Thursday, October 15, 2009

Rush Limbaugh Can Be a Civil Rights Hero...

Such sound of fury over a simple proposition: Rush Limbaugh wished to be part of a group that would buy the St. Louis Rams, an investment that seems from afar to be just as good as buying oceanfront property in Zimbabwe. Still, it's Rush's money, and he probably knows better than I how to spend and invest it, so I have no comments, really, on that account.

However, from the public outcry, you would have thought that Rush was planning to build a plantation.

Naturally, every black man with the ability to get his face on television (with the exception of Juan Williams, who has class) feigned outrage, amazed that anyone who could espouse the opinions that Rush Limbaugh does could ever be allowed to buy a professional sports franchise. Put aside the question of whether the words 'professional' ,'sports' and 'franchise' apply to the Rams for a second, and let's try a little thought experiment. I wonder what they would have said if the group who wanted to buy the team included Louis Farrakhan?

Next to complain were the NFL players, especially the black ones. They implied (when they didn't say it outright) that Rush Limbaugh is a racist. They could offer no proof of any racism, except a quote about Donovan McNabb which they construe to be racist. In today's world, any statement which questions the ability of a black man is considered racist on it's face, regardless of the validity of the question. For NFL players to cry racism when a great many of them have had their way into the NFL greased since they were teenagers, is appalling. This racist society allowed yo to play football. This racist society allowed you to go to a supposed institute of higher learning on scholarship, this racist society ensured that when you finished your four years of pretend education, you had the opportunity to enter a field that pays you millions of dollars to play a game for a living, and which then treats you as if you were some sort of superhero. They are a privileged caste in our supposedly racist society!

If I have to listen to one more interview of one more mediocre wide-receiver diva who uses "see what I'm sayin'", "you know" like punctuation, and pronouns like "we's" and "dey", I'm going to puke. That man can barely articulate, and had his freight paid by a greedy university; what makes you think I care what he has to say? I can promise you this; if Rush was his boss, all his objections would very quickly disappear if there were a few more zeros in his paycheck.

(Disclaimer: the above is not intended to imply that all black NFL players got scholarships they didn't deserve, or that all black NFL Players are little more than street punks with the ability to run and bigger paychecks. I do know there are some who actually had to work for what they have, and I can appreciate them and their sacrifices).

The word 'racist' no longer has any meaning, being that it has been flung around so carelessly in recent years.

Of course, the race hustlers rushed right in. Jesse and Al arrived just on cue, a battalion of lesser 'reverends' in tow, and began the usual song and dance;

"Racist, racist, racist, evil, mean Whitey...Write me a check, or I'll picket in front of your building..."

Yeah, Al and Jesse are orators on the same plane as Cicero and Cincinattus. Never a hint of racism in anything they've ever said. Never mind all that 'Hymietown' and 'White Interloper' stuff, right? It was all a big misunderstanding.

Sorry, but it's difficult to take you seriously anymore, Al and Jeese. We've been there, done that, and we all recognize the scam. If either of you had vowels at the end of your names, there would be a U.S. Attorney preparing the RICO case against you right now.

Naturally, the 'professional' journalists on sports and editorial pages all over the country, concerned by the spectre of a private citizen choosing to spend his money in a public manner, piled on. Particularly since it's Limbaugh, someone they despise. They continued the mantra of racism, and then went one further; they manufactured quotes which make Rush look like the worst racist since Hitler -- and then reported them as fact. That's when they weren't citing other people's poorly-based opinions lies as actual sources. I guess the word 'professional' doesn't apply to them, either? Last time in looked, that was slander with malice of forethought. At the very least, it's a laziness which is indicative of why most major newspapers in this country are circling the bowl.

I'm sure if it was Obama being lampooned in a TV skit, the fact-checkers would have been all over it...

The NFL, besieged by the manufactured bad publicity, and not really needing Limbaugh's money in the first place (the NFL is an $8 billion franchise, you know), feigned concern for it's players, it's fans and 'the best interests of the game', and decided Limbaugh wasn't welcome. Roger Goddell is a moral coward.

It seems to me that Rush is now in a unique position; He has been denied his right to engage in free enterprise. He has had his character questioned publicly. He has been slandered maliciously publicly. If he was black, this would be enough to make him President of the United States and worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize 11 days into his reign.

His civil rights have been violated. Publicly.

Sue them all Rush, sue them all, and put a stake through the heart of this phony racial spoils scam that punishes people on the one hand, and which poisons our public discourse on the other. Sue the NFL, sue the newspapers that lied, sue the Player's Union and the players who might deserve it. Sue Jesse and Al.

You'll be bigger than Rosa Parks ever was, Rush, if you just did it.

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