Trent Ruble's Blog: The Other Way It Is - Posts Tagged "espn"

In recent years it's become less likely that I'll believe what people say publicly. Sometimes it's because the speakers have previously proven themselves to be liars who will say whatever necessary in order to get what they want. Politicians come to mind here. But it's also because many people who are not generally considered "liars" don't really say what they mean, either. They don't want to offend the Politically Correct, for doing so will result in them being labeled "haters." And, when they do run afoul of the left-leaning language police, many quickly apologize for their "blunder," which is again less than genuine.

This is really a control issue. Somehow, the people who only represent half or less of our population have gained control over how everyone speaks. When the non-PC half speaks the truth, the other side gasps in shocking disbelief. I think I'd rather people say what they mean, even if it is offensive. At least I'd be able to believe them. Of course, the flip side of this issue is that those in the media frequently ask questions of people, especially celebrities, that are none of their (our) business. And, many times, a non-answer gives away the answer, thus encouraging fabrications.

An example of how the left accomplishes its control of public speech could be found in the introduction to this weeks' Monday Night Football (MNF) game between Indianapolis and Tampa. The intro was unexpectedly unrecognizable, or so I'm told. I don't have cable and, therefore, can no longer see MNF. But, I was shocked to hear that Hank Williams Jr.'s famous "All My Rowdy Friends are Here on Monday Night" was absent.

It turns out that, according to the Huffington Post, Hank made a statement concerning President Obama playing golf this summer with the Speaker of the House, John Boehner. He said it was "one of the biggest political mistakes ever" and said it "would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." He later called the president and Vice President Joe Biden "the enemy."

In response to this "outrage," that being that Hank used Adolf Hitler in an analogy involving the president, ESPN pulled one of the most loved songs on television. The first thing that came to my mind was that ESPN thinks that, if they had left Hank's song in the introduction, we would all mistakenly think that ESPN equates the president with Adolf Hitler. If that wasn't it, then maybe they thought it was their job to punish Hank Williams for this unacceptable outburst. My guess is it was a little of both but more the former rather than the latter.

A similar incident occurred recently involving Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. He had been scheduled to speak at the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit near Chicago. However, prior to the engagement, Asher Huey, on change.org, began a campaign to boycott Starbucks if Mr. Schultz gave his speech. This is because Mr. Huey believes that the Willow Creek church, where the conference was to be held, is "anti-gay." The petition to boycott was signed by just 728 people while the conference was attended by 165,000 people, including worldwide satellite locations.

Mr. Schultz promptly withdrew from the conference and an official Starbucks statement was made to change.org saying that he would not be speaking.

Our government guarantees the right to free speech but, when it comes to the corporate world, there is no free speech. Instead we get the freedom from being offended. Well, ESPN and Starbucks, I find this offensive.

Just so you know, if you ask me a question that's none of your business, I won't hesitate to say so. And, if I do answer, I aim to speak the truth whether you like it or not and I'm not going to apologize for it. Otherwise, why would you believe anything I say?