I'm not sure where I'm going with this post, but it is in response to something - and I couldn't resist a commentary on the rare combination of passion-points here, namely politics and MN Sports.
Over the weekend there was another roundly tragic clash between ICE Agents and the public. I don't really care to comment on all of that other than to say, if you don't want to get shot, don't get in the way of police officers and federal law enforcement officials who are doing their jobs. Those are some brave men and women and you have no idea what they've seen and put up with while carrying out lawful orders. Those brave men and women have families too and many of them have to be asking themselves, "is this even worth it?"
Immediately following this latest clash, the Minnesota Timberwolves cancelled their NBA game with the Golden State Warriors for that evening. They ended up playing the next day and predictably, cameras and microphones got shoved in the faces of players and coaches asking for their "comment" on all of this. For the mouth-breathers on social media, their comments weren't "enough". I don't know what "enough" means, but they were looking for more. More passion. More hyperbole. More something. Meanwhile, I'm sitting here thinking, "why did they feel like they had to say anything at all?" Why does anyone feel like they need to hear from Joe Athlete or Jane Celebrity when bad stuff happens?
What I came up with for as the 'why' to that last question was people with weak convictions need to hear their own thoughts parroted back to them. People who are not firm in their convictions, or alternatively, people who have made their convictions into a barometer of their own personal "goodness" or "rightness" NEED to hear their own opinions spoken out loud by others for the validation. When they don't hear it, or they don't hear it forcefully enough, an internal dissonance starts to rise up..."what if I'm...wrong?"
Conversely, to the person who isn't firm on their conviction or who have a need for social validation in order to feel good about themselves, anyone who speaks with a dissenting or critical voice needs to be silenced. What is happening to Vikings radio announcer Paul Allen is evidence of this. On Friday, January 23rd, he said the following on his radio show:
"I'm beginning to wonder if, in conditions like this, do paid protestors get hazard pay? Those are the things I've been thinking about this morning."
He has since been forced to apologize and is suddenly in need of 'time off' because a group of people out there was offended at his suggestion that some of the protestors in MN are paid. I won't even go down the paid protestors rabbit hole. There's plenty of reason to believe that protesting is a good business in this country and this isn't some kind of a new phenomenon. Ironically, the same people who are now calling for the Vikings to fire Paul Allen are likely the very same people who were outraged when, only a few months ago, Jimmy Kimmel was suspended (in their estimation, unjustly) for saying the following:
"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it."
Celebrities and athletes have nothing (or very little) to contribute to the philosophical fabric of our country and we, both corporately and individually, don't need to care about every current event that happens in this World. We don't need athletes to pretend to care and we don't need their 'takes' on what is happening either. We don't need to hear what actors and actresses to tell us what they think about politics because at the end of the day, they are no more qualified than anyone else on the topic. And if someone says something we don't agree with, or which is maybe even a little off-color in the moment...so what? Jimmy Kimmel would likely be off the air by now, due to dismal ratings, if not for the artificial bump he received in the wake of that fake scandal. Paul Allen is, seemingly, a genuinely good person who most likely made his remark with some amount of tongue in cheek.
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