Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis
Rhetorical Analysis
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. This action struck up the hashtag movement #takeaknee, with the original post
by Jayda Evans in late 2016 (Evans). 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. Police men, government officials, the President, and just common normal
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people in this society looked at football and he wanted to reach them all. I don’t think he had a
target audience, but he knew all of America would see his protest and what he was protesting
about. Starting this movement was a big deal to him, 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, he did it
peacefully.
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 1). 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. 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.
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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 hashtag was timed perfectly. This
happened after the killing of Trayvon Martin. He was a young boy that was walking on the street
with a hoody on and got killed by a white man. This might have sent Kaepernick 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 have
to be protesting at all about this, but it’s what we have to do. This hashtag movement is a
nonverbal visual representation, procedural of the domains of rhetoric. Usually protests about
hashtag movements are done by shouting chants, storming the streets, breaking things, and etc.
This hashtag movement on the other hand is silent but loud. They are embodied in the movement
#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. 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.
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People are entitled to their own point of view, so here is my point of view that opposes
Kaepernick 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 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
Evans, Jayda. “Garfield Football Team Will Continue to Kneel during Anthem; Seeks
https://twitter.com/JaydaEvans/status/778744750329384961.
https://moveme.berkeley.edu/project/takeaknee-2/.
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(Marquez et al.)
(Evans)