{"id":894,"date":"2018-09-17T13:44:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-17T20:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/?p=894"},"modified":"2018-09-17T13:44:05","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T20:44:05","slug":"true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/","title":{"rendered":"True\u2014Kaepernick Didn\u2019t Sacrifice “Everything”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As I\u2019ve written before<\/a>, I like and respect the President of Gateway Seminary, Dr. Jeff Iorg.\u00a0 However, I was struck again by something he wrote recently<\/a> and felt it needed to be addressed.\u00a0 Unless one has been living under a rock, she is aware of the controversy surrounding NFL players kneeling while the national anthem is being played.\u00a0 Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the player who started it off as a way to protest, not the national anthem, or America, or the flag, but, rather, violence against people of color by those in authority.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to the recent Nike<\/a> advertisement, which features Kaepernick and has brought the controversy back to the forefront while causing its own in the making.\u00a0 Clearly what bothers Dr. Iorg in the advertisement is the idea Mr. Kaepernick sacrificed, \u201ceverything.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Iorg\u2019s point seems to be, \u201ceverything\u201d would be one\u2019s life.\u00a0 Point taken.\u00a0 Noted.<\/p>\n

Here though, are the areas where I think Dr. Iorg fell far short in his criticism:<\/p>\n

First, he writes:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Colin Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, and persuaded other athletes to follow his lead, it really didn\u2019t offend or inspire me. It was just another protest\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Just, \u201canother\u201d protest.\u00a0 Folks, this is exactly what white privilege sounds like.\u00a0 Perhaps it didn\u2019t offend or inspire Dr. Iorg because he doesn\u2019t have to worry about being pulled over for a traffic violation, or being miss-identified, and end up beaten or killed in the process.\u00a0 Perhaps he doesn\u2019t have to worry about that happening to his children, grand-children, or friends.\u00a0 Guess what?\u00a0 Others do worry about such things and we need to hear them.<\/p>\n

And it does not matter whether we feel their claims are valid or not.\u00a0 When a community, which has experienced as a matter of historical fact, racism and poor treatment by those in authority, comes to us with their claims, we need to listen and see how we can help.\u00a0 How in the world is this not clear, especially, to someone within the Southern<\/em> Baptist tradition?<\/p>\n

Second, Dr. Iorg brings up people who have died in military service to this country.\u00a0 These are the people who have sacrificed, \u201ceverything.\u201d\u00a0 Putting aside the fact that some of Mr. Kaepernick\u2019s most vocal defenders have been military veterans<\/a>, yes, he is right, Mr. Kaepernick didn\u2019t sacrifice his life.\u00a0 Given his role as a private citizen, and the fact he is not in the military, I\u2019m not sure exactly what it is Dr. Iorg thinks he should do to make his sacrifice more meaningful or important.\u00a0 Should he throw himself off a bridge?\u00a0 I imagine he\u2019s received death threats.\u00a0 Should he make himself available to those making the threats?\u00a0 What?<\/p>\n

Most reasonable people know Mr. Kaepernick, or Nike, did not mean he had done something as sacrificial as dying for someone else.\u00a0 To compare the two or conflate them in the way Dr. Iorg does, for purposes of downplaying or making light of Mr. Kaepernick\u2019s protests, is an adventure in missing the point.\u00a0 Any serious protest, where significant and weighty matters are involved, does not need the protester to lose his life for that protest to matter and be taken seriously.<\/p>\n

Further, I\u2019m sure Mr. Kaepernick is aware of the sacrifices, soldiers and others have made on his and the country\u2019s behalf.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he is appreciative and would never compare the losses from protesting, with the sacrifice one might be called to make as a soldier.\u00a0 He\u2019s never made such a comparison.\u00a0 I\u2019m also sure he understands and appreciates the sacrifices made for his freedom to protest.\u00a0 For context however, we should not forget those who also lost their lives as a result of their protests during the Civil Rights Era.\u00a0 I think Mr. Kaepernick is aware of the difference between losing one\u2019s life as a soldier and the type of losses he\u2019s experienced as a private citizen due to protest.\u00a0 That difference however, should take nothing away from the weight of his protests\u2014or anyone\u2019s for that matter.<\/p>\n

Finally, Dr. Iorg is correct: Mr. Kaepernick didn\u2019t sacrifice, \u201ceverything.\u201d\u00a0 He only sacrificed his career, millions of dollars, his safety, and his dreams of playing professional football.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure he\u2019s lost friends and maybe even family over this too.\u00a0 He has made many enemies.\u00a0 Those losses were hardly, \u201cshallow,\u201d or, \u201cpampered.\u201d\u00a0 Only Mr. Kaepernick really knows what he has lost and sacrificed by taking the stand he did for others.\u00a0 But, yes Dr. Iorg, you are right, he did not give his life.<\/p>\n

Here is what he did give however: He sacrificed what he had, to be a voice for those who felt they had none.\u00a0 He sacrificed what he had, so that a powerful focus could be brought to bear on a problem which has caused many to live in fear for themselves, their children, and their communities.\u00a0 As a private citizen, he has done what, at the very least, was in his power to do.<\/p>\n

The last time I checked, I thought doing that sort of thing was what Christians were supposed to do.\u00a0 Dr. Iorg, as a Christian leader, have you sacrificed a career, significant money, friends, family, your safety, or your dreams\u2014to be a voice for those who felt they had none?\u00a0 I\u2019m not asking if you have ever protested\u2014you note that you have.\u00a0 I\u2019m asking if you have made the same sacrifices Mr. Kaepernick has, because<\/em> of those protests.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t, then maybe you should think twice about throwing shade his way.\u00a0 Because guess what man: He\u2019s doing your job.<\/p>\n

I have a Patreon<\/a> Page\u2014please consider supporting my writing.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I\u2019ve written before, I like and respect the President of Gateway Seminary, Dr. Jeff Iorg.\u00a0 However, I was struck again by something he wrote recently and felt it needed to be addressed.\u00a0 Unless one has been living under a rock, she is aware of the controversy surrounding NFL players kneeling while the national anthem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3524,"featured_media":900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[215,618,621,365],"class_list":["post-894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-jeff-iorg","tag-kaepernick","tag-protest","tag-racism"],"yoast_head":"\nTrue\u2014Kaepernick Didn\u2019t Sacrifice "Everything"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As I\u2019ve written before, I like and respect the President of Gateway Seminary, Dr. Jeff Iorg.\u00a0 However, I was struck again by something he wrote recently\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"True\u2014Kaepernick Didn\u2019t Sacrifice "Everything"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As I\u2019ve written before, I like and respect the President of Gateway Seminary, Dr. Jeff Iorg.\u00a0 However, I was struck again by something he wrote recently\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divergence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-17T20:44:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1004\/2018\/09\/icon-1294819_640.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"417\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@darrelllackey1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darrell Lackey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/\",\"name\":\"True\u2014Kaepernick Didn\u2019t Sacrifice \\\"Everything\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-09-17T20:44:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-09-17T20:44:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#\/schema\/person\/d88a32b8d4b5f40fbd6ccbfce4e0f813\"},\"description\":\"As I\u2019ve written before, I like and respect the President of Gateway Seminary, Dr. Jeff Iorg.\u00a0 However, I was struck again by something he wrote recently\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2018\/09\/17\/true-kaepernick-didnt-sacrifice-everything\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"True\u2014Kaepernick Didn\u2019t Sacrifice “Everything”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/\",\"name\":\"Divergence\",\"description\":\"Commentary Regarding Fundamentalism - 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