The Internet Ripped Apart A Congressman’s Dumb Tweet About The NYC Bombing And Colin Kaepernick

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It’s stunning how far people will go to trash Colin Kaepernick for protesting the national anthem. One man’s decision to quietly sit or kneel rather than stand with his hand over his heart, borne of a crisis of conscience at the way the mechanisms of power work against African-Americans in this country, produced an ocean of bad takes.

Now, we may have found the worst of them all, and from a truly bizarre place: After authorities apprehended a suspect in the Chelsea bombing of New York City on Saturday, Congressman Lee Zeldin (who represents New York’s 1st District, on the Eastern part of Long Island) tweeted this idiocy:

I feel ashamed even saying this, but Colin Kaepernick and his protest of the national anthem have nothing to do with terrorism! Not only does a swift police apprehension of a suspected terrorist have no relation to their systemic mistreatment of people of color, but Zeldin’s smug “You’re welcome” certainly sounds a lot like him taking credit for the actions of New Jersey police (not even in his district!). At best, it’s nonsense and at worst it’s racist, so you better believe his replies were [fire emoji].

https://twitter.com/ItsTheBrandi/status/777925734404726785

https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/777923146389286912

https://twitter.com/WendyBrandes/status/777920429277089792

https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/777921959430656001

https://twitter.com/em_dash01/status/777900060193464320

https://twitter.com/AllezLesBoulez/status/777900348430319616

https://twitter.com/Zeaadology/status/777901796513701888

https://twitter.com/cafedotcom/status/777915270778253314

And we hope this parody form gains a few more iterations: