Why they’re kneeling

In response to the many opinions criticizing recent protests at NFL games, let me first say: I get it. You think they are offensive, disrespectful, anti-American, pointless and, when you are being respectful, misguided. I don’t agree with your opinion, but I understand it. I do not understand, however, people who claim to not know or understand what they are protesting, since their motivation has been widely reported: the treatment of African American citizens at the hands of police.

I also do not understand how any person, white or otherwise, can claim to not know what they are talking about, because in my experience any white person over the age of 10 knows that black and white people are treated differently, especially by police. I say “white” because African American children learn this fact much earlier than the age of 10. Even if you claim not to have this knowledge, the numerous video recordings of black citizens being shot for reasons best described as unclear are also widely available.

The most disturbing implication of all these criticisms is that people out there somehow are comfortable with this violence. That Mike Masterson and all the letters to the editor see this as an acceptable level of risk for our African American citizens. That there is nothing for Colin Kaepernick and the rest of those athletes to complain about, essentially because they have jobs.

I don’t think that’s what they mean to say, and I certainly hope not. HENRY MURPHY

Little Rock