Be careful what you wish for. That is something the Democrats in Georgia are waking up to. The new wokeness of Major League Baseball’s decision to jump with both feet into the political circle will have, and in fact, already is having significant ramifications. The ramifications are not what they may have expected. The league, in what they perceive as being socially responsible, has cost the people of Georgia millions in revenue and many jobs. Their decision did not change the law they oppose. The law, the powers that be of the league, clearly have not read. What their decision did do was hurt the people; many of which are the very people they think they are making a tremendous social stand for.
Democrat politicians in Georgia are worried about what it will cost them. They are worried that this mess they started in Georgia has become more costly than they could have dreamed. You see, it is fine to whine and complain if it has no adverse effect on your position, but here, the social warriors have shot themselves in the foot.
How so, you ask? The loss of the All-Star game has angered many Georgians. They have lost a real feather in the State’s cap of hosting the game, and who is to blame? Well, first, Major League Baseball itself. But that blame is getting spread around. The Democrat politicians that cheered the social warrior’s protest against the Georgia law never thought they would get soiled with the fallout – and soiled they are.
They, the Democrat actors, are calling to stop the boycott of Georgia. They seem to have awakened just a bit as to how they have hurt their own citizens, and the citizens are not liable to forget anytime soon just who supported the social justice efforts of the “woke” MLB.
Not only was it financially painful to Georgia citizens, but the chance of Republican candidates being subject to primary challenges is also waning. This is due to the backlash against the Democrats supporting the departure of the All-Star game. Small business is pointing the blame directly where it belongs, on the Democrats that backed the MLB’s decision, including President Biden. The small business community in Atlanta is losing millions. Those businesses are mainly minority-owned.
Moreover, the outrage is spreading. It is spreading in a way that shows there is a cost to being “woke”. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has refused to throw out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers home opener.
He stated, “It is shameful that America’s pastime is not only being influenced by partisan politics but also perpetuating false political narratives. The State of Texas was proud to help MLB host last season’s National League playoff games and the World Series in Arlington. However, I will not participate in an event held by MLB, and the State will not seek to host the All-Star Game or any other MLB special events.”
Governor Abbott also ruled out Texas as a host for the All-Star game. Governor Abbott’s response to the woke cancel culture that several large corporations have sided with (some of those corporate CEOs admitting they have not even read the Georgia law) is not alone. There is now a concerted effort by many Republicans to boycott those corporations that have stepped into the political fray.
What is the lesson here? Businesses should do business. If you fly a plane, then keep them in the air. If you supply soft drinks (Coca-Cola), then do that. If you are a sports organization, then play the game but stay the hell out of politics.
If you run a large multinational corporation, one that stands on the pedestal of wokeness while pocketing profits by looking the other way when dealing with China and the like, be ready to be called out for the hypocrisy that you display. As more and more people, organizations, groups, and politicians become the target of the woke social warriors, those clueless ne’er-do-wells who don’t even understand what they are outraged about, the targeted will stand up and say enough is enough. When that happens, and it has already started, and the woke-weenies begin to see a cost to their moment of social piety, the shoe will be on the proverbial other foot.
I hope they like the fit.
