Those who don’t possess the meager abilities to write about modern politics write about sports. But many sports writers still find ways to inject their trivial political opinions into virtually everything they write. Their politics are, for the most part, exactly as you would expect: liberalism in its purest form, complete with all the trappings of identity politics and reflexive NeverTrumpism.
The latest in sports journalism stupidity concerns NFL reporter Mike Freeman, who writes for the popular sports site Bleacher Report. Freeman tweeted out random opinions he found on Nick Bosa’s Twitter feed. Bosa’s a defensive end for The Ohio State University football team and could very well be the number one overall pick in next year’s NFL draft. Here’s Freeman’s tweet:
So, to summarize some of the tweets from next year’s likely No. 1 draft pick, Nick Bosa:
1. Black Panther is the worst Marvel movie.
2. Beyoncé’s music is “trash.”
3. Kaepernick is a “clown.”
Alllllllllllllllrighty then.— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) May 14, 2018
Hmmm. Of course there’s no common thread here, right? When pushed on the obvious implication of his tweet, Freeman denied that it had anything to do with race whatsoever. What a coward.
The tyrannical impulse of modern liberalism is very evident here: the wish to expurgate any opinion through shaming and manipulation that’s not fully in lock step with the latest advance in wokeness. But this tyranny is not specific to liberalism per se. It’s built into our very natures. As John Locke said about the power of the law of fashion in human affairs,
I think I may say, that he who imagines commendation and disgrace not to be strong motives to men to accommodate themselves to the opinions and rules of those with whom they converse, seems little skilled in the nature or history of mankind: the greatest part whereof we shall find to govern themselves chiefly, if not solely, by this law of fashion.
The problem today is that those like Freeman are at the levers of the administrative state, whereby the awesome power of the law of fashion is collected and then unleashed with devastating consequences against all those who oppose the ruling class. A free society cannot stand under these circumstances, which is why, more than perhaps any other reason, Donald Trump won the 2016 election.