Kaepernick kneeling has nothing to do with veterans or the armed forces. That was one of the dumbest misdirections that the right invented, all so they could talk about everything and anything except police brutality.
Military families have decided that it, indeed, does. You people here, who have probably never stood a post or heard a shot in anger, aren't going to be the ones deciding this.
I am not a veteran, but my younger adult son is, having served a tour of duty in Afghanistan. I can assure you that he, and many military families, view Kapernick as disrespecting them. That's more his issue than mine, but I don't see his viewpoint as wrong. And for you to say, "That has nothing to do with veterans . . ." is to dismiss THEIR viewpoints totally.
Kapernick's kneeling hardened the hearts of many people who may well have come to agree with him on the social issues he cares about. I agree that Kapernick's issues have merit. I don't agree that Kapernick is some kind of patriot; his motivation is more identity politics than real justice. I do care very much about criminal justice reform, but I would prefer to discuss the issue with serious people who might be able to make a coherent argument and not people who have struck me as flat-out unpatriotic and anti-American. I can agree with a decent amount of the issues Kapernick raises, but I'm not going to celebrate his mindset, and that comes with his presentation.
This is obviously equally anecdotal, but the two veterans I know both support players’ right to kneel during the national anthem. Granted, one of them thinks the NFL should also be free to retaliate, but both said they find the idea of players being prohibited from engaging in what is essentially an act of civil disobedience more offensive than anything Kapernick did.
