Let the Boycotts Begin?
Last night, a good man lost his job because a bad man has thin skin.
Late night talk show host Stephen Colbert aired its final show.
According to CBS, his television show was cancelled because it was losing money.
Everyone knows the real reason.
The president didn’t like the jokes Colbert made at his expense.
Jokes that were true and satire that hit too close to home.
In this pseudo democratic society, the president was able to apply leverage to CBS/Paramount resulting in Colbert losing his job.
We knew the end was coming, and much of the entertainment industry rallied around Colbert in the runup to his final show.
Paul McCartney appeared in the final episode and symbolically turned off the lights in the theater where the show was filmed.
Stephen Colbert lost his show because we have a fascist president who wants to control our media.
Controlling media is a hallmark of fascism.
CBS, which used to be called the Tiffany Network for the perceived higher quality of their programming and their undeniably excellent journalists, caved to presidential pressure.
The Ellison family are the network’s new owners, and their leadership has proven to be disastrous.
Hiring right-wing journalist Bari Weiss to run CBS News has led to mass firings which has led to mass resignations which has led to partisan staffing which has led to much lower ratings.
The current iteration of CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil is worse than a dumpster fire.
He shouldn’t be allowed to serve coffee in their commissary, much less anchor the national news.
The network is replacing Colbert with a show featuring standup comics.
Raise your hand if you expect it to be funny.
CBS broadcasts extremely popular television shows.
Its cousin Paramount Plus broadcasts other notable programs including the popular Yellowstone series and fights from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
There are many calls to boycott CBS/Paramount.
College football is facing a comparable situation as some Black community leaders are calling for a boycott of the SEC and other Southern-based college sports leagues because of southern states’ gerrymandering of voting districts.
These leaders point out the hypocrisy of southern colleges and universities expecting Black players to play for Georgia, Alabama, and the like while their voting rights and other civil rights are being stripped away.
Like many Black patrons, I have mixed feelings about these prospective boycotts.
I’m a huge UFC fan and a huge Georgia Bulldogs fan.
But I’m also Black - first, last, and always.
Action needs to be taken that will cause people in corridors of power to demand change.
I can’t say that boycotts are the best or only answer, but we must consider the use of boycotts.
Why should we watch programming from networks that pander to a racist president?
Why should Black dollars be spent on companies that only recognize the color of dollars and cents?
As much as we love sports, is supporting our favorite SEC team more important than protesting for equal rights?
These are questions that are only answered in the quietness of hearts and minds.
But consideration must be given as to whether hearts and minds can be at peace while discrimination and injustice run rampant.