What do you do if your pre-teen daughter is upset about what she sees in the world?
What if she wants to do something about it?
"You stand up for what you believe in, and it's my job to have your back," Angel Caesar told her daughter.
12-year-old Helena Gamet approached her mom with her idea the day before Sunday's Mariners game.
As a student of Mt View Elementary school, the 6th grader and the rest of the choir had been invited to perform the national anthem.
Her teachers had no idea what she and a friend planned to do, according to the school district and Gamet's mother.
"I also told her if you are going to do this, there's gonna be pros and cons," said Caesar. "There's going to be ignorant people who say ignorant things and they're not going to care they're 12."
Caesar, who is Native American, said her daughter, Helena, was upset over the recently publicized police shooting of an unarmed man in Sacramento. Plus, their community still aches from the shooting of woodcarver John T Williams in Seattle eight years ago.
Caesar had her cell phone out when Helena took to the field with her choir, and with a friend, took a knee while singing the national anthem.
Ryan Clark, a reporter with the Tacoma News Tribune, tweeted out a photo of the girls kneeling.
Her mom shared her gut reaction at that moment.
"Oh... what do I... okay, all right. She's not kidding. I think that's something I would have chickened out of," Caesar said.
The reaction on social media was predictably divided.
"A shout out to parents for raising brave children..." tweeted one person.
Another said "Have you had a person that died for this country? You should have some respect."
Caesar went to greet her daughter afterward.
"This wasn't an easy thing. She was trembling like a leaf," she said.
Mom watched daughter defend her actions to her teachers.
"She said, 'I wasn't using this platform to disrespect anyone or the veterans.' She said, 'Because I respect them.' She said, 'I was using this platform for all of the dead people who don't have a platform anymore.'"
Whether or not you agree with 12-year-old Helena Gamet, we can all bet her activism won't end here.
"I felt proud of her," Caesar said.
