Kneeling during the national anthem
America is the country known for its patriotism. With flags hung in classrooms, the loud celebrations of its independence day and the expectation that if the national anthem is playing you stand up and place your hand over your heart.
Yet some people, specifically NFL athletes, are exercising their free will by refusing to stand whilst the anthem is playing, angering many proud Americans. The practice first began when player Colin Kaepernick knelt during the playing of the national anthem commenting:
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
After several more players joined the protest, all taking a knee in protest of the flag but support for those who fight for their country, Donald Trump commented:
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, he’s fired!”
However, instead of focusing on the problems rooted within the country Donald Trump has decided to condemn those who are simply expressing their opinion, something that he refused to do for nazi sympathisers, showing people can have the right of free speech unless it is a criticism of America.
In spite of Trump’s continuous criticism, the protests have carried on. With more athletes partaking in the protest and the NFL deciding there will be no punishment for the athletes that do so, they may continue until black people are treated equally in America or until their oppression is at least acknowledged.