Kneeling on the flag

Kneeling during the National Anthem is front and center again. The idea seems to be that given current events Kaepernick's original stand now has merit, so people are coming out of the woodwork saying that they will kneel and it is OK. That now kneeling does not necessarily mean that you are disrespecting the flag, the military or the nation, but rather you are supporting the cause of racial justice.
 The problem with this line of thinking is that it is not based on the facts. If Kaepernick  kneeling had been simply a protest against racial injustice that would have been one thing, but he explicitly made it about the flag and the country when the entire issue started.
For people such as JJ Watts and other obviously patriotic Americans to join in the kneeling now, with an explanation that it is not disrespectful to the flag is to deny the very purpose of the demonstration. The demonstration was explicitly intended to  disrespect the flag and the country. Not because I say so but because from the very beginning Kaepernick said so;

 “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”

The demonstration isn't and has not ever been simply a call for racial justice, it is a call to disrespect the flag and the nation because of that injustice. You can believe in the cause, but the demonstration is not just about the cause it is against the flag and the country, he has always said so. Joining in the demonstration may be supporting racial justice, but it is also kneeling on the flag, that was the whole purpose.

“When civility leads to death, revolting is the only logical reaction. The cries for peace will rain down, and when they do, they will land on deaf ears, because your violence has brought this resistance. We have the right to fight back! Rest in Power George Floyd.”

-Colin Kaepernick