"I Stand With Kaepernick" by Lord Serious

I STAND WITH KAEPERNICK By Lord Serious On November 16, 2019 Colin Kaepernick was scheduled to have his first NFL workout since being ostracized by the league. Before every football game the announcer would ask everyone in attendance to stand and remove their headgear while the national anthem was played and the American flag was flown. But instead of complying, Kaepernick began staging a peaceful protest against police brutality and White oppression by taking a knee during these occasions. 25 teams had agreed to attend the workout being held at the Atlanta Falcons training facility, and the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns Hue Jackson had been designated to conduct the workout on the NFL's behalf. However, Kaepernick and his camp would call off the NFL workout and chose to hold their own independent workout about 50 miles away. Of the 25 teams who agreed to attend the NFL sponsored workout only 8 would attend Kaepernick's independent workout. Kaepernick's noncompliance sparked a media storm of controversy and backlash both for the athlete and his outspoken critics. On the sports network ESPN the debate show First Take, Steven A. Smith had to defend his open criticism of Colin Kaepernick against Max Kellerman, Michael Eric Dyson, and the football Hall of Fame player Terrell Owens. I think all sides made valid points about the NFL and Kaepernick's behavior. However, I think much of the explosive arguments and heated discussions are simply distractions that the White media is using to keep Black people divided and at each other throats. WE ALL SHOULD STAND WITH KAEPERNICK! Even if we all do not agree with his methods. Now allow me to explain why I say this: The debates over who was right or wrong between Kaepernick and the NFL, is the superficial analysis of what is really keeping Black people in America at odds amongst themselves. This issue is bigger than the NFL and Colin Kaepernick. This is a national issue, a political issue effecting all Americans, though not equally. The fight over Kaepernick's decision is a veneer, it is a superficial cover used to mask the real issue behind sports. When really this the same fight Blacks living in America have been having in legislative halls, fraternal halls, pulpits, barber shops, and on street corners for centuries. When you argue over who's right and who's wrong between the Steven A. Smith and Kaepernick, in reality your argument is centered around Black integrationist values vs. Black nationalist values. I will show and prove. Immediately after Kaepernick called off the NFL workout and held his own independent workout at a high school football field about 50 miles away from the Atlanta Falcons facility Steven A. Smith called Kaepernick out. He went on social media and stated emphatically that Kaepernick didn't want to play football, he wanted to be a martyr. As I listened to him explain why he said these things about Kaepernick I began to better understand Steven A. Smith's frustration. He stated that Kaepernick had asked him to help him get back into the league, but he never stated he had stipulations for what the conditions had to be. Therefore, Steven A. Smith ASSUMED that Kaepernick was aware that he would have to capitulate before the league would permit him to assimilate. For Steven A. Smith this give and take exchange is reasonable, because he is a integrationist and these values influence the way he views the world. The integrationist believes in order for Black men to succeed within the White power structure they have to comply with the social standards of their day. Thus from Steven A. Smith's perspective Kaepernick's behavior put him in an awkward position. He had just went out on a limb for a friend and got him a job interview, and this friend repayed him by showing up to the interview wearing inappropriate clothing, speaking to the potential employer disrespectfully, and then left before the interview was even conducted. This tarnishes Steven A. Smith's credibility and will make it more difficult for him to help the next brother who's in a tough spot get a job in the future. Now let's view it from Kaepernick's perspective. He is being denied gainful employment in the NFL for exercising his right to protest. By doing so he violated no team rule or any of the NFL bylaws, but he pissed a lot people off who didn't agree with his political views. From Kaepernick's perspective he is being denied employment for expressing his political beliefs in the workplace, but the league permits drug offenders, women beaters, and child abusers to work without fear of their behavior tarnishing the image of the league. By not hiring Kaepernick, the NFL is telling the world that they support Black men with drug problems, Black men who abuse Black women and children, but they will not tolerate a Black man being politically conscious. Then when he finally does get a workout the NFL tries to trick him into signing a Carthaginian Treaty. They insert language into the "standard waiver" that can potentially be used to prevent him from bringing future lawsuits against the league. In the aftermath of the CTE scandal the public is well aware of the lying, and deceptive nature of the NFL. Their handling of the CTE scandal is proof that they really don't care about the health of their former employees, and even with the new concussion protocol Kaepernick has no guarantee that he won't suffer from these issues later in life. Yet, integrationist overlooked this fact in their critique of Kaepernick and they would require him to sign away any rights that will protect him and his family in the future. Kaepernick stated that he was advised by his attorney not to sign the waiver, and Terrell Owens explained that if there was no signature on the waiver then there would be no workout. Therefore, it appears that Kaepernick's decision to hold his own independent workout was not an act of rebellion to usurp the authority of the NFL, rather this was an effort to redeem those who were attempting to defraud him. Steven A. Smith complained that it appears that Kaepernick had been making preparations to hold his own workout the entire time. Well, that's called foresight! Black integrationist do not get offended at your Black brothers and sisters because we all do not trust the oppressor as you do. Kaepernick had every right to be suspicious of the NFL's intentions and it was prudent of him and his camp to take precautions to defend against subversive attacks designed to cause injury. The integrationist will begin doing the same when he realizes he is at war. Steven A. Smith then attacked Kaepernick for not being more vocal and articulating his beliefs. Steven A. Smith thinks Kaepernick shouldn't rely on others to speak for him. But when did being the victim of a crime, or witnessing a crime become an obligation to become a prosecutor? The law does not require the witness of a crime to prosecute the crime or risk having his testimony stricken from the record. But the media continues to mount more pressure on Black athletes to carry the burden of being the next political leader for their race every time they express their disagreement with White oppression. The White media doesn't stick a microphone into the face of that White female soccer player who helped the U.S win the FIFA World Cup every time a school shooting occurs. There is a double standard with the media's treatment of Black Athletes and their White counterparts. Look at the backlash Lebron got for commenting on the China vs. Hong Kong issue. I wish Lebron would have said that he sees both China and Hong Kong as one people, and that they should be weary of Western influences who advocate a two government system in China, but deny the Black man his right to have a separate government right here in America. So perhaps Kaepernick refuses to speak up more to avoid this trap. But the Black integrationist should not take offense if Kaepernick continues to decline your offers to come on your show. The media is putting too much pressure on Black athletes to fill Muhammad Ali's shoes. I think it would be awesome if you could get Kaepernick or Lebron to help you recreate that same magic Muhammad Ali had with Howard Cosell. But what you are overlooking is the fact that Muhammad Ali received his political education from two of the greatest Black political minds of that era. Muhammad Ali was taught by both Malcolm X and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. We know that their physical training may be comparable to Ali's but have they undergone this same rigorous mental training? If not, then why do we expect Kaepernick and Lebron to display Ali's level of mental fitness? I do not know which end of the Black political spectrum Kaepernick falls on. I have never heard him say he is a nationalist or integrationist. But just because he asked Steven A. Smith to help him get a job within the same system that is oppressing him, it was ASSUMED by Steven A. Smith and others that Kaepernick is an integrationist. Although, Kaepernick's nonviolent political protest was borrowed from the integrationist playbook, everything else about Kaepernick from his wardrobe choice on the day of the workout (a "Kunta Kinte" T-shirt), to his refusal to sign the waiver, to him holding an independent workout, and even his choice of words telling the NFL to stop running, all reveal that this brother Colin Kaepernick may very well be a Black nationalist at heart. Kaepernick seems to be unwilling to give up his right to exercise self expression or his right to exercise self determination. If it seems as though he suffers from a double conscious, he is no different from many other Black people living in America who all throughout their childhood attended a school system where they were taught to pledge allegiance to the American flag, and they were taught to take pride in their country as they learned American history in their school's classrooms, and they grew up looking forward to their summer vacation and the joy of celebrating the 4th of July. Everything about our childhood upbringing teaches us to love America. But as Black boys grow to become Black men, we are struck by the harsh reality that America will never love us back. This is why I stand with Kaepernick. The Black integrationist attacks the methods of the Black nationalist not because they do not want Black people to have the right to express themselves without fear of reprisal or repercussions like the White majority. The Black integrationist does this for one of two reasons. He either fears that the actions taken by the Black nationalist threatens their livelihood, or he wishes to prevent his brother's actions from being used to negate or discredit the contribution his athletic ability has been to their race. The Black integrationist may view Kaepernick's decision to hold his own independent workout as willful martyrdom, and it may very well be. But what the integrationist fails to realize is that it is the selfless sacrifice of the nationalist that opens up more doors for him. In the absence of Black nationalist, the advances of the Black integrationist come to a screeching halt. Black integration is ineffective in the absence of Black nationalism. Black resistance is at its best when it fights against White oppression on two fronts, Black nationalist by land, and Black integrationist by sea. So while the Black integrationist suffers so that he may secure a job for himself and his brother, the Black nationalist sacrifices his job so that he may secure a future for their children. As a people we need a short term and long term goal. THIS IS WHY I STAND WITH KAEPERNICK! P.E.A.C.E Proper Education Always Corrects Error