Respect: The Controversy Of Colin Kaepernick

Improved Essays
If anyone hasn't heard of the Colin Kaepernick controversy than they might wanna stay and read on a bit more. Colin kaepernick did not stand for the national anthem on august 1st and august 20th and went completely unnoticed until a journalist tweeted a photo and a couple hours later it got noticed and the 49ers released an official statement saying Kaepernick was sitting. On august 28th it gained national attention when Kaepernick explained why he sat down saying it was because of the way black people or people of color were being oppressed.

Colin Kaepernick as said by many of his fans say that he is just protesting and that it is his right. They say he can do it and should not be punished because he lives in the United States. He says
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Respect cannot be bought.
Respect cannot be inherited.
Respect cannot be demanded at the muzzle of a gun or by beating it into somebody or by shaming them into it. Can not. You might get what you think is respect, but it’s not. It’s only the appearance of respect. It’s fear, it’s groveling, it’s not respect. Far, far too many people both in and out of the military, people who should emphatically know better, do not understand this simple fact: there is an enormous difference between fear and respect.Respect has to be earned every day, by every word, by every action.
It takes a lifetime of words and deeds to earn respect.
It takes only one careless word, one thoughtless action, to lose it.
You have to be worthy of respect. You have to live up to, or at least do your best to live up to, those high ideals — the ones America supposedly embodies, that shining city on the hill, that exceptional nation we talk about, yes, that one. To earn respect you have to be fair. You have to have courage. You must embrace reason. You have to know when to hold the line and when to compromise. You have to take responsibility and hold yourself accountable. You have to keep your word. You have to give respect, true respect, to get it

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