On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg weighed in on the Colin Kaepernick national anthem protest, when she called it "dumb and disrespectful." On Wednesday, Kaepernick fired back —- hard. In his comments to the San Jose Mercury News, Kaepernick said he was disappointed in Bader's remarks, but then dropped this bomb:
"People are getting too caught up in the flag. At the end of the day the flag is just a piece of cloth and I am not going to value a piece of cloth over people's lives."
Just prior to that comment, Kaepernick had some fairly eloquent remarks about how words such as 'idiotic, dumb, stupid' can be used to delegitimize black protest. Fair enough. Protesting the anthem is one thing, but calling the flag "a piece of cloth" could very well rile some of the people who support his —- and others' —- right to protest. That 'piece of cloth,' to many, is a symbol of freedom and liberty that people of all races have fought for.
Kneeling is one thing. Ripping the flag is another, so we'll see how this plays out.
Here's a little more of what Justice Ginsberg had to say:
"I think it's really dumb of them," Ginsburg said. "Would I arrest them for doing it? No. I think it's dumb and disrespectful. I would have the same answer if you asked me about flag burning. I think it's a terrible thing to do, but I wouldn't lock a person up for doing it. I would point out how ridiculous it seems to me to do such an act. If they want to be stupid, there's no law that should be preventive. If they want to be arrogant, there's no law that prevents them from that. What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that."
