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Bread and Circuses for a Disunited America

  • Post Author
    By Gregory Hood
  • Post Date
    Thu Feb 16 2023

White Americans today are morally uncertain, cowed by hostile media, and taught to be ashamed of themselves by academia and politicians. Many white advocates believe some “line” will eventually be crossed that will prompt whites to stand up for their own interests. This is doubtful. Americans dutifully watched the Super Bowl again this year, despite its blatant displays of “wokeness.” Ratings were actually slightly up from last year.

There is something ironic about white middle-class sports fans paying outrageous sums to watch mostly black professional athletes physically and mentally cripple themselves for fans’ amusement. The film Big Fan was a devastating critique of the “fan” mindset, but its biggest scorn was reserved for the modern American way of life. Patton Oswalt plays Paul Aufiero, a pathetic loser who is still better than everyone around him. He has no life other than his dedication to his team, and even when he’s savagely beaten by his hero, a black football player, he remains true to his faith. What else does America offer him? The same might be said of many whites, especially those young white men who lose themselves in pop-culture fandoms, video games, or the “lore” of fictional universes. (Even I’m guilty of that.)

Professional football seems to ask more from whites each year. Rather than escapism, the Super Bowl teaches shame. The NFL displayed banners reading “End Racism” and “It Takes All Of Us” in the endzones, showing that even the biggest sporting game of the year offers no break from the endless push for egalitarianism. This was underscored by the fact that the “black national anthem” — “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — was played in addition to “The Star-Spangled Banner”:

Why whites should stand in respect for another people’s racial anthem is a mystery. Though some on social media debated what the “white” national anthem could be, the de facto white anthem is of course the American national anthem. It may only be a matter of time before other races get their own anthems.

The halftime show featured Rihanna, who had previously boycotted the NFL in solidarity with BLM champion and mediocre quarterback Colin Kaepernick. She evidently overcame her moral scruples to treat America to a bizarre performance lazily gyrating her pregnant body while half-heartedly singing about genitalia and rubbing and sniffing herself. If the New York Times is right and the Super Bowl is a national holiday, it’s a celebration of degeneracy, mediocrity, greed, and white humiliation.

Rihanna sang a song she had recorded with Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye.” Although Rihanna didn’t dare name him, given Ye’s foray into anti-Semitism, this led Israel’s first Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism and Delegitimization, Noa Tishby, to ask if Rihanna “had to do a Kanye song,” because according to her, if an artist had insulted any other ethnicity, “they would have been canceled and not played at the Super Bowl”:

I disagree.

But censorship can never go far enough in the minds of some. The Kansas City Chiefs won the game, leading fans to do the iconic Tomahawk Chop — despite the fact that both the nameoftheteam and the gesture are allegedly offensive to American Indians.

Even the advertisements broadcast during the game were controversial. One that attempted to make Christianity appealing to progressives seems to have backfired. Our country’s rising progressive political star, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), said it represented nothing less than fascism:

Mainstream outlets are likewise targeting the group behind the ad:

The hard truth is that most white Americans don’t notice and won’t care about this. “Woke” culture is merely an annoyance to them. Still, it’s significant that even the semblance of national unity has vanished in America. In 1991, black entertainer Whitney Houston recorded arguably the most iconic rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in history. In the months after September 11, Budweiser famously aired a patriotic ad during the Super Bowl. But today it’s too much to ask for Americans to unite behind an anthem, or to be allowed to enjoy a spectacle that doesn’t include divisive racial identity politics and overt displays of sexuality that are inappropriate for children. Some even claimed that Rihanna’s performance was a pro-life triumph:

It seems that many white Americans are settling for the comforting illusion that all is well with their nation. This is relatively harmless when it comes to sports and entertainment, but it becomes dangerous when whites continue to believe that the Constitution, the rule of law, and other norms we could once take for granted guarantee their safety.

Similarly, the idea of “Get woke, go broke” — the notion that corporations and institutions which engage in wokeness will find it is unprofitable — is an illusion. NFL ratings were strong last year. And “fantasy teams” as well as new gambling websites provide even more reasons for fans to watch the games. Most people probably watch football to tune out everyday life, and they try their best to ignore the political messages that advertisers, activists, and owners bombard them with. Yet sadly, over time, repetition makes these messages seem acceptable.

It is nevertheless true that Super Bowl ratings have mostly declined over the last decade. Even entertainment aimed at the lowest common denominator can’t unite people in a divided market — and nation. But we should feel no sorrow over this trend. While everyone can be forgiven for indulging in some escapism from the problems of daily life, self-respecting whites shouldn’t patronize a business that blatantly insults them.

Hopefully, more whites will unplug from this empty spectacle. It’s destructive for us now, and will only get worse in the future. Whites need to get to the point where they are no longer afraid or ashamed to take their own side — or, if you prefer, to finally support their own team.