Let's talk about Trump, the Superbowl, Olympics, and media literacy.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump, the Super Bowl, Olympics, and media literacy.

Oh, what an interesting couple of days in the culture wars. We're not going to go over them in chronological order because, well, as you'll find out, timelines were also in question. The media literacy on the right was on full display.

First up, Green Day. On Super Bowl Sunday, social media was filled with people who said they were very upset by Green Day's political stances and wish they'd just play music. You know, because Green Day is famous for their apolitical music. Many said they were particularly upset when they were watching the Super Bowl. And Green Day's frontman told ICE to quit their jobs. Of all the things that didn't happen while you were watching the game, that didn't happen the most.

People who weren't watching the game saw a clip from days before and wrongly believed it happened during the Super Bowl. Then they made up stories on social media. To the contrary, Green Day actually played their Super Bowl set in a way that limited the most political lines from their music. I know some are upset by that, but let's be real, the people you want to hear those lines are still struggling with the idea that Green Day's music is political. They wouldn't have understood it anyway.

Then we have the Bad Bunny incident. Some on the right were upset when the artist showed up during the halftime show wearing a jersey with the Ocasio on the back. They assumed it was an endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, better known as AOC. It might surprise some on the right to find out that Bad Bunny's last name is not in fact Bunny. The funny part is that the jersey might have actually contained a subtle political reference, just not one they would have got. The number on the jersey was 64. 1964 was a pretty important year for Puerto Rico. Of course, it could have just been random or his mom's birth year.

Now, on to the Olympics. Trump lashed out at an American Olympic athlete. “US Olympic skier Hunter Hess, a real loser, says he doesn't represent the country in the current Winter Olympics. If that's the case, he shouldn't have tried out for the team and it's too bad he's on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. Make America Great Again.”

What Hess actually said was “I think it brings up mixed emotions to represent the US right now, I think. It's a little hard. There's obviously a lot going on that I'm not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren't. I think for me it's more I'm representing my like friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me. All the things that I believe are good about the US. I just think if it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I'm representing it. Just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the US.”

Who in their right mind would want to represent everything going on in the US? Regardless of your political affiliation, you don't want to represent the other side or people doing things you find objectionable. Do you think Trump wants to represent the Americans he calls scumbags? Everybody finds faults with the country and wants those faults corrected. That's patriotism. Blind obedience isn't.

Aside from that, if your entire brand for a decade has been saying that America isn't great and that it needs to be made great again, maybe getting upset when somebody who wants to represent all the things that I believe are good about the US is mixed messaging.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.