Just Don't Do it?

I saw where a relative of mine posted a rant about how there would no longer be any Nike shoes or other products in the wake of Nike's advertising campaign with hired former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

She would not and could not support any organization that supports someone who is disrespecting the national anthem, our flag and our troops. 

She was not alone and received a lot of supportive comments and likes to her post.

I wish I had the courage to challenge her assertions but...

1) I try to keep political stuff on the down low when it comes to family. 

2) I know that appealing to facts is usually a non-starter. 

But here are some facts none the less.

1) Colin Kaepernick is not protesting against the anthem, the flag or the troops. What he is protesting is what he perceive to be systemic racial bias against African Americans by the police. 

2) The anthem and the flag are symbols of our country but they are not why our troops dedicate their lives, even sacrifice their lives for their country. Our country is founded on the basic principles that we should have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, we are free. And that means the freedom to speak out against the very country that gives us freedom to speak to injustices and inequities.  

I can't help but ponder the irony that a woman would deny Colin Kaepernick his freedom to protest when it was only though protests that women gained the right to vote.  

When Nike launched its campaign, Donald Trump predictably went all bug nuts, falsely claiming it was “getting absolutely killed with anger and boycotts.”

Nike’s online sales jumped double digits since the campaign was announced.

The thing that bothers me is this constant conflation of fealty to American symbols as an expression of patriotism which is symptomatic of a nation oppressed, not one that is free.