June 2020 – WELCOME TO LETTERS FROM THE CRANK, CRANKY COMMENTARY ON CURRENT EVENTS – Warning to snowflakes and the politically correct crowd, this website likely will offend you, but is entertaining

The Biggest BLM Supporters?

While undoubtedly there are lots of eager self-proclaimed candidates for such a title, including every white person at a protest, it seems to me the biggest beneficiaries by far are public relations and advertising agencies, though they’d probably never admit it.

As for PR firms, employers, so-called “celebrities”, sports teams and athletes, mayors, governors, various public officials, colleges – indeed, virtually every entity in the US – are currently falling all over themselves issuing pablum to the masses. They all are “horrified” by the ‘horrific” “disgusting” “vile” and other actions of “racists” – and, by the way, all white persons are racists by definition simply because they are not black – and are promising to (re-)educate both themselves and pretty much anyone they come in contact with about “white privilege.” They proclaim their past racist attitude and sins and wear them like badges of honor today to demonstrate that they are, as the word is these days, “woke.”

This kind of self-flagellation is in many cases authored by PR firms for public consumption and to placate the loudmouths (and to fend off any deeper inquiry). So they certainly have lots of business these days and presumably are making piles of money, some of which no doubt will be “dedicated” to woke education and awareness and remedying of their racial “micro-aggressions.” Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

These firms will also be advising employers on dealing with this so-called “reckoning.” Getting back to the workplace as the country attempts to reopen is going to involve endless meetings and roundtables with staff so they all can plumb the depths of their racist souls, beg for forgiveness and live the rest of their lives with full “woke” awareness and conduct. That is likely to be torture for most people. Of course, there apparently is no forgiveness anyway – just ask Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln or George Washington, among dozens of others.

Similarly, ad agencies must be minting money these days (as if they weren’t making enough on their clients’ COVID-19 advertising). Every single new advertising product, either in print or TV, now features some sort of politically correct configuration involving blacks, Latins, asians, especially with multicultural scenes of mixed race and or “gay” couples prominently displayed. To be sure, that has been the trend for a few years, but the acceleration in the last month or so has been breathtaking.

Maybe all that is for the good, maybe not – time will tell. But it certainly is a dogfight to get onto this bandwagon.

Kneeling or Standing?

There is a lot of evident confusion about this “disrespect to the Flag” business by kneeling during the National Anthem at sporting events. To be fair, traditionally kneeling in most situations denotes respect, not disrespect. You kneel to pray, to propose, to meet royalty (once upon a time anyway). So it seems hard to say that kneeling for the flag during the National Anthem, in and of itself and without other considerations, is disrespectful.

However, standing, sitting or kneeling for the flag alone is not really the issue. It is the National Anthem that is the real issue. Chapter 36, section 301(b)(1)(C) of the United State Code states that when the National Anthem is played

“all other [than military] persons present should face the flag [if flying] and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart”.

Thus kneeling violates this standard and is both disrespectful to the playing of the National Anthem and the flag since the flag is always present at such events. But even if there were no flag, it is still disrespectfull to kneel during the National Anthem. Of course nitpickers will seize on the word “should,” but it cannot be gainsaid that the statute provides a standard and official guide to conduct during the playing of the National Anthem, and to do anything other than comply with that standard is disrespectful by definition. Let’s remember that your elected representatives wrote and enacted that statute.

And it is also disrespectful, by the way, for people to be chattering to each other, scratching their crotch, adjusting their underwear, leaving their hat on, slurping their ice cream, gnawing on their pretzel, etc., while the National Anthem is played. It is also disrespectful to the performers of the National Anthem, who almost uniformly (Roseanne and other supposed big shots notwithstanding) treat their performance as a solemn occasion and have the right to expect the same from the audience. With some few exceptions, each one of those performers worked and practiced a great deal to prepare and they do their best, even if it hurts the ears.

Thus these people who think kneeling is OK and not disrespectful to either the flag or the National Anthem are simply mistaken and selfish. Rather, they rely on their own intent as justification for their actions and claim that “Because I say it’s not about disrespecting the flag and that is not my intent, my actions are really about protesting historic racial injustice, it’s OK to do.” Well, your “intent” does not matter a rat’s patootie to anyone. That is effectively the same thing as saying “I had no intent to discriminate against you Black person on the basis of your race even though I checked my wallet after you bumped into me, so it’s OK that I did.” C’mon. You can’t have it both ways. If intent rather than action is the guiding principle, then there are no principles: it is then OK to do anything you intend with complete disregard for the consequences. Please take a moment and envision the social chaos that will ensue if we all take that attitude. Rioting and looting will seem tame by comparison.

There are plenty of other ways to call attention to things you don’t like. You can kneel or do somersaults during the whole game if you want, just not during the National Anthem. You don’t have to be offensive to protest what offends you. But if you want to be disrespectful, go ahead, just don’t tell us that you’re not.

1970 World Series

Watching the 4th 1970 World Series game yesterday between the Orioles and Reds. Was in black and white, just the play-by-play announcer and no annoying color guy explaining what you just saw with your own eyes, no slow-motion replay of every spit and tobacco chewing, men in the stands wearing ties, no body armor on batters, no batting gloves, they all had the same stockings and normal size gloves (not the huge baskets they have today) and all appeared to be the same color (the gloves, I mean), no annoying roaming reporter in the crowd, no stupid individual music playing for the next batter, no replay, pitchers batted…all in all, a much simpler and streamlined game, back to the real game before it got hopelessly overanalyzed with this analytics crap, which takes so much of the joy out of watching and much of the joy out of playing.