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Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft
Rhetorical Analysis Rough Draft
Jade Hammock
Professor Val
Eng 101-16
22 October 2021
Take A Knee
The hashtag Take A Knee movement started in 2016. This movement is a well known
movement across America that some people agree with and some people do not. During
preseason of the NFL games, on August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the
national anthem. He did this to protest against criminal justice and police brutality against
African Americans. He believes that the United States flag and the national anthem represents a
country that is okay with killing and oppressing black men and women, and he refused to stand
for such things. Kaepernick considered this a very peaceful protest, and I feel the same way. In
no way shape or form was what Kaepernick was doing affecting or hurting other people. He
didn’t disrupt the national anthem, he didn’t talk, he just sat down quietly instead of standing up
for something that he does not believe in. More than half of America disagrees with Kaepernick
and followed the hashtag #BoycottNFL (Marquez et al.). #Takeaknee was very inspirational and
it showed that enough is enough by how it was executed and why it was so important.
The rhetor of this movement, Colin Kaepernick, was a quarterback for the NFL 49ers. He
knew what was going on was not okay and thought something should be done. He knew that if
he did something it would reach the entire country, because most people watch football, and his
voice would be heard. If not all, most of America watched football and that is who he wanted to
see it. Police men, government officials, the President, and just common normal people in this
society looked at football and he wanted to reach them all. I don’t think he had a target audience,
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but he knew all of America would see his protest and what he was protesting about. So starting
this movement was a big thing for him and he risked his career for it and in the end lost his job.
Kaepernick protested in a way that we should all consider and think about.
national anthem that shows that America has taken things too far. African Americans have
experienced way beyond enough pain and brutality from this country and enough is enough.
Why should we stand up for a country’s flag that doesn’t even stand up for us, its own people.
Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter posted a tweet with this hashtag (picture number __). This
tweet is a side by side picture of when Martin Luther King Jr took a knee as a peaceful protest
and when Kaepernick did it. The arrangement of this tweet is everything. These two pictures are
decades apart and they are protesting for the same thing. This is a perfect example of what this
tweet means to me. The delivery is saying that this has been going on for too long and enough is
enough. My interpretation for this tweet coincides with how Kaepernick intended it to be.
According to Moveme, “Kaepernick believes he cannot proudly stand for a country that
continues to hurt his people and his community and a country that allows those that commit these
wrongdoings to walk free” (Marquez et al.). I feel the exact same way. Some people might argue
that the killings are justified or that even though these things are happening, sitting down for the
national anthem is disrespectful. People have a right to have their own opinion and choice, so
why can’t I get to choose whether I sit down or not? Especially if I am not hurting or hindering
you in any way. I believe that the hashtag says this all.
This hashtag is very direct and it is saying exactly what is taking place. Many other NFL
players joined this movement as well. The kairos of the tweet were timed perfectly. This
happened right after the killing of Trayvon Martin. He was a young boy that was walking on the
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street with a hoody on and got killed by a white man. This might have sent him over the edge, I
know it would’ve sent me over the edge too. With this being said, this hashtag has pathos written
all over it. It is filled with emotion because that is all there is to it. It makes me sad that we even
have to be protesting at all about this but it is what we have to do. This hashtag movement is a
movements use protest where they shout chants, storm the streets, break things, etc. But this
hashtag movement is silent but loud. They are embodied in the movement and that is what makes
#BoycottNFL is the opposing side of this movement. These are the people that think that
what Kaepernick did was disgraceful and disrespectful. These people are 9/10 republican and
think that what is going on to people of color is justified. Most of America are opposed to this
hashtag movement and are grateful that Kaepernick got banned from the NFL. But that is not
how I see it. People should be allowed to protest and choose whether they want to stand up for
the national anthem or not. It is not in the constitution that we have to stand up for it and it is not
a law that we have to abide by. This is supposed to be the so-called “land of the free” but we do
not act like it. Trayvon Martin “has” the freedom to walk down the street, yet he got killed. So
why can’t we protest freely, take a knee freely, or choose whether I want to stand or sit freely
without getting fired. Like I said previously, this movement is saying enough is enough and if the
people of America can not see that, peacefully, then we as a country have a problem.
People are entitled to their own point of view, so here is my point of view that opposes
protested and learn from that. Taking a knee is not just for police brutality, but it is taking a knee
for what you believe in and standing strong even if people do not agree with you. My
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interpretation of this movement is that enough is enough and if people cannot see that, I feel sad
for them. This hashtag movement was direct, persuasive, it reached out to the entire country
Works Cited
https://moveme.berkeley.edu/project/takeaknee-2/.