Say It With Me…Empathy!

The Nike controversy is one of the funniest things that I have seen in a long time. I am watching individuals state that they will no longer support Nike as Colin Kaepernick does not support the flag and the military. Folks are burning their Nike gear, they are protesting on social media, etc. The funny thing is they feel like they can do this because of the rights we have in this country but have an issue with Kaepernick and his protest on acts of police brutality against people of color.
Let’s be real, if folks really wanted to protest Nike, they would have done so during the big 1990s sweatshop scandal. I do not recall folks going out and protesting Nike by burning merchandise.
Side Note: This is probably one of the dumbest things a person can do as you already paid for the merchandise. How does this hurt Nike?
This Nike “scandal” with Kaepernick shows the severe race issue that this country has and the hypocrisy. We want to be blind to the issues of race in this country but get on our soapboxes about race issues in other countries. We get up in arms about leaders in other countries committing atrocities against their people but those same people cannot come here for sanctuary. We are quick to state “One Nation under God…” but only if we can approve the “right” kind of people to join our nation.
We do not want to speak on the brutality that Kaepernick and other NFL players are standing/sitting/kneeling for because we do not want to acknowledge that there is an issue. People are quick to say, “they should shut-up and play.” Well, what is your occupation? Maybe you should just shut-up and work. Would you appreciate anyone saying that to you? I am sure you would not. You need to ask yourself, why is it okay for you to have opinions/feelings but dismiss the opinions/feelings of others?
As I go about speaking on the topics of diversity and inclusion, one of the main areas that I try to get people to understand is empathy. We have lost our ability to be empathic towards others. If something does not affect us directly, it is not an issue and we cannot understand why it is such a big deal. Instead of people asking “Why are players kneeling/sitting?” The response was an immediate, “NFL players are protesting the flag and disrespecting the military.” Come on! You know this is not the case but it far easier to label it as such then to face the serious racial divide in this country.
Empathy is not stating that you understand everything someone is going through. Empathy is the ability to recognize that you may not have experienced what others have but based on their experiences, you stand with them
