ESPN Has Made Its Choice
It’s your First Amendment right to call the President a white supremacist if you want to.
ESPN host Jemele Hill took to Twitter this week and called President Trump a “white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.”
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
She didn’t back down from there. In fact, she doubled down:
Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017
ESPN neither fired nor suspended her. They gave her a very mild slap on the wrist.
That’s interesting given ESPN’s history in handling these types of cases. Both Doug Adler and Anthony Federico were fired for ridiculous comments that were taken wildly out of context.
Curt Schilling was actually fired for doing the exact same thing. He made a political comment on social media.
But here’s the difference. Schilling’s comment didn’t fit the progressive narrative. Hill’s did.
This, of course, has everyone yelling "double standard!" But actually, ESPN has been pretty consistent here. They’ve chosen their audience, and they’re giving their tribe exactly what they think they want.
All media is going through massive disruption right now. It’s caused ESPN to lose over 13 million subscribers over the past couple of years. That forced the company to lay off over 100 employees just a few months ago.
The entire industry is scrambling to find their niche. We are at the precipice of massive change and ESPN is just one of many companies attempting to find an identity.
ESPN has made it abundantly clear. They’ve made their choice. They’ve found their audience. They’re just giving their tribe what they want.
Now we have a choice. Watch ESPN or change the channel to Fox Sports.
Update on the DACA Deal
Donald Trump promised to make deals.
The president had a dinner meeting last night where he apparently struck a deal with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi --- again.
His supporters are furious and the White House is starting to walk it back.
The deal reportedly “enshrines the protections of DACA into law quickly, and to work out a package of border security.”
The deal does not include funding for the wall.
So Democrats achieve their policy goal of turning DACA into law.
And Republicans get --- what exactly?
A commitment from Democrats to work on a border security package. Right.
Positive side-note: if we’re going to live by DACA, it’s better that Congress passes it into law than it being an executive program.
But back to the deal made --- two things are true:
1. Making a deal isn’t bad if you get something good out of it.
2. Trump got nothing good out of this deal.
Democrats will always promise to “work on a border security package” they also will always do nothing.
A good deal would have included real immigration reforms or real border enforcement or something --- anything.
Look at it from the Democrats' angle --- if Trump reverses himself, they get to call him cruel and paint him as the bad guy trying to hurt these young adults affected by DACA.
If he keeps his word, they get their policy goal and the GOP gets a promise to work together.
Someone got played and it wasn’t Chuck or Nancy.
Why Is Berkeley Bracing?
When it comes to feeling offended, we choose whether or not we’re going to indulge that feeling.
Tonight, Ben Shapiro will speak at UC Berkeley. Shapiro speaks at colleges all the time, without all the ruckus, so his appearance at Berkeley would probably go unnoticed by most of the country if it wasn’t for headlines like this in the LA Times:
“Berkeley braces for right-wing talk show host Ben Shapiro’s visit.”
UC Berkeley will have a perimeter closed off outside the building where the oh-so-intimidating Shapiro is speaking. The university will also have counseling services available for students because they’re “deeply concerned about the impact some speakers may have on individuals’ sense of safety and belonging.”
If a student gets their feelings hurt by Shapiro’s speech, it will be because the student chooses to get their feelings hurt.
If protesters turn violent and set fires, it won’t be Shapiro’s fault. It will be because protesters choose to lash out. Don’t they have anything better to do, like their class assignments or something?
The Left fails to understand a fundamental thing about how to deal with a person or group they don’t like: the more they fret about said person or group, the more attention they draw to them. Growing up, they must not have had the mom who told them that if they ignore the younger brother pestering them, he’ll eventually stop. We can choose not to engage.
It’s not like Shapiro, Ann Coulter or Steve Bannon are pining to speak at the University of Nebraska or something. They’re going where the attention is. If Berkeley students hate these speakers so much, the best way to get rid of them would be to stay home. Don’t protest. Just ignore them.
But they won’t do that because they actually like the conflict and chaos.
Choosing to be offended is good for business.
Corey Comperatore's firefighting gear outside the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images
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