Here’s what I can’t comprehend with America today. The America I THOUGHT I served. The America I THOUGHT I was taught:

Y’all didn’t have an uproar when Kaepernick was sitting on the bench during the national anthem, but when a Veteran… Yes! A combat veteran. It was not progressive liberals that first noticed and supported Colin Kaepernick. It was a white cis-born straight man, who legitimately served and fought in our modern wars that sat down and listened to Kaepernick and his reasons for not standing for the National Anthem.

Note: I point out labels since everyone wants to stereotype and define one another all day, every day and keep categorizing and segregating when in reality, nothing in this world is honestly black or white, so seriously America shouldn’t be either…

Anyways…

It was Kaepernick’s stance for inequality, a systematic government that has been built to legalize oppression, especially for people of color, who continue to be brutally murdered by opened racists. Point blank.

Here’s a thought, use the same mentality you have in your belief in God that you would of racism… just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Rather than the Veteran screaming at Kaepernick that he’s a piece of shit and unpatriotic, he instead found compassion and empathy, as well as, stayed humane and asked for a compromise for both worlds by asking Kaepernick to kneel to, at least, honor those who served and sacrificed for this nation rather than sit and be fully disrespectful.

It was then when the conservatives and misinformed got all emotional and went fucking crazy and had an uproar. The fact y’all still choose to be blinded by today’s societal issues and continuous murders of minorities. Even having the knowledge of our history of slavery and genocide, and choose to be blinded by the repeating of yesterday’s mistakes, and the snake-like built of our government today over the decades.

I honestly thought this country was better than that, but I was wrong and have not been able to find peace about it considering everyday I have loved ones who have to live in a war mentality and PTSD like myself, when they should not even have to. They really shouldn’t.

In this day and age, we have a whole generation that are products of their environment that want to break their generational curses that has existed long enough for over 400 years, but you are blinded by the falsified freedoms they have had since the Civil Rights Movement, but we all know that that’s an illusion.

The difference with the continuous mentality between me and white veterans like myself and people of color in general is that we chose the path we followed as soldiers. When I enlisted, even under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” umbrella, I did it to risk my life for ALL the people and their freedoms, selflessly.

These particular individuals didn’t choose their skin color nor the thug image that arrogant individuals refuse to see past due to the devil’s advocate of the entertainment industry that promotes this imagery, and of course with the support of the lack of freedom that was built within the system, especially for African Americans and Native Americans.

When is enough enough? Is another Civil War the answer for those who refuse to speak up or stand for their equals? How did a mass group of people, who’s ancestors were once immigrants themselves, decide they were greater and more superior from those who were original citizens and/or forced upon these lands?

When can we actually accept others’ differences, especially after the fact we had various wars over the 400 years of our existence as a nation for these particular reasons. When is the majority of the white population going to finally see that they are not superior to the rest of humanity?

• READ: Equality Includes You: What White People Can Do For Racial Justice
• WATCH: 13TH (Netflix or Rent)
• WATCH: TEACH US ALL (Netflix or Rent)
• READ: For Our White Friends Desiring To Be Allies
• WATCH: When They See Us (Netflix or Rent)
• WATCH: LA92 (Netflix or Rent)
• READ: 5 Racist Anti-Racism That “Good” White Women Give
• READ: 28 Organizations That Empower Black Communities
• WATCH: ROOTS (History Channel)
• WATCH: 12 Years of Slave (Rent)

And if you get done with those recommendations and what to learn more and continue to educate yourself, please check the following link for more resources out: Anti-Racism Resources.