Mad People

For the Democrats' trained hamsters of the mainstream media, the narrative is everything. If a story dovetails with the narrative, it gets HEAVY emphasis—top-of-the-fold coverage in print media, A-block coverage on TV, and heavy play among the woke commentariat. The hamsters are currently promoting two narratives at once: 

1) our country is "systemically racist," and a collection of "brave and peaceful" protesters are at the forefront of fighting the good fight [with lots of words and gestures], and 

2) COVID-19 is an existential threat, and the numbers indicate that we must keep the country shut down, keep schools and business closed, [and therefore, ruin the lives and livelihoods of tens of millions of people].

It would be bad enough if the hamsters actually promoted these stories out of a true belief that their narrative is all there is to the story, but their actions are far more nefarious. They spin every story to make it fit a narrative for the sole purpose of achieving a political objective.

Take the "peaceful protesters" narrative. I wonder ... Are screaming protesters spewing spittle (potentially virus-laced) in the faces of black police officers "peaceful"? Are protesters who to pull down statue "peaceful"? Was it a "peaceful" homicide when someone killed a black 17-year old within the CHOP in Seattle? Were reports of rape, robbery, and other violence inside CHOP "peaceful?" How about the shakedowns and arson of businesses inside CHOP? "Peaceful," I'm sure. None of this fits the narrative, so the hamsters generally ignore it.

But wait ... what about the "noose" that was found in NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega? A primary example of "white supremacy" and "racism." Right?

David Marcus comments:

When it was announced this week that a noose was found in the garage of NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, the only full-time black driver on the circuit, every reasonable person who has paid vague attention to the news for the past few years had the same reaction. We all immediately wondered if this was just another hoax like the Jussie Smollet situation. Everyone except CNN, who dove in like Greg Louganis and with similar results.

On Monday the “news” network had at least three interviews with black people associated with NASCAR decrying the abject racism of the incident. It was offered of proof of just how racist the United States still is. The white anchors all showed anguish and horror on their faces as if apologizing for all of white America. How could this happen in 2020?

On Tuesday, it became clear, and the FBI confirmed, that no noose was placed in the garage, and whatever NASCAR thought was a noose had actually been there for months. [No crime occurred, no criminal charges were to be filed, and there was no evidence whatsoever that Wallace was targeted by anyone.] So if we are asking the question “how could this happen in 2020?” the real subject of the inquiry could be how could CNN run with this story so aggressively when there was every reason in the world to question it.

If it was only CNN, we could dismiss this as an aberration promulgated by a bunch of media hacks who are about as ethical as Bernie Madoff. 

But, but, but ... the Wallace story fit the narrative so beautifully. It had to be true. Until it wasn't.

Sportswriter Jason Whitlock notes that the trained hamsters in the media aren't the only entities that can benefit from the narrative. He writes that within 24 hours of the Bubba Wallace fake controversy, video and photos surfaced from 2019 that "document[ed] that the garage at Talladega had a hanging pull rope [for the garage door] with a small noose big enough for a hand." There was no way that the person who tied the rope could have possibly known who would be using the garage 18 months later. Whitlock writes:

It’s mind blowing that NASCAR couldn’t deduce this Saturday night when a Bubba Wallace team member spotted the rope and labeled it proof of racial intimidation.

“Mind blowing” isn’t the right description. It’s impossible to believe it took the FBI to solve this mystery. There’s a level of willful ignorance that can only be reasonably explained by NASCAR’s desperation for relevance and traction at a time when all sports leagues and their television partners are hemorrhaging money. NASCAR leaned into the noose story because it was good for business, good TV. 

Anti-black racism is the preferred plotline of Netflix, CNN, Twitter,  Hollywood, ESPN, FOX Sports, MSNBC, professional athletes, The New York Times, The Washington Post and now every sports league looking for favorable coverage.

Go ahead, demonize NASCAR. Its history makes it an easy, worthy target. But willful ignorance is driving the decision-making of every sports league, including the NFL and the NBA. 

The Black Lives Matter movement has provoked nationwide chaos, violence and rioting across this country. The movement’s founders have publicly admitted the ideology driving BLM is Marxist.

We live in crazy times—riots over "systemic racism," apocalyptic predictions over a virus that is only marginally worse than the H3N2 pandemic of 1968-69 (when NOTHING was shut down), a media that is no longer trustworthy, and public and private sector leaders who have drunk the Kool-Aid. Crazy times are reminiscent of the through-the-looking-glass world of Alice in Wonderland. 

Those who work hard to think critically, to sift through the fake news, the media hype, and now widespread corporate capitulation to the narrative, feel a lot like Alice in Chapter 6 of that book:

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.

“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”

“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.

“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.” 

It is true ... we're here ... among mad people.