Everyone has been weighing in on their feelings towards Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem in protest of the racism and police brutality against black people. During a CNN presidential town hall Wednesday, President Barack Obama was asked what he thought about the Kaepernick’s protest.
“Well, as I’ve said before, I believe that us honoring our flag and our anthem is part of what binds us together as a nation… But I also always try to remind folks that part of what makes this country special is that we respect people’s rights to have a different opinion. The test of our fidelity to our Constitution, to freedom of speech, to our Bill of Rights, is not when it’s easy, but when it’s hard. We fight sometimes so that people can do things that we disagree with … As long as they’re doing it within the law, then we can voice our opinion objecting to it but it’s also their right.”
“I want Mr. Kaepernick and others who are on a knee to listen to the pain that that may cause somebody who, for example, had a spouse or a child who was killed in combat and why it hurts them to see somebody not standing,” Obama said. ” I also want people to think about the pain he may be expressing about somebody who’s lost a loved one that they think was unfairly shot. One of thing I saw about American democracy is that it can be frustrating, but it’s the best system we’ve got.”
source: CNN