Surprising Stuff
On the national scene.
A NFL football player knelt down during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner before a pro game one Sunday. Sporadically, other players followed suit, as the weeks passed. Last Sunday, some players decided to continue the protest (it’s being done to support protests against racism during these difficult racial times), and the President of the U.S. was present. He publicly spoke out against the protestors. In response to that a lot of other players opposed his criticism, and some of the owners of the clubs too. Questions of free speech have been bandied about, but the real issue isn’t about that. It’s about how much control an employer can exercise over an employee, and barring that, how much control an audience can exercise over sports events, via their attendance. Less attendance is less money for all concerned.
Is the general public in support of these few stars doing what they are doing, or not? There’s no question that they have the freedom to do it. There is a question about what price a disagreeing public might charge for the performance. The staff of the GSR is equally divided on the issue, as probably is most of the population of the country. The publisher is not opposed to these gestures, although he also supports the owners of the teams and the audiences taking measures against them if they so choose, just as he feels that it should be legal to burn the American flag, although the person who does so is not going to be welcomed into his home or office.
Cartoon by Terry O’Neill
What’s happening to the shrinking handicapped parking spaces?
Check it out. In general the handicapped parking spaces are now two to three feet narrower than the regular spaces around them. The parking space featured in this issue is the one at the western end of Library Park. Three feet more narrow. The one on Main Street just east of Wrigley, again three feet narrower. The parking spot down on Wrigley near the Riviera Pier. Same thing. Have handicapped people lost their rights? Are not handicapped parking spots not supposed to be wider, because of wheel chairs and the difficulty handicapped people may have getting around? Is this being done on purpose? It certainly can’t be because of anything Sylvia, or her crew, are doing because, well, they are simply not that kind of people.
Person of the Week
Sabrina Waswo is about the best city employee any group of people could possibly want. She’s leaving because the job sucked the life out of her (she could get no clerical or other support). This is the quietest and worst loss Lake Geneva has suffered in the last ten years. We are sad to see her go. And we’re going to hurt like hell about it as times goes by.
I believe there’s several points regarding the whole NFL thing.
First, those people blathering about first amendment “rights” need to actually go back and READ the first amendment. It states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech….” Last time I checked, the NFL isn’t congress and to the best of my knowledge no one is introducing legislation to prohibit it.
Second, an employer has every right to limit one’s “speech” as they see fit when you’re on their time. The owner of a bakery has the right to not want the counter person talking religion while serving customers just as the manager at Best Buy has the right to ban their employees from talking politics while ringing up your purchase. If a person is THAT active or feels THAT strongly about their beliefs, there’s plenty of groups and organizations one can volunteer for as well as numerous social media sources.
Third, free speech/rights is a two way street. If some player feels they have a “right” to take a knee in protest then I also have the right to change the channel and not watch their product. Tuning out the NFL doesn’t make that person a “racist”, it’s a simple matter of exercising their freedom. If an organization like the NFL is going to allow players to exercises their “rights” then they better be prepared for the consequences of doing so, namely lack of viewership and the financial impact.
Most of us watch football as a form of entertainment. We just want to watch the game and get away from “issues” at hand and take a break from the daily grind. Ruining that 3 hours of “peace” usually doesn’t bode well for those doing it.