San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
The midsummer clashing
Cancel culture, which Georgia’s governor is blaming for his state being stripped of this summer’s MLB AllStar Game, can be dangerous.
Look at some of the great American institutions and traditions that have been canceled by cancel culture, which until recently did not have a cool name: Those folksy segregated drinking fountains ... colorcoded seating areas on buses and trains, for the safety and convenience of all ... and two of the backbones of the American economy, child labor and slavery. All victims of cancel culture.
So, Gov. Brian Kemp, to make the argument that hysterical overreactors have ripped the AllStar Game out of your cold, dead hands, you might need to counter their protests with more than just a catchy and contemptuous label.
The funny thing about Georgia’s complaint against cancel culture is that what MLB is protesting is Georgia’s cancellation of the voices of many Black voters.
The new Georgia law supposedly makes voting more reliable and honest, but there was no evidence of voter fraud or shaky votecounting in the state’s 2020 elections. You’ve heard of victimless crimes? The new law will create crimeless victims.
MLB’s move was surprising and powerful. This was bigleague baseball, not the NBA or NFL, telling Georgia lawmakers they have gone too far. The NBA or NFL have (relatively) progressive leaderships backing their Black majority of players. MLB is mostly white guys running a sport whose rosters are dominated by white and Latino players.
It’s hard for the cancelculture haters to characterize MLB as just another group of neowoke, liberal hissyfitters. Same with CocaCola, the corporate pride of Atlanta, which has joined the protest. Apple Pie has yet to weigh in.