As someone who stands during the Pledge of Allegiance (raised by a Jim Crow vintage grandmother who always stood on arthritic knees and nerve-damaged feet when it played on TV), I'm not angered by NFL player Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand during this national tradition.
He said of this national tradition, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Young men his age, regardless of wealth, often air a "Mississippi Burning" view of America as if no progress has happened. It's part of a calculated hostility which must be deleted.
Grandma, like my late grandfather and mother, were public school educators. They didn't earn millions as professional football quarterbacks. The America they grew up in denied that coveted position to athletes from our strand of the American fabric.They experienced real oppression and put it in context: they rejected bias without rejecting America.
That's my choice too. I never accept discrimination but also put it in context. This context allows me to stand and recite the Pledge without a hint of feeling that I'm endorsing racial wrong doing.
I'll stand for Colin Kaepernick too. In a Republic, you're even free to disrespect it and all who created opportunities you clearly have seized.
His non-stance during the Pledge of Allegiance gives mine added meaning. I know how far we've come each time I stand.
As someone who stands during the Pledge of Allegiance (raised by a Jim Crow vintage grandmother who always stood on arthritic knees and nerve-damaged feet when it played on TV), I'm not angered by NFL player Colin Kaepernick's refusal to stand during this national tradition.
He said of this national tradition, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Young men his age, regardless of wealth, often air a "Mississippi Burning" view of America as if no progress has happened. It's part of a calculated hostility which must be deleted. 
