National anthem protests – some of my thoughts

There is so much in the the news lately about football players kneeling or holding their fists in the air during the national anthem. I feel I have to voice some opinion about it because of all the controversy that it's generated.
When I was young I took it for granted and could have cared less about that part of sports events. The older I got and the more I learned of other societies and their laws the more precious our rights as US citizens became. By the time I reached my 50s I loved watching the flag flapping in the wind and standing during the night to let them. I always remove my hat but rarely held my hand over my heart because that seemed so much like elementary school where he was required of us. As I lost my physical abilities due to MS I could no longer stand, remove my hat or put my hand on my heart any longer. I miss terribly being able to stand and respect our flag and how rare our government for the people and by the people is in this world.
I would be so glad now to be able to stand for the national anthem. That being said, I think I understand some of these protests and would not forbid them. To me though, it would make more sense if they knelt during the parts they found objectionable which to my understanding is where the natural at them says "land of the free". I sympathize with these non-white races because they are discriminated against, and until the 1960s they were still discriminated against by law. It took John F. Kennedy to start the government to respond to the civil rights protests by Martin Luther King and his assassination. To me this is all contemporary and not really history because I lived through it. I am white and find that it can easily be proven that there is racial discrimination still at work in our country. If these men want to protest, our government allows that. One thing I think that should be against the law is to protest by burning are flag but I don't see that very often. I understand how these other races feel that they are not "free".
When I was younger, 16 to 20, I drove junkers because I could either afford a good car or insurance; I couldn't afford both. I found out what it was like to be "profiled". I can't tell you how many times I was stopped for pretty much a no reason whatsoever. One time this policeman kept arguing with me to prove I had car insurance over and over again. I showed him the papers but he kept saying I probably didn't have insurance since my car was a piece of crap. I told him I can't  afford a good car and insurance so I have insurance. He finally after about 10 minutes let me leave. As I grew older and drove nicer cars this profiling stopped. For people of color I know this profiling still goes on. I have to say I'm as guilty as anyone. If I see a black man with baggy pants I assume he is hiding a gun in one of the pockets. Also if I see a black man with a buddy and they're  running I think he's fleeing from a criminal event. Part of me is ashamed of feeling this way. I understand there are many issues between cultures that need to be understood. I feel for our policeman who have to make split-second decisions and I would say it would be hard for me to do that too. One thing that really upsets me is when a person is shot and there is no weapon found that put the policeman's life in danger. This seems so wrong and I think there should be a special present for the policemen who shoot unarmed suspects. Armed suspects are in a different class of people.