They say history repeats itself, but is it history if nothing has changed? In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick baffled the American public when he took it upon himself to kneel for the national anthem at a football game. His actions were intended to protest oppression and violence against African Americans and other minorities in the United States, which provoked fury from both those who fully supported him and those who did not . Many Americans viewed kneeling during the national anthem as disrespectful to the country, the flag, and the women and men who serve our country. In fact, this perception of his actions deviates from his actual intentions, which were to call attention to police brutality and racial injustice. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Before Kaepernick took action to protest, he spoke to U.S. Army veteran Nate Boyer, who encouraged him to kneel rather than sit on the bench. because soldiers kneel when a comrade falls to show their respect. Kaepernick was simply kneeling to show his respect to these innocent victims of police brutality. Our president, along with a majority of the American public, decided to turn the tables and say that Kaepernick was disrespecting our flag. Instead of delving deeper into societal issues, public analysis rarely goes beyond the surface level, a tragic norm of modern journalism. Because he stood up for what he believed in Kaepernick, he lost his job and has been out of the league since 2016. Recently, Kaepernick was featured in Nike's 30th anniversary ad campaign for his slogan Just Do It . The ad was a photo of his face with the caption “believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything”. This is clearly a very positive and motivating message to Nike fans, but once again, the American public seemingly ignored Kaepernick's direct message and took it as something that wasn't. People were recording themselves cutting, burning and destroying their Nike gear because of the controversy surrounding Nike's endorsement. It is a playbook of white supremacy, of a white America attempting to dominate society and devalue people and issues related to races other than their own, particularly African Americans. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get Custom Essay Generally speaking, I believe that the controversy surrounding Kaepernick is only controversial because of white supremacy and white privilege. Privilege is invisible to those who possess it; White America doesn't know what it's like to live in a society where their race has been oppressed, raped, targeted and discriminated against for hundreds and hundreds of years. This question has been growing since the founding of America. Yes, slavery and segregation were abolished, but nothing else changed. The only way to bring about change is if the media stops brainwashing society with false, biased and overly exaggerated information. But this is probably unattainable, so people need to put their opinions aside and try to understand other points of view..