Colin Kaepernick was not pleased with what he saw at the presidential debate

The first of three presidential debates took place Monday evening, and it should surprise nobody that Colin Kaepernick was asked about it. The San Francisco 49ers quarterback is making himself available to the media each Tuesday. He talked about his readiness to play QB, but naturally the big topic was the debate.

Fooch’s note: Political discussion will be allowed in this particular thread, as has been the case with other Kaepernick protest threads.

Kaepernick offered up a couple of comments, first about the two candidates, and then also in response to Donald Trump saying maybe Kaepernick should leave the country if he doesn’t like it. I’ve transcribed some videos that Cam Inman grabbed. You can view the videos below.

The first comment about the candidates is something plenty of people have said thus far, describing the options as the lesser of two evils:

“To me, it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates. Both are proven liars and it almost seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist. At this point, I was talking with one of my friends, who said, you have to pick the lesser of two evils. But in the end, it’s still evil.”

I don’t imagine he will tell us who he is voting for on November 8, or even if he is voting at all. When you feel like there are no good choices, it creates a tough situation. At the very least, I would hope he is researching and considering the city, county, and state officials on his particular ballot. The presidency is a powerful institution, but so much change happens at the local level. He is working with community organizations, but that can extend beyond and into community politics.

Here is the latter statement in discussing Trump’s comments about his protest:

“That’s a very ignorant statement that if you don’t agree with what’s going on here, and that if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all, that you should leave the country. He always says ‘Make America great again.’ Well, America has never been great for people of color. And that’s something that needs to be addressed. Let’s make America great for the first time.”

He has repeatedly spoken about the issues facing people of color in America. People have suggested he should not be speaking out considering he has benefited from America. Of course, as he said in his first press conference, this is not just about him, but people of color in general dealing with numerous issues. And even though he has benefited greatly in America, the notion that he should not in turn speak out for the less fortunate is ludicrous.

Just as ludicrous is the idea that he should go to another country if he wants to criticize America. People seem inclined to say, “move to another country,” when someone is offering a critique that does not match their own. It follows the idea that, “Well, you have the right to free speech, but only if it won’t make me feel uncomfortable.” And as this movement grows, hopefully it will lead to more critiques that help make this a better country.