July 13, 2013 The Go-Gos on How to Alienate Fans By Mark Petrina
Jane Wiedlin plainly does not subscribe to Michael Jordan's dictum that "Republicans buy sneakers, too." The statement was born of Jordan's refusal to bow to media pressure for an overtly pro-Democrat political statement. Jordan peddles athletic shoes. Jordan understands reality.
It seems that Jane Wiedlin does not. Wiedlin is a guitarist for the '80s pop-music group The Go-Gos, formerly (for reasons that will soon become obvious) one of the author's favorite bands. In the midst of a concert in Mountain View, CA on July 9, 2013, Wiedlin expostulated that 2013 is "the best year ever" because it has been a particularly successful one for the homosexual lobby. Apparently, this made it appropriate for Wiedlin explicitly to mock conservatives. Earth to Jane: conservatives buy music, too.
To loud cheering and laughter (that civility for which liberals are famed), Ms. Wiedlin jeered that the worst fears of conservatives, a word she spoke with sneering contempt, were being realized: gay rights, she said with relish, have led not only to man-on-man love, and girl-on-girl love, but man-on-beast love. She averred that she had "made sweet love" with, of all things, a penguin. According to Jane, they were now engaged to be married, and the next song was dedicated to her fiancé, the penguin.
What, exactly, do "gay rights" and conservative-bashing have to do with a pop-music band's concert? Absolutely nothing. However, conventional wisdom allows liberals to politicize and demonize whenever and wherever they please. That's just what we do, they and their enablers say.
Here's a brief, non-political thought experiment to illustrate the cowardice and moral bankruptcy of that argument:
Imagine buying a costly ticket to a formal event put on by a ballroom-dancing club. Imagine attending this expensive fancy-dress ball to enjoy a certain kind of activity in a certain kind of atmosphere. Then imagine your emotions when one of the club's officers grabs the microphone and launches into a lengthy, venomous diatribe against your favorite sports team and its stupid, idiotic fans -- i.e., you.
Most people would condemn such behavior. Quite apart from being completely inappropriate to the occasion, it's always wrong to insult guests -- or fans. Somehow, though, liberalism is exempted from the standards of rational, decent behavior; left-wing politics, regardless how vicious, are considered always appropriate as the national default for public discourse. It is fast becoming impossible for conservatives to follow sports, attend a rock concert, or even to open a novel without feeling besieged and hated, often after paying dearly.
RIGHT'S RIGHT 
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Sat Jul 13, 2013 6:56 pm
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