National Anthem Rhetorical Analysis

Why do you stand during the National Anthem, some people stand out of pure respect, other people sit because they are “oppressed”. Colin Kaepernick started a controversial protest during the preseason football game on August 14th. Many people agree that it is for a good cause, but he is not choosing the right time to protest. People believe that standing during the National Anthem is a sign of respect and gratitude for your country, but people like Kaepernick chose this time to sit or kneel to get people to look at the oppression towards minorities in the country. Kaepernick told a reporter, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people, and people of color.” Then he continued to say “To me,

The players that are standing during the National Anthem but holding their fists up or linking arms are protesting in a way that I feel still gets their point across and still respects our military and our country, they are still standing to show respect towards the country and our flag, but they are showing that they still stand with Kaepernick in wanting police brutality towards minorities to end. These athletes even knelt beside the flag during the National Anthem on 9/11 which many people found disrespectful, 9/11 is a very sad day in the United States and many people lost their lives that day, and others lost family members that day, but these football players still knelt because there is not equality to minorities when it comes to police brutality, but on 9/11 the police and fireman helped everyone to get out of the Towers, no matter what race or minority, so I don’t understand why they were kneeling. Many police man and fireman lost their lives that day because they went back into the building to save people. Some people look at the flag in remembrance of their child, because their child went to war to keep us the “Home of the Free, Because of the Brave,” and all those parents got back from their child was a flag on top of a casket, and when people sit in the Anthem those parents could feel that their child is being disrespected by minorities which could cause even more of a barrier between