What is the controversy surrounding #takeaknee

[henryp]

I was under the impression Kap was absolutely protesting the flag, in that the flag is a symbol of America, and in the America black people experience, they get shat on.  I thought he said something to that effect way back when.  If his protest were unrelated to the flag/anthem, it'd just be a dick move to pick that time to protest.

I flat out bothered to look it up to see if my suspect memory was misremembering.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game.

I do agree with the bolded portion of your post though.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/25/opini...ml?mcubz=0

He was not protesting the flag. He chose the national anthem as the moment to engage in his protest as a way of making a statement. You grossly oversimplify what the protest is and why the timing of during the national anthem was chosen.

edit to add: When Kap said: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he was discussing what the flag stands for (a country that is supposed to be about freedom and equality for all) and noting a specific example of how that representation is failing in a spectacular way with respect to minorities

I think our disconnect is that I think Kapernick's protesting the flag is justified and doesn't need to be hedged.  Because once you start spinning it, and making excuses, and writing opinion pieces saying what he really meant, and etc... you end up with the pile of meaningless shit we saw this sunday.