Althouse: James Golden (AKA Bo Snerdly) was surprised to see NFL owners "line up against their fans, or a portion of their fan base..."

October 1, 2017

James Golden (AKA Bo Snerdly) was surprised to see NFL owners "line up against their fans, or a portion of their fan base..."

"... deciding that alienating some of the most patriotic people in the country makes good sense for a national sports league, and lining up behind some players that, in some cases, one wonders if they even know what they’re protesting about. It’s all very strange."

Strangely, he pronounces the word "strange" strahnge. I guess that's a joke (like saying garbahge for "garbage" (Rush has some running jokes like that)).

The interviewer is Ginni Thomas (the wife of Clarence Thomas). At about 8 minutes into the interview, Thomas asks Golden if he has any "triggers," and he immediately says "Anybody attacking Rush triggers me." He gets pretty emotional about that.

57 comments:

tim in vermont said...: I watched a biography of John Madden on the NFL network that explained it pretty well. He used to do this thing with six-legged turkeys to award turkey legs to players he really liked the way they played, and he said some players couldn't figure it out. He said that they said "I know turkeys have four legs, but where did the other two come from?"; 10/1/17, 10:55 AM
Michael K said...: I think Rush has had several "Bo Snerdleys" over the years and I think they were all black. One ran for office in Seattle if I remember correctly. Maybe just two.; 10/1/17, 10:59 AM
FullMoon said...: Every once in awhile I run across a Rush hater who had all the usual"racist" and multiple marriages talking points but obviously never listened to him.
I tell them Rush has been married three times to black women and has seven children by them.
Really fucks 'em up.
Only works one time on each moron, though.; 10/1/17, 11:06 AM
Bay Area Guy said...: It's a bit shallow to protest vague injustices. One good rule of thumb is that if you can't articulate what you're protesting, then you are a poseur.

In the late 60s, many youngsters were protesting the Vietnam War.

That was a valid protest.

Here, multi-millionaire NFL players and linking arms with Billionaire owners to disrupt the National Anthem, but what's the cause?

Are they protesting police brutality?

Are they protesting American values?

Are they protesting "racism"?

Are they protesting the election of Donald Trump?

Are they protesting the National Anthem, itself?

Are they protesting the treatment of Colin Kaepernick?

To take a knee during the national anthem, is totally moronic, if you don't explain the injustice towards which your action is directed.

So, if they wanna alienate their fan base, and depress their tv ratings and revenue streams, well, that's up to them; but it would be nice to know what their grievance is and how it could be reasonably addressed, maybe even solved.; 10/1/17, 11:11 AM
Brookzene said...: You need a "Fake patriotism" tag.; 10/1/17, 11:13 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: They are protesting the lies CNN and MSNBC feed them about race.; 10/1/17, 11:16 AM
tim in vermont said...: You need a "Fake patriotism" tag.

And you have to consult Brookie on what is fake and what is real, because no true American would disagree with his judgements on it.; 10/1/17, 11:17 AM
tim in vermont said...: They are protesting the lies CNN and MSNBC feed them about race.

Don't forget ESPN, which, last time I watched it, was more about race than sports.; 10/1/17, 11:18 AM
Achilles said...: It has taken me about 2 weeks to get over the nfl. Every time I saw a game I thought of the millionaire douche bags protesting something. In the end the most specific thing mentioned was police brutality. Whatever. There are several productive things for me to do. Now I just tell people wearing Seahawks stuff I wish the players would honor veterans and the country.

Blue Friday was decidedly less blue than I remember it. I only harassed one pair of fans about supporting cowards that hide in a locker room and lie about racial profiling. The Bennett videos and proof he was a liar really took the wind out of the sails of the SJWs.; 10/1/17, 11:20 AM
tim in vermont said...: Only works one time on each moron, though.

Why, because even morons can work a google machine?; 10/1/17, 11:21 AM
Brookzene said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/1/17, 11:22 AM
rcocean said...: I was surprised at how "Bo" looked. I always imagined him as young, thin, guy like Steve Curry. Of course, its been 25 years, since i started listening.

The NFL owners probably think the fans will be mad for a while and then come back. The NFL's "junkie fans" will need their football fix, and will pay any price to get it.

Could be true.; 10/1/17, 11:25 AM
Achilles said...: Blogger Brookzene said...
"You need a "Fake patriotism" tag."

I know you are happy to destroy the common ground Americans enjoy together. You have won. The NFL is going to wither away.

The left destroys another piece of the country. At least you can be proud of that.

The veteran community is particularly upset by this. You think you win when you divide the country. I don't think you understand what the result of the left cutting every common thread they have with the veteran community would be.; 10/1/17, 11:25 AM
FullMoon said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/1/17, 11:29 AM
Wince said...: It should be pointed out that those players taking a knee to pray never did it during the anthem, much less as a protest.

And there were very clear pre-existing NFL rules for players on appropriate conduct during the anthem before the protests.; 10/1/17, 11:30 AM
Sebastian said...: "deciding that alienating some of the most patriotic people in the country makes good sense for a national sports league" Doesn't he know patriotism is a form of racism?; 10/1/17, 11:37 AM
Jupiter said...: "In the late 60s, many youngsters were protesting the Vietnam War."

Well, in my case, it was more exactly the fact that Lyndon Johnson was claiming the right to enslave me. A lot of people don't know that slavery was outlawed in the US in the 1860s, but the government went right on enslaving young men into the 1970s.; 10/1/17, 11:46 AM
tim in vermont said...: Brookzene will allow the playing of "Imagine" by John Lennon, or "The Internationale" because that would be true patriotism!

International socialists, as opposed the national socialists, hate national flags and anthems. That's the main different between the two branches of socialism.; 10/1/17, 11:47 AM
rcocean said...: Its seems the some of the Dolphins took a Knee during the national anthem in London. But they stood for "God save the Queen".

Bannon just said "actor are dumb as Ticks" - he'll have to expand that to include NFL players.; 10/1/17, 11:48 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: "The NFL owners probably think the fans will be mad for a while and then come back. The NFL's "junkie fans" will need their football fix, and will pay any price to get it.

Could be true."

Is without question true. Sports junkies tend to be apolitical and, like any junkie, will have no problem coming up with a hundred rationalizations for feeding their habit.; 10/1/17, 11:50 AM
robother said...: Bay Area Guy: "if you can't articulate what you're protesting, then you are a poseur."

I remember the early Marlon Brando flick in which he is asked, "what're you rebelling against", and he answers: "Whatya got?"; 10/1/17, 11:51 AM
Michael K said...: The real losers will be black kids who see football as a route out of the ghetto.

White parents are not encouraging boys to play football and I think the colleges are already seeing the trend where black players are more and more the majority of teams. The CTE thing was already a major threat to the sport and this just pisses off the major remaining fan base. The left hates football already.

The other issue that is not talked about yet is the fact that the college sexual assault stories assume white "frat boys" are at fault. Black males are 6% of college students but over 50% of all accused of rape.

Standard leftist sources don't mention race.

Not even CDC mentions the race of the men accused .

You have to dig to find a reference and here is one.

How race plays into the issue of campus sexual assault is almost completely unacknowledged by the government. While the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which regulates how colleges respond to sexual assault, collects a lot of data on race, it does not require colleges and universities to document the race of the accused and accuser in sexual-assault complaints. An OCR investigator told me last year that people at the agency were aware of race as an issue in Title IX cases, but was concerned that it’s “not more of a concern. No one’s tracking it.”

Nobody wants to know.

“Case after Harvard case that has come to my attention, including several in which I have played some advocacy or adjudication role, has involved black male respondents.”

Another Ivy League law professor who has been involved in sexual-assault policy said to me of the issue of race, “Nobody wants to talk about it.” He said students are pushing their boundaries and that many hook up with a partner of a different ethnicity for the first time. But then, “if there is any kind of perceived injury—emotional or physical—when you cross racial lines, there’s likely to be more animus. It needs to be talked about and hasn’t been.” The professor requested anonymity, citing the difficulties of publicly discussing the subject.

Also not mentioned is how many of these black men are athletes.; 10/1/17, 11:55 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Golden is a powerful speaker. And exceedingly articulate and well spoken - I don't remember a verbal filler (e.g. "Uh") in over 15 minutes of video, which Rush would be hard pressed to duplicate, and definitely not any of our recent Presidents. Love his take on Culteral Appropriation - he suggested that if you are ever scolded by Blacks for such, to ask them then if they are willing to give up their cars? Give up electricity?; 10/1/17, 12:03 PM
Francisco D said...: Bay Area Guy wrote: "It's a bit shallow to protest vague injustices. One good rule of thumb is that if you can't articulate what you're protesting, then you are a poseur. "

I could not agree more.

Let me add that if you cannot posit a solution to a perceived injustice, maybe it isn't really an injustice.; 10/1/17, 12:04 PM
ALP said...: Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway? What does it have to do with the game? I don't sing the national anthem before movies or concerts, nor when I am about to sit down to binge on Netflix. Why does this form of entertainment demand you show your love of your country and others do not?

Change the entire practice to a moment of silence so people can ponder whatever they want and get on with the game. Or stop altogether - has no one thought of this?; 10/1/17, 12:14 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: I was also intrigued by the fact that Golden was interviewed by the White wife of the Black conservative on the Supreme Court. I expect that Golden gets some requests for interviews, given that he is Darth Limbaugh's right hand man. Most such requests probably would come from the left, trying to get at Rush through Golden, by pushing the race card to divide them. By concentrating on the fact that Golden is Black, and thus oppressed, and why is Golden working for such a racist. He no doubt knew that he wouldn't get that from Thomas, and, indeed, she was able, as a white woman married to a prominent Black man, to ask racial questions of Golden, that likely would have been offensive if asked by most journalist, esp those race baiting journalists on the left. Plus, Rush has indicated that he knows Justice Thomas personally, which very likely means that he knows Ginni Thomas, and Golden knows both too.; 10/1/17, 12:22 PM
Michael K said...: Change the entire practice to a moment of silence so people can ponder whatever they want and get on with the game. Or stop altogether - has no one thought of this?

That could have been done before. It's too late. The leagues started it and why I'm not sure. Maybe the war. Maybe national unity when times were bad. I don't know.

ESPN, of all places, gave the history in 2011.

THAT STORY BEGINS, as so many tales in modern American sports do, with Babe Ruth. History records various games in which "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played dating from the mid-1800s, but Ruth's last postseason appearances for the Boston Red Sox coincided with the song's first unbreakable bond with the sports world, in 1918. Game 1 of that year's World Series was notable for many reasons. For starters, the Red Sox and the opposing Cubs were considered champs back then. After 1918, they would serve as symbols of futility; neither won a title for the rest of the century. But at the time, the Cubs were so highly regarded that their World Series home was not Wrigley Field (then Weeghman Park), which seated only 14,000 fans; the National League champs instead rented out the White Sox's Comiskey Park, which accommodated about 30,000.

There was also World War I, which blackened everything, including the national pastime. The U.S. had entered the war 17 months earlier, and in that time some 100,000 American soldiers died. Veterans who survived often came home maimed or shell-shocked from encounters with modern warfare's first mechanized mass-killing machines. At home, the public mood was sullen and anxious. The war strained the economy and the workforce, including baseball's. The government began drafting major leaguers for military service that summer and ordered baseball to end the regular season by Labor Day. As a result, the 1918 Series was the lone October Classic played entirely in September.

It's too late now to end it without a lot of rancor.; 10/1/17, 12:28 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: "Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway? "

Because sporting events are proxy wars. The Packers "battle" the Vikings; the Indians "demolish" the Tigers. Fighting language is used to describe all team sports, and not just in America.

Playing the Anthem prior to sporting events is a civic ritual which reminds us that this is not really a war, that the Red Sox fan or Steelers fan or Blues fan next to you is a fellow American. You all stand and pay your respects to the flag - and then you yell and clap when your guys sack the opposing QB or score a run.

It's not like playing national anthems prior to sporting events is some uniquely American ritual either.

Here are Canadian hockey fans singing our Anthem after a microphone failure - a very classy gesture. BTW, American hockey fans returned the favor in Pittsburgh. It's enough to make me want to become a hockey fan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=81CJxa7LRgc; 10/1/17, 12:30 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: Judge Thomas officiated at Rush's 3rd wedding. He is on #4.; 10/1/17, 12:32 PM
Paco Wové said...: "I don't sing the national anthem before movies or concerts, nor when I am about to sit down to binge on Netflix"

For whatever reason, public sports events are different. I remember going to a local league sports event in my midwestern town a few years ago, and not only did we get the anthem, we got a public prayer, with Jesus and everything. The pastor was Korean, IIRC.; 10/1/17, 12:32 PM
gilbar said...: "Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway"
because
because football is a crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war
the ENTIRE POINT of sports conflicts is to take the place of Real conflicts.; 10/1/17, 12:34 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Sports junkies tend to be apolitical and, like any junkie, will have no problem coming up with a hundred rationalizations for feeding their habit.

10/1/17, 11:50 AM

Many will, but you don't need everyone to turn off their TVs and stop buying gear to have an impact. Even a 20 percent loss will hit the NFL hard.; 10/1/17, 12:34 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: Ray said...
Judge Thomas officiated at Rush's 3rd wedding. He is on #4."

Who cares? That's completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.; 10/1/17, 12:36 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway? What does it have to do with the game?"

You have a good point - about the historic basis for this sort of patriotic demonstrations. But now it is traditional, which means that it is now tied to virtue signaling on both sides, and esp the right now. And that is a good part of the problem - that since this has become part of our American tradition, getting rid of it is seen by a bulk of at least the baseball and football fan base as abrogating or denigrating their traditions for partisan reasons. The NFL has essentially openly picked sides in the political/cultural war going on in this country, and they picked the side opposite that of the bulk of their fan base. Dropping the demonstrations of patriotism right now would essentially be declaring victory, and telling those fans "screw you". Which might work if their viewership demographics skewed otherwise, but they don't.; 10/1/17, 12:36 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: I find this worrisome.

Black vs Black fan approval of protests.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/byron-york-on-game-day-new-polls-show-what-americans-think-about-nfl-protests-trump/article/2636189

I hope Trump soon destroys the Overton windows on black on black violence, police shootings historical trends (down hugely over last 30 years), and shootings of police by Race.; 10/1/17, 12:38 PM
Michael K said...: The poll showing blacks approve of the protests by 54 to 46% is a concern and suggests they are swallowing the BLM script.

Too bad. Segregation, here we come.

Blacks have the most to lose if cops back off on policing but they seem to be OK with it.; 10/1/17, 12:47 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: One of the things that Golden pointed out was that the protests by these spoiled NFL players were mostly complete BS. It is political opportunism all the way. Sure, in a very small number of cases, the police take the law into their own hands, and become judge, jury, and executioner. But those very same cops prevent many more killings in poor black inner city communities. Blacks, today in America, are far, far, far more likely to be killed by young Black men (and adolescents) than by the police. And the problem with bad policing crosses racial lines. He pointed to one St Louis example where the cop said he was going to kill his Black victim before he did so, then contrasted this with the case of Big Mike Brown, a thug, who died after physically assaulting a police officer.; 10/1/17, 12:48 PM
Ralph L said...: I'll bet the police in big cities want body cams now. The big problem will be as in the military: the brass will want to run the show directly. Then individual judgment goes away, learning does too.; 10/1/17, 12:57 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Blacks have the most to lose if cops back off on policing but they seem to be OK with it."

My thoughts exactly. I think that maybe the response here should be to ask the Black communities how much policing they want, and then provide it. Very likely, after a bit of that, they will come back begging for more aggressive policing. Currently, they want, and are getting, the best of two worlds - they can demand more safety through vigorous policing, then attack the police when that ends up in the death of Blacks (who turn out to be mostly young Black thugs and criminals). A good example of this were the riots in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, who died while in police custody. State prosecutor Marilyn Mosby dutifully tried the six cops involved for serious crimes up through homicide, despite little evidence to support her charges. What is often forgotten is that the police, at the time, were responding to her requests, made at the request of her city council husband, for increased policing in that area of the city. In short, she requested increased policing, and then persecuted the police when one of her husband's constituents died as a result. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.; 10/1/17, 1:01 PM
Achilles said...: "Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway? What does it have to do with the game?"

Because it is a symbol that we can be one people who are united on the things that really matter and still get together and participate in competition on common ground. That the country is united in it's belief that we are a force for good and a free people.

The reasons why the left hates all of that is obvious. We are infested with international socialism. Black people are being used by people who hate this country.; 10/1/17, 1:13 PM
Francisco D said...: "because football is a crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war. The ENTIRE POINT of sports conflicts is to take the place of Real conflicts."

Sounds like a good idea to me. It would be better if football stayed out of the politics that cause wars.; 10/1/17, 1:15 PM
tim in vermont said...: When seventy thousand Americans gather in one place, a show of national unity seems in order. But that's the real problem, isn't it? Not only must we affirm our brotherhood as a nation, and goodwill towards each the other, but we must accept leftist approved solutions to each and every situation. "Imagine there's no country... I wonder if you can...."; 10/1/17, 1:25 PM
n.n said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/1/17, 1:28 PM
tim in vermont said...: Besides, a lot of the fans liked it.; 10/1/17, 1:29 PM
n.n said...: The rise of anti-nativism and racism on the athletic left will end with a market change of heart and a stop payment for redistributive change to the NFL, owners, and players, and the press that has capitalized on spreading diversity.; 10/1/17, 1:29 PM
Darrell said...: Why do we sing the National Anthem before sporting events?

Because my idea to hold a public execution of Lefty traitors was outvoted.; 10/1/17, 1:53 PM
Anonymous said...: "Why do demonstrations of patriotism have to occur at sports events anyway?"

I read a book - wish I could remember the name - anyway it described a cultural struggle in the 1950s as religion stopped being a unifying force, with the big question at that time being the inclusion of Jews and Catholics. According to this narrative, culture leaders started building a sort of secular alternative - something that could tie us together while not excluding minorities. (I'm guessing they weren't worried about excluding communists at that time - that their proposed solutions are offensive to communists would have seemed like a feature, not a bug).

It seemed like a good solution at the time, apparently. A sort of 'secular sacred'.

It turns out, national cohesion requires shared values. No shared values = no nation.
(As we are apparently about to find out.); 10/1/17, 2:08 PM
ALP said...: Thanks to everyone who responded to my "why do we have to express patriotism at sports events" query. I am not much of a joiner, don't like shallow expressions of profound things, and don't follow sports - the entire thing mystifies me thorough and through.

The existence of sports, specifically the 'my team vs. your team' contrived conflict, is proof our species has a need for warring and will fight over trivial things even if we have to invent something to fight about. So in a way, this current conflict over sit-stand-kneel is just an extension of what sports already is. Got it - crossing that item off my list!; 10/1/17, 2:45 PM
Ray - SoCal said...: The interviewer was Judge Thomas wife, this was to show some relationship between Rush and Judge Thomas.
>Who cares? That's completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.; 10/1/17, 2:58 PM
Achilles said...: Darrell said...
Why do we sing the National Anthem before sporting events?

Because my idea to hold a public execution of Lefty traitors was outvoted.

They think you are joking.

I made my first facebook post in years today. If there is no common ground what happens next? If you take from them everything veterans have in common with everyday Americans it wont end well. The NFL used to be extremely popular in the Army. Negative emotions that result from betrayal mirror the strength of the positive emotions that preceded the act.

What happened to Villanueva is particularly grating.; 10/1/17, 3:14 PM
Michael K said...: "What happened to Villanueva is particularly grating."

They really don't know what is happening. It's a little like the 2016 election. The NFL is certain that nobody will give up football.

Villanueva was evidence they really are as dumb as everyone assumed about football players.; 10/1/17, 4:21 PM
Anonymous said...: "I don't like shallow expressions of profound things"

Then the correct thing to do would be to stand as you are able, as you would if another nation's flag were being honored, while those who find it meaningful engage in the ritual.

It would (will?) be a pretty wretched world if we only show good manners when we really feel like it. Rituals do exist for a reason. (See: "Chesterton's Fence"); 10/1/17, 4:24 PM
Comanche Voter said...: Jupiter says that the draft was enslaving young men. I don't know about the enslaving part, but it was killing some of them.

But Jupiter wake up;in any civil society the bill for various things eventually comes due. I went through high school, college and law school in California in the late 50's and the 60's and it didn't cost me very much. And four months after I graduated from law school my draft notice came through. Our first child was due in another five months. I was just a bit behind the curve as all of the various draft deferments that had kept white middle class kids pretty much out of the draft (Marriage deferement, fatherhood deferment, student deferment(s) expired shortly before I got there. Missed the "marriage deferment" cutoff date by 9 days--but then I've been married to the same lovely woman for 52 years so there is that). I chose not to appeal my draft notice--and set about finding ways to satisfy my military obligation. I had been given a great deal by civil society, and I figured the bill had just come due.

Ultimately society will make its claim; it will draft young men; successful middle class males (and females) get to pay the taxes that support those not so successful (and the top 5%--those "greedy" scumsuckers pay something like 50% of all taxes collected). They buy homes, they raise families, they make and grow businesses, they support the schools and civic organizations.

You may say that is unfair, it's asking you to pay more than your fair share (and I'll admit getting an NVA or Viet Cong bullet between your eyes is a pretty big "payment").

But like it or not, society's bill eventually comes due--and there's nobody else to pick up the check. Maybe not fair, but as Walter Cronkite used to sign off "And that's the way it is."; 10/1/17, 6:17 PM
Martin said...: Jonathan Winters used "garbahge" in commercials for early plastic trash bags in the 1970s--sometimes dressed as a trash collector.

here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZlSP0zTiQI

and a whole bunch from that series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK6AG-BpWOQ; 10/1/17, 7:34 PM
JAORE said...: The NFL's "junkie fans" will need their football fix, and will pay any price to get it.

Yeah it's true.

Now what percent of the fan base are junkies? And is that number sufficient to result in multi-year multi-million dollar contracts?; 10/1/17, 7:44 PM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/2/17, 12:04 AM
exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...: ALP said "The existence of sports, specifically the 'my team vs. your team' contrived conflict, is proof our species has a need for warring and will fight over trivial things even if we have to invent something to fight about."

Sports, at their best, are fun. No, nothing in my personal life changes depending on who wins the Super Bowl or World Series, but it's enjoyable to watch a player catch a Hail Mary pass in the end zone. It's enjoyable to watch a walkoff home run. It's enjoyable to watch talented athletes perform feats you and I couldn't do to save our lives. And it's fun to root for a team.

If you don't get it, you don't get it. I don't demand people like the things I like. Sure, they are trivial. Most pleasures are.

I've sworn off the NFL, and it hasn't been that difficult to do so. But the protests have taken away a pleasure I once had. And I don't consider you to be superior because you never felt or can't understand that particular pleasure. You just sound like a snob and a scold.; 10/2/17, 12:07 AM