It has been a strange time in the United States since January 20th this year. Ever since president elect Donald Trump has come into office, swarms of right winged conservatives have risen and decided to start advocating for their beliefs on much more public forums. As soon as a bit of pull comes from the right side, it immediately draws a reactionary pull from the left side.
Things have changed in the way the United States deals with politico heresy and in these sensitive times, this is a great time to analyze what may not have been acceptable in the past. The Degree of Danger Continuum (Tedford & Herbeck, Pg. 47) can explain that in the days of bad tendency and clear and present danger, these outburst from multiple groups of conservatives would have been shut down immediately. In many cases, even under incitement these protests are seen as unacceptable and there has been a social whiplash to these instances.
Earlier this month, a group of what seemed to be conservatives, unfurled a sign over the famous "green monster" in left field of Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The sign read "Racism is as American as baseball". Fans around the baseball stadium were confused about the sign. Many didn't know whether the sign was in favor of racism, or attempting the combat the racist tendencies of our society. Authorities acted quickly to the scene and had the sign taken down within minutes. Simultaneously, the subjects that created the sign were asked to leave the stadium. After the game, the group was quoted saying “We want to remind everyone that just as baseball is fundamental to American culture and history, so too is racism,” and also “White people need to wake up to this reality before white supremacy can truly be dismantled,”
It is a difficult time right now in terms of freedom of speech. Around every corner their is someone trying to push their agenda upon you. As a society we have been trying to combat hate, racism and misogyny with protest and isolation. As a country we are ruled by the same whistleblowing, misogynistic racists that we are protesting. Until there is a cultural change at the top, it will be difficult to see any change on any other rungs of the ladder.
Moran, Lee. “Protesters Unfurl 'Racism Is As American As Baseball' Sign At Boston Red Sox Game.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Sept. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/boston-red-sox-racism-banner-fenway-park_us_59ba2529e4b02da0e13f3501.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this post because I think you provided good examples of how freedom of speech can lead to discussion about serious issues within America. You brought up the topic of Donald Trump and how he has stirred up lots of emotions within people. There has always been this push and pull between the right and the left, however it most definitely escalated after the election of Trump. For some, this might seem non-productive for American society, but I beg to differ. Obviously, the name-calling or disrespectful remarks by individuals isn’t constructive, but his election has brought to the surface serious issues, like racism.
Underlining problems in this country, often get swept under the rug or avoided because they require substantial change or difficult discussions. Generally speaking, the majority of Americans stay silent on how they feel or their political views. In fact, many think that if they put their head in the sand and ignore the problem it will go away. Many people are guilty of this, including me. Uncomfortable topics, like racism, are not easy to discuss, but they need to be had. Your example of the sign at Fenway Park, is important because it called attention to a serious issue in America. Baseball is an extremely popular sport and many people watch it. By putting up a sign that says, “Racism is as American as baseball”, it put the issue right in front of people. The more we begin to address issues, such as racism, the more we can discuss them and work towards a solution. With all that said, it is still important to remember to try our best to preserve mutual respect if want to be more successful in solving issues.
I saw the online backlash to the sign after it'd happened, with (as you said) many people felt the phrasing was too ambiguous to determine whether it was pro or anti-racism. The confusion was surprising to me, but the backlash was to be expected, given the platform the statement was made in. It's common knowledge sports serve as an escape from the real world from all the cultural issues and agendas. Look at any sports fanbase and you'll find people of all political affiliations under one umbrella. They aren't at a baseball game to get political; they're there to have fun. It seems like these small-scale protests have grown more popular in sports platforms, especially by privileged people we normally wouldn't anything of the sort from. I think it's important to understand why they take to sports venues for making these bold public statements.
ReplyDelete1) the whole point of taking a knee, making a sign saying "Racism is as American as baseball" and other cultural jabs is to disrupt; if no disruption occurs, then the public will likely just continue to ignore our underlying cultural issues.
2) taking into account that sports venues are run by high-class people for profit, and are havens for expressing patriotic messages (i.e. Flag bearers, Air Force flyovers), we see how these actions subvert sports' role in society.
While these are perfectly fine, non-violent protests, the fact they make people so uncomfortable (as intended) is enough reason to assume this speech would have been too seditious for the government to tolerate under former doctrines.