Althouse: People are criticizing Gladys Knight for accepting the invitation to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

January 19, 2019

People are criticizing Gladys Knight for accepting the invitation to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

CNN reports.

My reaction is, in this order: 1. Don't criticize Gladys Knight, 2. Don't make singing the National Anthem into a bad thing, 3. The question of protesting the National Anthem is separate, and if you want to defend the players who have been protesting, you're making a big leap if you go from arguing that the protest is respectful, respectable, and permissible to saying that protest is required and anyone not protesting is to be disrespected, 4. Those who are making that big leap are confirming the fears of the kind of people who worry that once something is permitted we're on a slippery slope to its being required.

50 comments:

tcrosse said...: Reason 1. is sufficient. For my money, Gladys could sing Old Black Joe and it would be fine with me.; 1/19/19, 11:37 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: While Trump is prez, we must make everything dirty and untouchable.

Right, leftwing fascists?; 1/19/19, 11:39 AM
Sebastian said...: "Don't make singing the National Anthem into a bad thing"

Why not? Progs think they are winning the culture war, and this is just one step.

They like the slippery slope and are happy to slide, secure in the knowledge that feminist women will let them get away with it.; 1/19/19, 11:40 AM
Henry said...: Which "people"?; 1/19/19, 11:40 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Reason 1. is sufficient"...

Yeah, I took a long time to get from #1 to my next thought.; 1/19/19, 11:40 AM
The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...: Black People aren’t allowed to be patriotic. ‘Cause they have no stake in this nation. Everybody knows that.; 1/19/19, 11:42 AM
fivewheels said...: I'm anything but a young person, but I might not be quite old enough to get Gladys Knight. Why should she be uniquely immune from criticism or pressure from leftist scolds?; 1/19/19, 11:45 AM
Darrell said...: No Borders, no Walls, no America at all.

--The new Dem platform.; 1/19/19, 11:46 AM
Humperdink said...: If Gladys Knight proceeds with plans to sing this blatantly racist ode to white America, all security precautions should be removed from her.; 1/19/19, 11:48 AM
Anonymous said...: Oh Lord, this shit again?

Nice to see Gladys Knight still performing, though.; 1/19/19, 11:50 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Giving Gladys Knight one last star billing in the Big Time is more important than politics... or much of anything else.; 1/19/19, 11:50 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: Oh come on. The first Tweet that CNN shows is from some complete nutjob with 40 followers. The tweet only has 9 f-ing likes. Is this really news or CNN Fake News?; 1/19/19, 11:51 AM
alanc709 said...: Love the Jim Weatherly songs Gladys Knight and the Pips did. Funny that a white former Ole Miss quarterback wrote songs that fit her so well. "Midnight Train To Georgia", "Neither One of Us", "Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me" are strong memories of my late teens.; 1/19/19, 11:52 AM
Wince said...: I'd give my eye teeth to do that dance with the Pips to Midnight Train to Georgia.

Especially pulling down twice on that train whistle: "Whoo! Whoo!"; 1/19/19, 11:52 AM
Birches said...: How old is she? Reason#1 is sufficient for anyone who's been around that long.; 1/19/19, 11:54 AM
Virgil Hilts said...: Maybe CNN considers it a big story because the second tweet they showed was from someone with 200 followers and the tweet got - gasp! - 18 likes! Oh my gosh, we've really got a story now.; 1/19/19, 11:57 AM
cronus titan said...: Bob Hope had a famous line:

"In California homosexuality is legal. I’m getting out before they make it mandatory.”

When he said it in the early 1960s, it was a joke. If he said it today, he would be both prescient and run out of town on a rail.; 1/19/19, 12:02 PM
buwaya said...: In this world, all your fears should be pre-confirmed.
Someone somewhere really is out to get you. Most likely there are a vast number of people out to get you, for a wide range of reasons. Getting to understand that is just an information-integration problem.; 1/19/19, 12:05 PM
Amadeus 48 said...: Gladys Knight and The Star-Spangled Banner? I can't wait. Who's criticizing her? Oh, it's a bunch of Twitwits.
Yawn.; 1/19/19, 12:06 PM
BJM said...: Too late...the nation stepped on the slippery slope in 2008.; 1/19/19, 12:11 PM
Ralph L said...: I hope she'll have backup singers, since she's so old she might squeak.; 1/19/19, 12:13 PM
gspencer said...: With this year's Superbowl in Atlanta, Gladys is taking that Midnight Train to Georgia where she can find a simpler place and time. And all of Gladys' Pips said, "Woo, Woo"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v78-ftcqpNw; 1/19/19, 12:19 PM
gilbar said...: you go from arguing that the protest is respectful, respectable, and permissible to saying that protest is required and anyone not protesting is to be disrespected

I'm pretty sure that the rule has Always Been:
What is not prohibited, is Mandatory; and what is not mandatory, is Prohibited; 1/19/19, 12:22 PM
buwaya said...: Its not some twitterers that matter here.

CNN is using some random and predictable tweets from cranks as a frame for its own messaging. It is CNN's own propaganda line, put into the form of someones commentary.
You could probably create any point of view story about anything by searching for suitable tweets.

It's the equivalent of the quote-story, based on looking for someone you can quote saying something matching your pre-determined narrative, or perhaps the ransom note made from clipped-out letters.; 1/19/19, 12:23 PM
CJinPA said...: Those who are making that big leap are confirming the fears of the kind of people who worry that once something is permitted we're on a slippery slope to its being required.

True. The same forces at work here can compel billion-dollar corporations to finance ideological ad campaigns. The messages of the various protests and advertisements matters less than demonstrating the power of those behind them.; 1/19/19, 12:28 PM
Amexpat said...: Oh come on. The first Tweet that CNN shows is from some complete nutjob with 40 followers. The tweet only has 9 f-ing likes.

There should be some sort of threshold before this becomes a national story. This isn't even close. There's over 300 million Americans. With that number there are probably 100's of people criticizing almost everything all the time.; 1/19/19, 12:29 PM
rhhardin said...: I say the flag ritual is idiotic in the first place, and the kneeling protest is misguided in its own rights, so don't know who to root for.

No flag respect is the right amount, and getting the facts even slightly right on police shootings is necessary first.; 1/19/19, 12:35 PM
Michael K said...: You could probably create any point of view story about anything by searching for suitable tweets.

The National Anthem is racist.; 1/19/19, 12:35 PM
Derek Kite said...: Who? What are their names? If it is some Twitter handle can someone please get a cream pie and gently apply it to their face, televised?; 1/19/19, 12:36 PM
buwaya said...: Again, this is not about tweets.
That is just a fig-leaf for CNN to write an editorial it can present as news.
This is CNN pushing its message.
Its just a modern version of an old MSM trick.; 1/19/19, 12:43 PM
Leland said...: Some of my favorite renditions of the National Anthem were performed at the Super Bowl. I love the bagpipe intro to Faith Hill at Super Bowl XXXIV. Most people note the Whitney Houston's performance at Super Bowl XXV, as it was days after Desert Storm started and she was phenomenal. Jennifer Hudson at Super Bowl XLIII put some soul into it.; 1/19/19, 12:51 PM
wendybar said...: Liberals are angry about everything, and won't be happy until everyone is as angry as they are.; 1/19/19, 1:00 PM
William said...: In observance of the #metoo movement, I would advise all men of conscience and goodwill to take the knee at ceremonies honoring MLK.; 1/19/19, 1:23 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm protesting the NFL for being wusses about anthem protesters, but Gladys can sing, unlike some of the folks who attempt to put their on spin on the Anthem...; 1/19/19, 1:23 PM
Static Ping said...: Those who are making that big leap are confirming the fears of the kind of people who worry that once something is permitted we're on a slippery slope to its being required.

This is no longer a fear. It is a reality. We have seen it happen repeatedly over the past 20 years and new examples appear daily. Social Justice has not only become a religion substitute but a cult like one for which no dissent is tolerated.

At this point I am very confident that the United States of America and Social Justice are incompatible. One or the other is going to be destroyed. It is simply a matter of how it is going to play out.; 1/19/19, 1:31 PM
Jim at said...: Liberals are angry about everything, and won't be happy until everyone is as angry as they are.

They're not liberals. There is nothing liberal about them. They're leftists.

But, you are correct. Leftists are the most miserable people on the planet and everyone must share their misery.

However - unlike leftists - the rest of us don't deserve it.; 1/19/19, 1:47 PM
FullMoon said...: Here is one I will never forget. Two days after 9/11.
Deplorables, one and all.

Lilian Garcia sings the national anthem: SmackDown, Sept. 13, 2001; 1/19/19, 1:51 PM
Michael said...: What about the Pips, did they take a knee?; 1/19/19, 1:56 PM
Two-eyed Jack said...: I may not be fully in touch with the broad public culture, but the demand that people not only disrespect the American nation, but disrespect the Superbowl seems like a major propaganda error. First, Maroon 5 was criticized for agreeing to perform at halftime, now Gladys Knight for performing at the start. This is not a presidential inaugural or something, this is the American high holiday. This is the sort of honor accorded to great Americans like Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, and the Rolling Stones. The problem with the whole NFL protest is the lack of an exit strategy. The protestors cannot let it dwindle away, so they try to expand it in ways that increase resistance to the protests.; 1/19/19, 2:34 PM
Ralph L said...: What about the Pips, did they take a knee?

They fell and they can't get up.; 1/19/19, 2:58 PM
walter said...: For those wh don't read the article:

"I understand that Mr Kaepernick is protesting two things, and they are police violence and injustice," Knight wrote in the statement.

"It is unfortunate that our national anthem has been dragged into this debate when the distinctive senses of the national anthem and fighting for justice should each stand alone."

Knight also told the magazine she had "been in the forefront" of the battle against inequality "longer than most of those voicing their opinions".

"I pray that this National Anthem will bring us all together in a way never before witnessed and we can move forward and untangle these truths which mean so much to all of us," her statement ended.; 1/19/19, 3:00 PM
cyrus83 said...: When has the left ever been satisfied with something they prefer just being permissible rather than required?

The left already considers the National Anthem a bad thing, will accuse people of being insufficiently woke or privileged if they defend the National Anthem, and are fully counting on that slippery slope to banish it from the public square.; 1/19/19, 4:20 PM
Deevs said...: Is anyone putting pressure on the black NFL players to not show up to the game? I know there are issues of contractual obligation for the players, but isn't it worth the risk if this is such an important cause? Why does Gladys Knight have to sacrifice her paycheck, but not the players?; 1/19/19, 4:51 PM
Maillard Reactionary said...: Professor: You got #2 and #1 in the wrong order, but otherwise I agree. The Left ruins everything, and it is not an accident.

Buwaya @12:05 PM: Henry Kissinger (and possibly others before) said, "Even paranoids can have enemies."

Stay armed, my friend.; 1/19/19, 6:08 PM
MadisonMan said...: Midnight Train to Georgia is such a great song. Play it back to back with Please Come to Boston for some true melancholy! I normally don't watch the Stupor Bowl, but I'll watch her performance afterwards on YouTube which is more than I normally do.; 1/19/19, 6:33 PM
Limited blogger said...: just when you think the left has found the floor, they head to the basement; 1/19/19, 6:56 PM
Ken B said...: Pips-squeaks.; 1/19/19, 7:06 PM
Tina Trent said...: Maoist re-education doesn't retreat.; 1/20/19, 6:11 AM
JAORE said...: Its just a modern version of an old MSM trick.

Or Obama's, "Some people say....".; 1/20/19, 7:40 AM
RobinGoodfellow said...: They should ask her to do the halftime show.; 1/21/19, 4:25 PM