Victor Davis Hanson does it again. Our nation’s cultural stewards are committing suicide right before our eyes.
Take professional sports. Over the last century, professional football, basketball and baseball were racially integrated and adopted a uniform code of patriotic observance. The three leagues offered fans a pleasant respite from daily barroom politics. As a result, by the 21st century, the NFL, NBA and MLB had become global multibillion- dollar enterprises. Then hubris ensued. The owners, coaches and players weren’t always racially diverse. But that inconvenient truth did not stop the leagues from hectoring their fans about social activism — even as they no longer honored common patriotic rituals. All three leagues have suffered terribly during the viral lockdown, as American life mysteriously went on without them. And they have almost ensured that they won’t fully recover when the quarantine ends. Many of their oftenpampered multimillionaire players refuse to honor the national anthem. In the NFL they now will broadcast their politics on their helmets. They will virtue-signal their moral superiority to increasingly turned-off fans — as if to ensure that their sources of support flee.
[…]
Professional sports, universities and the motion picture industry all know that what they are doing is bad for business. But they still believe they are rich and powerful, and thus invulnerable. They also are ignorant of history and cannot be persuaded that they are destroying themselves.
At this late date, all that matters is that the country itself learns from these suicidal examples and heals itself. If the U.S. is not to become an extinct Easter Island, it must rediscover a respect for its past, honor for the dead who gave us so much, the desire to invest rather than spend, and a need for some sense of transcendence.
If we do not believe that what we do today has consequences for our children after we are gone, there are ancient existential forces in the world that will intervene.
And it won’t be nice.
“Cultural suicide” is right!
Radical liberals are to blame.
I doubt it. Sports will bounce right back without something to replace it.
Tuerqas sez: Sports will bounce right back…
Not if they push and constantly promote SJWism.
And that is exactly what they are all doing.
Add up the NBA’s blatant hypocrisy regarding China and it’s ornamenting players jerseys with wokeratti messages, the NFL’s plan on painting You Are A Racist in every end zone, MLB kneeling to the mob, and ceaseless commercials seen during every broadcast of every sports event about how woke and feels-loaded each league says they are and how you, the fan, must comply, and you will see ex-fans run from the gates (figuratively speaking).
And shall I mention that NASCAR was already losing massive quantities of fans even before the Fake Noose News and flag ban?
Finally, as I mentioned in a previous thread, pro sports is already in a dire financial predicament. Due to CCPVirus, without fans in the stands and parking lots the NFL is looking at loosing $5.5billion this year. I don’t know what the NBA or MLB are going to be out, but it has to be proportionally substantial given the truncated seasons.
And yet they persist in pushing fans away. It’s mind boggling.
Personally, I ix-nayed the NBA two decades ago. I am done with MLB as of this year. NFL almost lost me over Kaperdick; a yuuuuge football aficionado I admit I wobbled but came back. Until now. They paint, I peel.
Summer is already half over. Summer sports just got started. I’m guessing most “fans” have probably already realized that Pro Sports just ain’t that important anymore and have already found replacements.
Golf and fishing come to mind.
Pro sports can and will be replaced by college sports, although it’s possible that “None of the Above” will be the answer. While my Green Bay-native spouse will never give up watching the Packers, I can let that go very easily.
The very best basketball entertainment, by the way, is high school. Note I said “entertainment.” Get two reasonably well-matched teams into the gym, add 1000 screaming fans, and that 62-60 finish is a thriller. All for $5.00!
Jjf,
Are you denouncing the cultural suicide? Or cheering it on?
My money is on you screaming “jump”.
Hanson’s resume is impressive .
It appears that what he knows about sports can be fit in a thimble .
There’s no need for a suicide .
We’ll be changing the culture soon enough beginning in January .
If there aren’t any sports to watch , I’ll try to catch your heads exploding on the local news as it happens .
Panem et circenses, right Kev?
Mark, jjf,
So will you denounce the NBA when they crap on and deny the “Free Hong Kong” social justice messaging?
Or crap on the “I love Jesus” choice for uniform messaging?
Or “free Islamic black slaves” messaging?
You are fine with NBA discriminating against these social causes?
Kevin’s sport consists of baiting liberals when his fellow conservatives pay him no attention, and then once they respond, here comes the Denouncing! If you don’t denounce it, you must love it!
Look!! It’s Rachel Maddow!!
Meh. Professional sports will have to chase America’s diminished disposable income just like every other business. Believing that the SJW crowd will economically support your business because you openly support their myriad undefined social causes is a fool’s miscalculation. Just ask Nike.
Piss people off these days and they’re likely to voice their displeasure with their wallets. They don’t complain. They don’t misbehave in the streets. They just spend their money somewhere else. That crash in revenue is your first clue that branching out into politics might have been a mistake. Becoming the target of boycott/buycott warfare is pretty risky for any business with a diversified clientele.
Not if they push and constantly promote SJWism.
And that is exactly what they are all doing.
I guess that depends on how much is put into the game commentary. I haven’t listened to a sports commercial in a long time. An old man bladder and a mute button will take care of that quite nicely. I saw a portion of a WNBA game last night at a restaurant and I saw the ‘black lives matter’ painted on the floor. I admit that was a turn off, but I wouldn’t watch the WNBA voluntarily anyway. And really, who is that sign trying to convince? I know there is a lot of unnecessary police brutality and that deaths happen and that is bad, but more than 50% of all murders in the US year over year have been committed by black men, maybe 5% of the population. More than 85% of black people killed in the US each year of the last 3 decades have been at the hands, not of police, but by you guessed it, other black people.
There, now I have posted a negative fact about black people, so jjf can go into a rant about how racist I am for not just knowing it, but writing it down.
Facts are facts, Tuerqas. If you want to understand why that is, or what you might do about it – those are each different departments.
Or if we want to understand why you think it makes you racist, I guess I can ask you why you feel that way.
Well, if there is an expert on being a racist, it is jjf.
Still waiting for you to tell us your racist jokes, jjf.
You admit you tell them, so, let’s hear 1.
And shall I mention that NASCAR was already losing massive quantities of fans even before the Fake Noose News and flag ban?
This is the most telling part. The “sport” that did not have players kneeling and such was losing fans and TV ratings at a much higher rate than the NFL, NBA, etc.
In addition, TV in general was losing viewers at a faster rate than the NFL.
This doesn’t mean the NFL hasn’t lost fans due to kneeling, just that it is overblown when you look at the numbers.
ancient existential forces in the world that will intervene.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Tuerqas sez: “I guess that depends ….”
Well, the commentary is already running around all over the court and shown on screen endlessly, No need to actually vocalize it.
“I admit that was a turn off, …”
~ It’s happening ~
(Seen today: “WNBA opens season with no fans in the stands, so, normal.” Heh!)
“And really, who is that sign trying to convince? ”
Not convince. Comply. Do not question. Do not argue. Do not, as you did, state facts. Keep your mouth shut. Comply.
Daddio sez: “Pro sports can and will be replaced by college sports,…”
I’ll bet on None of the Above: https://www.clarionledger.com/story/sports/college/mississippi-state/2020/06/19/ncaa-sec-takes-stand-against-state-flag-mississippi-ole-miss-mississippi-state-college-sports/3222230001/
Recall the NCAA closed down the state of North Carolina four years ago over men not being able to pee in the ladies room.
And the wokeratti have already come for HS sports. See: track&field.
Randy Flags states: “This is the most telling part.”
Not really. NASCAR has been losing fans since their rule changes in the mid 2000s. NASCAR is the Roger Goodell of motor sports. Expanding in uninterested markets. Lengthening schedules. Clamping down on the fun of tailgating. Plus the circuit has lost all its big names – the Pettys, the Stewarts, the Gordons – and is filled with plopped in programmed drivers.
Dirt and short track have actually gained attendance (well, not this year, of course). So has the NHRA (which is tiny compared to NASCAR, still they sold out 22 of 24 events last year)
Funny MjM, that’s not the Trump supporters have been saying.
The continually said NASCAR was doing it right and the NFL was doing it wrong. As you point out, numbers don’t back that up.
Recent tweet from Ibram X. Kendi (who has two books on the NYT bestseller non-fiction list right now…) replying to someone who whined that “new orthodoxy—i.e., that all white people are inherently racist”
Randy Flags claims: “…that’s not the Trump supporters have been saying.”
Who? Name them.
Yah, looks like another MSM trick. Assert without documentation, sorta like the “MANY people are saying……….” and naming two.
I see Jiffy is right on schedule and on-topic, as usual.
dad:
That is also the technique used here by mar and k. Yet you give them a pass.
Awful. Just awful.
That is also the technique used here by mar and k. Yet you give them a pass.
Awful. Just awful.
And the same technique Trump uses……
Umm, Pathological Liar Le Roi, you are on a roll today.
At times,I might ask for your resources, but most of the time I get your lies myself.
Your 12 step program for lying is not working.
mar:
I have provided dozens of scientific papers, articles, peer reviewed work, etc. on a variety of subjects promoted by the deniers on this site, and all you can do is call me a liar. Now provide the trial transcript for the Keith Hernandez murder trial, and the Alito obituary, and the location of the British airports <1800, and the proof of all of the bogus claims trump (and you) have made about corona virus.
Now go point at the elephant.
We all know that LeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeRoy can find an elephant. But he cannot tell us how Scott Walker robbed him of $6K.
And Le Roi thinks Easter is a national holiday and that Roger Stone was pardoned.
And he thinks he doesn’t lie.
Le Roi is high and delusional.
Heck of a combination.
And he thinks he doesn’t lie.
Where exactly did he say that? Certainly a man of data and science like you would have the exact quote readily available.
Le Roi is high and delusional.
I missed where Lee Roi posted to someone that had not posted, like you did.
And I have never, ever, taken illegal or illicit drugs. mar is lying again.
“And I have never, ever, taken illegal or illicit drugs.”
Then how do you explain your delusions and your lying?
And here I was giving you an out.
I guess it’s an internal brain thing.
mar:
My statement is true, yours isn’t . The burden of proof is on you to prove me wrong. The most compelling, and most obvious, argument for my position is that you have no more sense than a carrot (apologies to carrots everywhere), and that since you talked yourself into a corner with your lies you are doubling down on them.
Mar must be a member of Dad29’s Mind Reading Club.
Ok Le Roi, then I will put it bluntly. You are an insane, lying a-hole.
There. You feel better?
Ok Le Roi, then I will put it bluntly. You are an insane, lying a-hole.
Oh he got you there Le Roi. Next he is going to go with the triple-dog dare.
Every time he says he treats everyone the same and is a good-intentioned civil citizen, an angel gets its wings!
Hey mar, looks like that claim you made, “I guess we are more civil here in Arizona” , is another one of your lies. You are nothing if not consistent.
And I still have never used drugs.
Gee, Le Roi, I didn’t write that on this post.
You really must be losing it.
Gee, Le Roi, I didn’t write that on this post.
You sure didn’t write it on that post. It was a different post. Le Roi never said you wrote it on that post.
One sign of really losing it is not knowing the difference between a post and a thread. But, since I like to help those that are losing it:
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/244983-thread-and-post
Mar is still playing checkers when others are playing chess.
And Randall continues to be the Nazi grammar police officer.
I guess, when you cannot put forth a winning argument, you resort to deflection.
You used to be better than that, Randall. Now you have morphed into another stupid liberal hack who cannot win debates.
So sad. So pathetic. So typical liberal.
Mar:
I am just treating you like you treat others. I see you go apoplectic when that is done, just like your hero Donald Trump does.
Gee Randall, I actually repeated you with respect because I actually thought you had a brain. Unlike jjf and Le Roi who are very disrespectful and some of the time, Pat.
And no, I don’t get crazy when some criticizes me.
But most of the time, their attempts at a comeback are really lame.
Guess I was wrong.
I guess you you are a dumbass along with most of the rest of dumbass liberals here.
“actually repeated you”
That should be “actually treated you”
So go Nazi frammar police on me.
“frammer” says it all.
Le Roi, besides being ignorant, stupid a liar and an a-hole, I guess your only response is to criticize a person on their grammar/spelling.
I guess since you are too stupid to win any kind of debate, you have to resort to this.
So pathetic.
No mar, I criticize you for your aggressive ignorance, name calling, fragile ego, and complete aversion to the truth. The chronic spelling and grammar errors are just a bonus.
We all know you are incapable of civil discourse, so the gifts will keep on coming.
Why can’t we just have a civil discussion?
You constantly mis-stating, purposely and non-purposely misunderstanding basic statements and then responding as if your ignorance were fact and on topic may just possibly be why few could ever have a civil conversation with you.
I don’t think I am a racist, but right now I do think you are an idiot. Go ahead and prove me wrong, respond to my actual words, not your fantasies. So far, all the above proved was that I was right (You threw an inaccurate racist taunt at my first comment), and that you can’t seem to comprehend basic English so of course you can’t carry on a reasonable or civil conversation.
You said:
So although I didn’t bother to verify your facts, I asked if you wanted to understand why these facts happen, or if you understood “why” and whether you thought anything should be done about it, and somehow this set you off. Why?
What “first comment” are you talking about, and how did I call you a racist? These days I tend to focus on using the terms “racist idea” and “racist policy” are rarely call anyone an outright “racist” so I think you are misinterpreting me.
Yes, I was talking about Mar’s desire for a civil conversation. He’s stated it before, and then over and over he gets flabbergasted and decides that school-yard insults are the best approach.
jjf, I’ve kind of figured out that you and Le Roi have no desire to have civil discussions. Both of you troll, lie, deceive, take things out of context and refuse to debate.
So, if you want to be like a first grader, I’ll treat you like a 1st grader.
“So, if you want to be like a first grader, I’ll treat you like a 1st grader.”
Too late mar, you already have the market cornered on juvenile behavior. As I explained above, the criticism you get is well deserved, and long over due. When you quit calling folks names, attacking their gender, accusing them of drug use, etc., then maybe you’ll get some respect.
As far as refusing to debate, that prize goes to you. As soon as you call someone stupid, idiot, liar, or uneducated, the debate is over. Your first line of argument is to mock, not to discuss.
So quit your whining, act like an adult, and maybe, just maybe, someone will respect what you have to say.
Leroy, you must have missed jjf doing that all morning.
>You constantly mis-stating, purposely and non-purposely misunderstanding basic statements and then responding as if your ignorance were fact and on topic may just possibly be why few could ever have a civil conversation with you.
Tuerqas, I made an effort the last 24 hours to have a polite and civil discussion with Foust, and he proved once again that he is incapable of being mature and directly addressing the topic. Fuck him.
Le Roi, I think Jason hadn’t noticed that I’d avoided engaging with him for, oh, about three weeks? And he ran in circles, jumping up and down, trying to get my attention, insulting, doxxing, swearing – all the finest tricks of the best civil discussion mature intellectuals.
Well, jjf is never interested in carry on a civil discussion. Same with Le Roi. Both would rather troll, avoid, lie, deceive, take people’s words out of context.
They are not civil but act like 1st graders pretending they are smart.
Well, jjf is never interested in carry on a civil discussion.
Holy projection batman
Show me where is and I’ll show you the many times he isn’t.
I cannot ask his honest opinion without him getting snarky and lying.
Mar, perhaps a better approach would be to insist I was a liar at every opportunity.
Mar, perhaps a better approach would be to insist I was a liar at every opportunity.
Or, even better, just make a blanket declaration once. Will save all of us time.
Sure jjf, I’ll copy/paste it again:
Emphasis mine. I never even hinted that I thought I was racist. You said ‘facts are facts’ and then ‘you think you are a racist’. I didn’t call me a racist, therefore by positing the false statement, you did. Perhaps you could interpret that differently to me. Please do. I don’t see ‘idea’ or ‘policy’ anywhere, but I do know you can twist the words of others, now twist your own. Or just show me the words that you ‘misunderstood’ that led you to believe I thought I was racist.
There: you prophesied that I’d call you a racist for saying that. Why?
Because that’s what you have done here in the past Foust. And bringing white fragility into the discussion in the past shows you’re a koolaid drinking fool.
Because every comment between us that has a ‘race’ in it to date has included you saying I was probably racist or had racist tendencies or perhaps had racist thoughts, and there was no lack here. If I ask you why you think you are a racist when you had not previously called yourself a racist, I believe that would qualify as backhanded way of me calling you a racist.
I generally answer when people talk to me and will continue. It is part of polite conversation, which I still try to adhere to until broken by others. I fail sometimes, though. And, sorry, but the least capable person in these comments is consistently someone whose name begins with K, not J. If I did not know otherwise, I would swear those comments are from a 12 year old or younger.
Tuerqas, jjf is an expert on being a racist.
And the reason being is that he is your typical liberal uppity racist.
He even readily admits he tells racist jokes.
Way to operate in a civil and good-faith fashion, Mar.