Tom,

I’m a Creighton Alum as of May of this year and I’m writing to school you on this “Anthem Protests Aren’t Appropriate” article you wrote in the Creightonian. 

First of all, there is no hierarchy of oppression. If you are black, being rich doesn’t make up for the racism you face. You are still oppressed because white people are privileged. You are only privileged in class, not race. Your claim that Kaepernick is not oppressed is just straight-up false. It’s also hurtful because you’re dismissing the pain of non-white people and invalidating their claims with lies and the race issue is an especially big deal in America because slavery was still a thing just 150 years ago or so. You literally say “privileged minority players” in the piece, which is a paradox. You’re just contradicting yourself and ruining your credibility. 

Second, kneeling is not, and has never ever been, about the flag. It is about racial injustice in America and it’s about Trump’s comments specifically. Trump claimed the kneeling was about the flag so the rhetoric surrounding these protests would be turned away from racism and Trump, saving Trump from having to address his shortfalls. It also alienates those protesters as they’re labeled “un-American,” which is like saying they are protesting against all of us. All of America. Everyone. And that’s simply not the case, but it is an effective way to disarm your enemy. So again, your claim is false.

Third, you imply that those hurt by Trump should stay silent because he’ll go away eventually. The problem with that is the entire country has a leader they’re looking up to but the role model is a racist, ignorant, sexist, angry, hate-spewing man. Does that sound like a good role model to you? What do you do when our leader is teaching our kids it’s OK to emulate those qualities? Let it go? Tell them he’s right or no? These players are showing those kids that authority isn’t always right and it’s acceptable to let that person of authority know. You can stand up for your self-worth, always. 

Fourth, your suggestion that instead of protesting these people should be starting foundations etc. is ignorant. It ignores the source of the problem. You’re suggesting a Band-Aid is sufficient treatment for a severed limb. You cannot solve racism by raising money for … I don’t even know what … because you’re ignoring the source of the problem and just trying to mend the damage that comes from it. So this claim is arrogant and ignorant and screams white privilege. 

Fifth, the “bootstraps” idea that privileged Americans spew is a myth. Not everybody can work their way to the top. You start from a much higher point in society than most because you’re a white male. The poor face obstacles to success that you do not, like not having the money for college. For some, financial aid is not enough and they have an inability to get loans because their credit is too bad because they have to feed their family on minimum wage and food stamps so the gas bill has to be paid on credit or shut off but if they don’t have heat in the winter they’ll die and … do I really have to continue? Do you see how that person couldn’t climb the latter like you did? Again, ignorant. 

Sixth and finally, you don’t cite any sources in that piece. And you need to because if you did your research you’d see that what I’ve said above is true: you’re wrong. You make false claims. You can think that protesting by knee is inappropriate, but you have to at least make accurate claims. You cannot base an opinion on false knowledge. It invalidates your opinion. You make uneducated arguments about all forms of oppression. For that I recommend taking Erika Kirby’s Communication and Community course. Or just any communication course in general. There, you’ll be forced to form opinions based on fact and you might change your mind on a lot of topics, but even if you don’t you’ll at least be making valid arguments. 

I realize the president demonstrates that it’s okay to say whatever you want even if it isn’t true, but an essay supported by accurate claims and cited with valid sources will be necessary to make it through college.