海角大神

Why some in the US military support Colin Kaepernick

Colin Kaepernick's kneel-down protest during the national anthem has spread, as has the backlash. But for some members of the military, it's an expression of the very patriotism they signed up to protect. 

The Colin Kaepernick protest is not going away. If anything, it is growing 鈥� and so is the backlash.

Some students are being if they take a knee during the national anthem to protest the treatment of black Americans by police. A youth team in Texas kneeled for the anthem 鈥� and received death threats, . And several football fans have of their favorite pro football players after the players refused to stand during the anthem.

But Justin McFarlin comes at it from a different perspective.

As an Army veteran who served in Iraq in 2008, he doesn鈥檛 need Mr. Kaepernick or any other protesters to stand up during the national anthem.

Instead, he wants the country to address the issue Kaepernick is raising 鈥� not just for the good of the United States, but for its soldiers deployed abroad.

鈥淲hen I served in Iraq, sectarian violence was a huge issue,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f the perception emerges that at home we鈥檙e not treating our own minorities well, then that diminishes our own credibility abroad.鈥�

Mr. McFarlin鈥檚 viewpoint certainly doesn鈥檛 reflect the opinions of many in the military or the US. A found that 72 percent of Americans call Kaepernick鈥檚 protest 鈥渦npatriotic,鈥� though 64 percent say he has a constitutional right to do it.聽

But a vocal contingent of military veterans is pushing back, saying that not only is it Kaepernick鈥檚 right to protest, it is actually a patriotic act worth defending.

鈥淧art of loving America is being able to say, 鈥楲ook, we鈥檝e got some issues, and I think we need to change some things.鈥� To be brave enough to be willing to stand up on a rooftop and shout it 鈥� that鈥檚 just as patriotic as painting your truck red, white, and blue,鈥� says Matt Pelak, a 19-year Army veteran and a paratrooper.

鈥淎s veterans, we need to be more vocal about this. I support his ability to express himself, and this is what we fought for," he adds. "It doesn鈥檛 offend me. He鈥檚 upset, he鈥檚 doing it for a valid reason, and I think he鈥檚 done a pretty good job of explaining it.鈥�

Kaepernick has said, 鈥淚 am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.鈥� He added, 鈥淭o me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.鈥�

Many veterans bristle at the protest.

鈥淲hile no one should be compelled to stand, they should recognize that by sitting in protest to the flag they are disrespecting everyone who sacrificed to make this country what it is today 鈥� as imperfect as it might be,鈥� wrote retired Adm. Bill McRaven, former head of Joint Special Operations Command, which is responsible for the sorts of secret operations run by the Navy SEALs, including the raid to kill Osama bin Laden.

Admiral McRaven, now serving as the chancellor of the University of Texas system, asked university presidents and athletic directors to 鈥渆ncourage your coaching staff and your players to stand up straight鈥� for the anthem and, specifically, to 鈥渇ace the flag and place their hand over their heart as a sign of respect to the nation.鈥�

But McFarlin says he admires that Kaepernick has 鈥減ut himself out there.鈥�

鈥淚f you really love your country, then that鈥檚 what you do: Make people think about those conversations and maybe push them out of their comfort zone.鈥�

Protecting free speech is one of the reasons he served, McFarlin says. So he would like to see the conversation centered more around the issues that Kaepernick is trying to raise.

鈥淭he conversation around whether we鈥檙e 鈥榮upporting the troops鈥� hijacks the real issues being raised,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here needs to be a conversation around what the issues are, and what policies are being proposed to fix it.鈥�

Mr. Pelak, who served in Iraq and also worked in US as a paramedic for 15 years, says he recognizes that police 鈥渉ave to make split-second decisions about what to do when they interact with people who may or may not want to hurt them,鈥� and that the problem is complex.

But the veteran population is complex, too, and doesn鈥檛 all line up on one side.

Many people 鈥渢hink they know veterans, but we're less than 1 percent of the population, so a lot of people really don鈥檛. They know stereotypes they see from TV 鈥� meat-eating, flag-wavers 鈥� but we鈥檙e a diverse group of individuals who all have our opinions and serve for many different reasons,鈥� Pelak adds. 鈥淎nd that's what makes our military incredibly strong.鈥澛犅�