OPEN LETTER TO COLIN KAEPERNICK
Darwin Sorrells Jr., 26, and his brother Derren Sorrells, 22
You said you wanted to protest oppression in the U.S. against black people. You claim that you decided the most effective way to do so would be to show disrespect for our flag by sitting during the National Anthem.
Your employers - the NFL and the San Francisco 49ers - gave your behavior their blessing. That's their privilege. There's no law saying that people have to stand during the Anthem, or even that the Anthem has to be played before a pro football game. So we must respect their rights as well as yours.
You're a 28 year old who is apparently very angry. Angry to the point of being willing to put your career, your financial well-being, and your public persona on the line. You certainly have the right to do this. The ironic thing about me and you is that one of the reasons you have that right is because guys from my era carried M-14's and slept in mud so you could disrespect what we stood for 50 years later.
It's unlikely that a person of your character and mindset will ever volunteer to serve this country, so you'll never be able to understand what this expression means, but as we said in the Army all those years ago, "Son, don't worry about a thing. Your shit is in the blue."
We fought. You get a free ride, Colin
Now about oppression. Not about what YOU perceive to be oppression, but about the REALITY of oppression. You made the remark that one of the reasons you will not stand and honor our flag is that there are "bodies in the streets." You're right as rain on that one, son.
An innocent mother of 4 was shot and killed on the South Side of Chicago last Friday. The murder took place in broad daylight. Tell me in your infinite wisdom, son, does it get much more oppressive than that?
The two Sorrells brothers (shown above) were identified by eye-witnesses as being the two assailants, each in possession of an illegal handgun, who opened fire on the street, in an attempt to shoot a third man who was a stranger. The shots missed their target, but struck and killed 32 year old Nykea Aldridge who was pushing a baby buggy down the sidewalk. Her youngest child is only 4 weeks old. She was the cousin of basketball star Dwayne Wade.
You can read more about the Sorrells if you want. There's plenty of information on the internet. Suffice to say both are gang members. Both are convicted felons. Both were on parole at the time of the murder. In fact, one of them got an early release less than a month ago ... about the same time the victim gave birth to her youngest child.
So here's a suggestion for you from someone who's old enough to be your grandfather. Take your "Black lives matter" shirts and trash them. They don't correctly cover the mess we're in. You need to find some shirts that say, "
Innocent lives matter."
When you get older and wiser, perhaps you'll come to realize that we're not facing a black and white problem. Black and white should not divide us and does not in 99.9 percent of all instances.
What does divide us is the fact that humans beings such as the two men pictured above are walking our streets. They're armed with lethal weapons and they will not hesitate to shoot innocent people in cold blood. We, as Americans, should be united in war against them, but we're not. We're bickering and worrying about what the hell the guy key who wrote the National Anthem thought over 200 years ago.
The two who shot this woman shouldn't be identified as black or white ... or any other color. They should be identified as exactly what they are: Worthless human cockroaches. After due process, if they are found guilty of cold-blooded murder, they should be exterminated. They do not deserve the right to walk among us.
Innocent lives of all colors matter, Colin. Cockroaches, do not. They are the oppressors.
And lastly Colin, understand this. Regardless of what you perceive to be your cause, the vast majority of red-blooded Americans, no matter what race, creed, color or age, love American so much they would be willing to lay down their lives to defend our flag and our way of life.
You made a very serious mistake when you overlooked this fact.
