San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is committing what some people consider to be one of the most heinous acts. He is kneeling during the national anthem to protest police treatment of African-American people.

Kaepernick has every right to peacefully protest, but is he doing it the wrong way? Most people, black and white, seem to think so even if they do agree with his reason for protesting.

However, Kaepernick is accomplishing exactly what he wanted and it is not just drawing attention to himself. He is bringing to light that justice is still not being applied to people of color.

Though I don’t necessarily agree with Kaepernick’s method, and thought the socks with a pig dressed as a cop was terribly offensive, I will not argue against his protest or against the somewhat positive results. Kaepernick could not have found a better way to catch everyone’s attention than by not saluting the American Flag.

I don’t protest against police brutality to African-American people very often, but I will support those who do and others should support Kaepernick’s reason for protesting and his courage to stand for what he believes. After all, isn’t that freedom to protest part of what makes America such a great country worthy of saluting?   

For those who hate the way he is protesting, I will simply say this: if you do not care about African-American people being killed by police officers then don’t be overly critical of the people who do care.

We have forgotten what non-peaceful protests look like. What happened in Ferguson, Missouri, or the shooting of the five police officers in Dallas is not how we want people to protest.

Some people say that it is disrespectful to the veterans who defend our country so Kaepernick can have the right to protest. I wouldn’t argue with any veteran that felt this way, but not all veterans feel this way and some have shown support for Kaepernick over social media. 

No matter how uncomfortable it makes you feel this is not going away anytime soon. Nearly the entire Seattle Seahawks team and other players across the NFL are joining Kaepernick’s protest. Even female soccer player Megan Rapinoe of the Seattle Reign FC joined the protest by kneeling during the anthem. This is becoming a big deal.

I am not going to encourage you to start kneeling or sitting during the national anthem. However, I do not want you to ignore this protest. Instead I want you to talk about it.

Bring it up in conversations with friends and find out what they think. Use this as an opportunity to educate yourself as to why African-American people are so upset over police brutality.

You cannot just assume that black people are just overreacting and being too sensitive. Find out why and try to understand. What you may find out is that despite our skin color differences we are very much the same and want to live this life without fear of the law enforcement that serves and protects us.