Colin Kaepernick has been the main topic of discussion and a source of rage for those on social media and in the break room for the past week.

The controversy started when the 28-year old 49ers Quarterback was seen sitting down during the national anthem before his pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers on August 26th.

After the game he was ask by NFL media why he was sitting down during the anthem. Part of his response was, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

The backlash he has received from that statement has been nationwide from the fans who say he is disrespecting America by not standing and he should “leave the country” if he doesn’t like it so much, to some players saying this is bigger than him and his beliefs.

Other current and former NFL players have also said that he should stand to be with his teammates and be the leader a quarterback should be, and this has resulted in some coaches, such as Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden, stating that his team will continue to “stand up and give respect” due to the team’s close military ties.

I honestly don’t understand why people are more upset about Kaepernick sitting down during the national anthem than the issue he’s actually protesting.

Kaepernick is protesting against minorities being killed without repercussions from others, a very real issue that has been rampant in our society over the past three years.

The main reasons people are upset about this is because for one, they feel Kaepernick is disrespecting America as a country by not standing for a song and two, he is disrespecting the military who fight to keep this country safe.

But Kaepernick isn’t disrespecting America by not standing for the national anthem. When I go to events, I see people texting, snapchatting etc. during the anthem. Who is worse? I feel many people would consider that behavior disrespectful, yet it is very common.

On another note, Donald Trump is constantly telling American’s he is going to “Make America Great Again” as if it’s not great right now; yet it’s a problem when a football player says we need to improve as a country. Does that make sense?

As as the twitter trend, #VeteransForKaepernick has demonstrated, there are military veterans who are tired of fans speaking up for them and saying they are fine with the QB sitting during the anthem because of his cause and/or because they fought for his right to decide to stand or sit during this time.

As an Army Brat, I can say we as Americans disrespect veterans more than Colin Kaepernick has ever done by his sitting down during a song.

I’ve seen it time in and time out over my lifetime; even here in Austin where I see homeless veterans every single day on my commute to school.

History shows a pattern of this country disrespecting their veterans for in various ways for various reasons. Now ask yourself again, is there a reason to truly be angry at Colin Kaepernick right now?

You can disagree with his form of protest, but there are more important things to be angry about in 2016 America – like the issue he is sitting down for.