patriarchy keeps kicking you in the groin over and over again. No “One shining moment” for this guy, just a never-ending stream of them. And all the misplaced bitterness and manufactured grievances that so obviously must follow when things play out so perfectly.

Then finally, one August day, you are sitting there during a meaningless pre-season pro football game. When all of a sudden, the years and years of oppressive love, assistance, success, and riches catches up with you, and you are finally triggered into taking a leak on your country’s flag.

Something had to give. You can only keep up a brave face for so long.

After not rising for the national anthem last weekend, Kaepernick explained, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street, and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

That’s powerful. I bet almost as powerful as that time Kaepernick said nothing when San Francisco’s Kate Steinle was shot dead by an illegal alien. Or when he was fined $11,000 for using the “n” word during an argument with a black Chicago Bears linebacker. Or those feature stories written about Kaepernick’s shoe collection, which at the time occupied five rooms of his house.

Clearly all the hallmarks of a deep-thinking social justice warrior, the personal resume, which is dotted with very little but the very opposite of lamentation and woe.

Naturally then — and perhaps supernaturally so — Kaepernick is hypocritically equipped with eyes to see made-up monsters and ears to hear preposterous lies. That will come in handy as his career seems prepared to tank, because ESPN is always looking for its next Michael Sam scam.

So keep digging deeper, Colin Kaepernick. I’m sure your life can finally be the convoluted mess you seem to desire so richly, even though so many others have been willing to see the best in you.

Black pride quarterback who wouldn’t sta...5#ixzz4IxWcr8jd

Poor Colin....sorry punk

and when did he ever say HE, himself has been oppressed??

j/c:

I just heard that he was wearing a Castro shirt while making his remarks about oppression and police brutality.

Are you kidding me?

He did wear a shirt with Malcolm X and Fidel Castro on it with the saying "Like Minds Think Alike" or something similar to that..

There is also a photo of him at practice earlier in August with socks on that have cartoon pigs wearing police officer hats.

I have supported his right to protest, I've given him the benefit of the doubt that he wants to make the situation better... but this childish crap is going to make it harder and harder to find anything "noble" in his actions.

I think the guy has always been a low-character guy who wasn't really liked by his teammates.

He made a stand, but I think it was born more from ignorance and hate than intelligence and morality.

He's the guy now. I was listening to an interview and some black activists are coaching him to come out and say the right things tonight.

I get why the black activists want to coach him because he has the ear of America right now, but they better be careful trying to make this guy look deep and intelligent, because I think he is far from it.

A Castro shirt? And then you complain about oppression? I heard some native Cubans were extremely upset about this. No one has oppressed people more than Castro.

Dude is a fraud.

I kinda want to send Kaep a couple pair of Pol Pot socks, now.

I honestly thought that he was so used to riding the bench that he was just getting the best spot before anyone else.

He knelt tonight. Fans booing every time he touches the ball. Honoring military at the game.

I was just flipping through the channels, and there was some guy on one of the news channels who said that maybe we should just ask Kaepernick what country he wants to go to and, basically, expel him.

That is such a dangerous line of thinking. I don't agree with Kaepernick, and I do question whether or not there are different reasons for his public position other than just a firm belief in what he said. However, he has every right to say whatever he believes is right. The Constitution does not only protect speech we like ..... but it was written the way it was to protect speech we detest. I suspect that many public figures on one side of this equation would be completely on the other side if it were their speech that was regarded as being unacceptable.

Probably cause it's double standards everywhere.

The same people who are cool with and support trump trashing our country and saying it isn't great, are the same people mad that Colin is bringing up issues in our country that question our very greatness.

At this point, society has made it clear that it isn't the message, but the messenger.

Trump says our country isn't great. Nobody is telling him to leave. So why Colin?

And I'm not saying nobody can be trump supporters.

All I'm asking is why is he not being told to bounce out of this country while trashing our nation, but Colin is?

I'd say that you're listening to only the most extreme voices and are focusing in on those (and giving them more attention than they deserve).

I'd say that just because some goofball says something on the TV does NOT mean that it is a widely held belief or holds any validity.

Lastly, and most importantly - Humans are Stupid.

You have an uncanny ability to deflect the attention away from certain individuals/groups and place the blame on someone else.

and i'd say you're wrong.

this isn't just a few extreme voices.

it isn't just the media, it's citizens as well doing this. There's a ton of rhetoric of the typical "if you don't like it here, leave" coming from all over.

its not just extreme voices. not even remotely.

and by the way, it's hard to not listen to the extreme voices when it's coming from all over the country.

that's a ton of people to just go "eh, people are stupid".

i do not agree with your take on that.

i'm not deflecting or blame anybody. However, you are. You're not addressing my points, and now deflect to baseless accusations.

I'm not surprised.

you're just pissed because i'm asking the same question i always asked: What's the standard?

it's cool if certain people trash our country, but not cool if somebody else does?

now there has to be stipulations on how to express your freedom of speech? you got people (not just DT, but social media in general) saying he should put his money up to be allowed to speak on those issues. that he should leave the country because of his opinion, that it should be mandatory to stand for the anthem.

So again, where have i deflected? nowhere. people can be mad at colin all they want. they can say whatever they want on how they disagree with what he did.

all i'm pointing it is that it seems like certain people require to meet a criteria before being 'allowed' to speak on issues.

as if the 1st amendment is only a right depending on who is speaking, and a guideline for others.

Kap has the right to be an Idiot , Folks have a right top call him one .. Both sides have the right to SPEAK in this system of ours .. You May say he is justified in his comments and others will say he is trashing the system that gives him the right to trash the system ..

I don't have a problem until one side tries to shut down the other from expressing their opinion ..

Well, one of the big complaints I have heard from a lot of people is.. ok, you took your stand, now what are you going to do about it? For better or worse, Trump is running for President to try to fix what he thinks is not great about America and so far, Kaepernick has just talked.

Trump has also laid out why he thinks America isn't as great as it should be... economy, bad trade deals, illegal immigration, excessive spending, vulnerability to terrorism, etc. But at the same time, he has shown respect for the ideals that SHOULD make America great.

Kaep has one issue and because of that one issue, he can't find enough good in America to stand for the national anthem... and the pig/cop socks is another bad look.

Trump has said the reasons America isn't as great as it should be is decades of bad policies, mostly by democrats but a lot of the policies he opposes were republican policies too. He blames lack of leadership, poor planning for the future, too much focus on the world and not enough on the United States, etc.

Kaep blames cops. From what I've heard, everything is the cops fault. He has no respect for the entire concept of the United States because of some bad cops. And he has yet to say that the violence within the black community is, in any way, a part of the problem.. it's all on the cops.

His big issue (his ONLY issue) is oppression... and he says this in a country with a black president, black military leaders, which has or had state governors who are black, Native American, Latino, and Japanese.. many of the big city mayors are black or brown, police chiefs are black or brown, DA's are black or brown, judges are black and brown. I read somewhere that there are close to 40,000 black millionaires in this country.

That's one of the reasons he is having a hard time selling this notion that there is this wholesale oppression of black and brown people in this country. Do we have race issues? Of course we do. Do we have poverty issues? Of course we do. But you find me a country with more diversity in positions of leadership at the city, state, and national level... I don't think you can. Black, Latino, Christian, Jew, Muslim, gay, straight, Asian, men, women, young, old... find me a country that at the highest levels of local and national government has all of those groups represented..

Thanks! Well said

What is he going to do about it?

He's already doing something about it. He's peacefully protesting(ya know, what society said black people should do instead of riot). But it's not surprising, because yet again, seems like blacks have his back and the rest don't.

Nobody on this boards knows if he donates his money or spends time in the community or not. Y'all just assumed he doesn't.

And honestly, I'm not surprised. Cause people like to assume that blacks don't speak out against black on black violence, when that's the furthest from the truth.

And how does he not have any respect for the 'concept' of the United States?

Because he's protesting what YOUR views on what the symbolism is suppose to mean?

Half the time I don't want to stand for the anthem either. Being a 4 time combat vet didn't stop the cops from searching my car for drugs all the time when I was in the military. It didn't stop the cops from rolling up on me and questioning if my biracial daughters are mine or not.

So he's having a hard time selling YOU and others the notion of oppression, but it's plain as day for others, specifically blacks.

I agree and support what Colin is doing.

He has the right to sit, stand, poop, bitch, moan, or keep silent. I have the right to call him Colon from now on.

AH what a country

DC, your above post bout sums it up.

Can't help but think how many veterans who sacrificed their legs for his rights would love nothing more than to stand for the National Anthem. You know, all the vets who suffer with lost limbs, poor health care, depression and other afflictions. But that's a topic for another thread.

Kaepernick is what, 2 weeks into his protest? I'm willing to give him time to figure out his next steps. I'm in no rush to think he has to have this all figured out right now. I see where he just pledged $1 million to something related to his protest, which is great.

As for me not knowing what he does or what he gives his money to, you are correct. I know he is very outspoken about his support for Camp Taylor, which is a heart disease thing.. he gives very freely of his time and money from what I understand.. so I guess I just assume (and if I'm wrong then that's on me).. that if he was giving to others he would be equally outspoken. But that could be wrong.

Is this really how people see Trump? That he respects anyone but himself? After watching him make a mockery out of the Republican national party during debates, I seriously wonder when has he shown respect?

Well now that you mentioned it...

Thank you for the purple...

I think that Trump has touched on many of the frustrations that people have, with regards to politicians not caring about people losing their jobs, etc.

Kaepernick, on the other hand, has attacked a few popular segments of American culture ..... namely The police, the Flag, and the National Anthem.

That's really all I can come up with there.

Who cares the Vanilla Ice of the NFL, word to ya mother

You've made several really great posts on this thread. Keep it up!

Personally, Colin's comments/actions really don't register with me. Sticks and Stones and all that I guess.

I suppose if anything bothers me it's that in the NFL if you are a black player and you want to use the field to make some sort of socio-political statement, you can do so with impunity, no matter how inappropriate or how factually incorrect (such as the Rams players and all that "hands up" BS).

But DeAngelo Williams can't wear a token to remember his mother who died of cancer??? (odd considering the NFL uses October as league wide promotion for breast cancer awareness...)

And they won't allow the Cowboys to wear a small sticker to show respect for the 5 cops tat got killed??? (odd considering a) it's not a political statement about anything and b) it's a sign of appreciation from the Cowboys and the Dallas community.

Oh, and don't fall to the ground, spike the ball too hard, or dance in a group when you score a TD because such on field displays are unseemly...

As for Colin, he's just like the majority of those pushing the "oppression" agenda... the solutions are still for someone else to fix. If he doesn't like how the cops are doing their job, then he should leave the NFL and join the SFPD. He'd have literally thousands of opportunities to make a difference and do it "the right way".

But he won't.

"That's all I've got to say about that." ~Forrest Gump

Santa Clara police union threatens to stop working Niners games.

Interesting. I guess if Kap can protest through his employment platform, the police union may protest through theirs.

There are two seperate issues here

The protest and refusal to stand is OK with the union.

The attire depicting officers as pigs is not OK with the union.

I feel Kap is behaving a bit hypocritically here while complaining about opression and then wearing derogatory emblems on his body.

What the hell are you talking about?

What are your thoughts on Kap wearing a Castro shirt while he is speaking about oppression?

What are your thoughts about his socks w/the pigs?

You blow stuff like that off and keep blaming everyone else. Chicken poop argument.

how did i blow that off?

baseless accusations again?

plenty of people walk around on a daily basis with whatever shirt he was wearing. Hot topic, spencers, Journeys, all major stores that sell those shirts.

his socks were completely out of line.

but again, you can be offended. thats your right. he can wear the socks. that's his right.

but see? i address your points, you still haven't addressed mine.

I believe I did address your point a long time ago.

What point am I not addressing? I was out of state again for the last 4 days at my son's wedding.

how about the points in the post that you decided to cherry pick when responding to me.

ya know, the rest of the post you decided not to quote. that would be a good start.

Your answer about the shirt is lame as can be.

He is crying about oppression, but Castro is known across the globe for oppressing his own people. I heard that the Cuban Americans are extremely offended by such a tasteless act.

Then again, guys like you don't care about Hispanics, Native Americans, and other minority groups other than your own.

so now you gotta lie to get your point across. but watch the cheerleaders like your post. because it doesn't matter that you're lying, all that matters is you're trying to stick it to the pot head.

why would i not stick up for hispanics when my mom is puerto rican? do you not understand how stupid you look right now? i've made threads defending native americans. i've defended gays over and over again. hell, i even stand up for whites, the majority, because you guys are starting to get popped for no reason. i've made countless threads on the heroin crisis running through YOUR demographic because i give a damn about ALL americans.

but you and others too busy trying to stick it to me that you don't even realize that. man i advocate for everybody.

your comments about other minority groups is laughable, seeing as how you tried me on the "give a damn about africa" in your thread in EE. i came at you with fire and you tucked your tail and ran, talking about i don't wanna get into it.

i don't give a damn about that shirt. i see too many people from ALL races in this country rock that shirt.

you prove my point everyday that you don't pay attention to anything i post. So let me spell it out for you AGAIN.

My grandfather is first generation turkish, my grandmother is black.

my dad is black/turkish, and my mom is from puerto rico.

so when you try and claim that i don't care about other minority groups......like who?

Really?? I dont really see that happening , at all

Can we all chip in on airfare so you can go back??

Hold on a second.

If you think Kap is making a point by protesting the national anthem by sitting, that's fine.

He's supposedly protesting the oppression of blacks.


Yet, next thing he does is wear that shirt, while he's talking about oppression?

I don't get it.

But, I'm sure the board ruler will fill me in on how those are different. You know, ignoring the anthem in defense of the defenseless, yet wearing that shirt in celebration of oppressing people?








And on a side note, you defend gays, but you did take a personal shot at me a while back because my son is gay. So, practice what you preach, or don't preach.