The coercers of false virtue are themselves not virtuous. This applies to sportswriters, as well.
The San Francisco Chronicle sportswriters often interject commentary or snide remarks regarding politics or cultural issues into their articles and do so invariably from a Woke perspective. And, boy, do I mean invariably. There is no diversity of thought in the sports newsroom. I guess they’re frustrated they couldn’t get a gig writing for the editorial page—not that that section of the newspaper is any less Woke. (The Chronicle used to have an excellent diversity of opinion among its columnists. Those days are long gone. Lord, how I miss Debra Saunders.)
These smug champions of Wokeism insist that everyone in the sports world—including sports leagues, team owners, players, and fans—pass their Woke ideological purity test. Those passing, and a perfect score is absolutely required in order to do so, are exalted for their supposed compassion and enlightenment, their supposed lack of bigotry and hate. Conversely, failure to pass the test—getting so much as a single question wrong earns you an F—results in a good sanctimonious scolding. You bigot!
Make no mistake: Such tests are the purview of fascists and fascism is never a benevolent ideology. These sportswriters might be pipsqueak fascists, but they’re fascists, nonetheless. As is true with all fascists, they demand everyone think just like they do—or else.
The latest example of this asshattery is one of its sportswriters complaining that the NHL and every last one of its players doesn’t unquestioningly embrace and celebrate gay pride to her satisfaction. The article title itself is retarded: “NHL’s pride tape ban reinforces message that LBGTQ fans aren’t welcome” and this is followed by a snarky slogan included in the article: “The NHL: It’s not for you. Or you. Or you. In fact, we hate you. Why don’t you just stay away.” Yeah, right. I’m sure the NHL leadership sat around in a smoke-filled room and came up with that literal agenda.
The writer goes on to say: “It [the NHL] has banned players from using Pride Tape, rainbow-colored hockey-stick tape, in games, warm-ups and practices. It’s the league’s hate-mongering follow-up to its earlier ban on any wearing of Pride-themed jerseys, just in case LGBTQ fans did not get the message clearly enough: You are not welcome to be a part of the hockey community.” Wow, overdramatize and gaslight much?
Despite her spurious assumptions, I’m certain the NHL welcomes all fans to be “part of the hockey community” despite the league not needlessly paying homage with a specific affirmation targeted to the alphabet people. This writer is presumptuous—presumptuousness being a Woke trait—as she assumes the members of this so-called “community” are imbued with the same group think as the Chronicle’s sportswriters and have a monolithic neediness for such affirmation and that all LBGTQ folks assume a lack of a rainbow flag, or its color scheme, is prima facie evidence of hate-mongering against them. It’s a freeking hockey game, for God’s sake!
I’m certain the Gay Rodeo, Gay Olympics, or a gay pride parade are fine and dandy with heterosexuals attending their events, and straight folks don’t require a visible totem of some sort in order to feel welcome (perhaps a straight pride patch on the gay participants’ uniforms). The absence of virtue-signaling contrivances doesn’t make me narcissistically conclude these organizations are hate-mongering toward straight people.
She included further scorn:
- “But make no mistake: This regressive move toward a less inclusive group of fans directly stems from the NHL’s homophobia.”
- “What’s the end game here? That the NHL wants to be Putin’s league? The league of MAGA policies? Disconnected from the reality of how most Americans — and particularly the next generation of fans — feel about inclusion and diversity?”
Ah, of course, she couldn’t resist the MAGA link. Those people don’t think like us! I’m betting that the average so-called MAGA person, who I’m sure she holds in supercilious contempt, is a far better human being than she is. Hell, her article proves it!
There’s also an obvious element of hypocrisy in all this, hypocrisy being another Woke trait. And her Woke hypocrisy would be easy to prove. If a team decided to take her advice to heart and not want to offend a portion of the fan base by failing to overtly acknowledge and extol their existence, then a team should probably have some games where the athletes wear an antiabortion jersey. You know, so as to not offend the millions of fans who are pro-life. We don’t want them to think that they’re hated and not welcome. I guarantee if a team did such a thing, this writer and her colleagues at the Chronicle would pitch a volcanic conniption fit. Similarly, if a football player took a knee, as did their lauded Colin Kaepernick, but did so in support of a right to bear arms or to keep men out of women’s sports, they would not see this as a brave stand (or kneel) for one’s personal beliefs. Oh no, they’d want the guy cut from the team because he “doesn’t represent our values,” which is another moronic term they’ve used in articles.
A public celebration of one’s sexuality is an odd thing—and yes, Chronicle sportswriters, I’m allowed to have that view and not face repercussions for it. Likewise, I defend your right to write moronic articles such as the one I’m criticizing. As employees of a newspaper—albeit the sports section—you should be staunch defenders of free speech and notions, even those which you find offensive. Especially those which you find offensive. This includes a league or team or athlete deciding to forego your demanded gay pride festooning.
Finally, the waving of this flag is not a sign of inclusion or enlightenment or compassion. Lord knows, many gay folks are weary of its tiresome ubiquity and its weaponization for use against one’s political or ideological foes or its use for crass commercialization or mindless virtue-signaling. The waving of this flag does not make you a morally superior person. Failing to wave this flag does not make you a bigot or a hate-monger. Forcing someone to wave this flag makes you a petty fascist.
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