A Serena Williams tennis match in New York City brings out the aggrieved…those deeply sensitive, politically correct, and permanently pissed individuals ready, willing, and eager to get even for offenses real and imagined from time immemorial. They wait, expectantly, for a signal from Serena for something (anything) to happen that is not totally respectful of Serena’s womanhood, motherhood, and all around personhood so they can join with her to bring down their collective wrath on the disrespecting party…often a hapless male official who is doing his job but has had the bad luck of being on duty when Serena is in danger of losing a tennis match.
If Serena doesn’t win, somebody has to pay.
The braying mob was in full froth last Saturday Night. It wasn’t pretty. Serena lost in the Finals of the US Open and made a big stink. The “offending” umpire was strict but correct at every stage of the proceedings. Serena wasn’t having it. Shaking her finger at the umpire saying…”you will never work a match of mine for the rest of your life.” Implied message: “You are nothing; I am Women’s Sports; you do not exist.” The Sports Commentariat was cowed. The Serena Approved “position” required commentators to compliment Serena for showing “Class” in defeat. Most complied.
The question is: Are you going to believe Serena or your lying eyes?
Phew, got through that. Let’s relax and talk about Mr. Mellow, Steve Bannon. Bannon can’t catch a break. Unlike Serena, Bannon can’t bring the wrath of the aggrieved down on anybody. He has, however, united them in their contempt for him. Bannon has been run off the reservation of polite company by those who are blessed with “correct think.” Why? Because he exists. Reasons aren’t necessary. The man looks like an unmade bed…or as one of the less charitable commenters said, “like a plague ship.”
Isn’t that enough? Hey, if I had to make a living on my looks I’d be living on the street so I’ve got to give that one a BIG NO. Channeling my inner Groucho Marx, the last thing I want to do is agree with the crowd that everybody agrees with. You know, the “correct thinkers.” That’s simply not my Pint of Guinness.
I don’t know, for sure, whether I like Steve Bannon. I do know I don’t like the way he’s been treated by the Queen of Correct at MSNBC and another character assassin over at the New York Times named Bret Stephens. Stephens is a former editor of the Jerusalem Post and after that a hack for Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal. He also happens to be Sheldon Adelson’s favorite American columnist.
Now, Stephens’ presence at the Times invites speculation. Namely, has Sheldon acquired a financial interest in the Times? He has talked publicly about the Times ownership, sharing thoughts with Clinton money guy, and dedicated Israel supporter, Haim Saban. He has also groused, in the past, about the Times’ coverage of Israel. When Sheldon acquired the Las Vegas Review Journal his ownership of that newspaper was reluctantly and belatedly disclosed. Last part of this speculation…Stephens’ presence at the Times is an odd fit. He’s a slasher and character assassin. As a Murdoch hack, he was consistently mega ugly on Obama. Generally speaking not the Times way, which is more idea oriented. But, I digress…
Back to Bannon. He is indisputably brilliant and charismatic. That makes him dangerous to those who are blessed with “correct think”.
Their chosen strategy is to deprive him of oxygen. People might like what he has to say. In a nutshell it goes something like this: the rich should pay more; there is such a thing as the Judeo-Christian Ethic; China is our biggest adversary; immigration should be limited not to be mean but to protect existing American citizens in the working class…supply and demand… increased immigration increases amount of available labor reducing the wages business will pay.
How do I know he’s brilliant? (I’m willing to concede there are people I’m not really wild about who are brilliant. I’m thinking of Alan Dershowitz and former Harvard President Larry Summers. I invite readers to do the same. Separate like from objective assessment of intelligence.) Bannon has two Masters Degrees. One in International Security Studies from Georgetown and an MBA from Harvard.
He was viewed, by his peers at Harvard, as one of the very best, like top three, in the class. When he graduated he was hired by Goldman Sachs even though he was seven years older (he spent seven years in the Navy) than their preferred hiring age. Also, Goldman is not generally known as a hotbed for anti-semites, one of the assortment of charges that has been leveled against Bannon by those blessed with “correct think.”
Enough. Let me leave you with a couple of links to Bannon speaking before groups. The first, a group of African American Businessmen. Maybe some can detect hidden racism. I couldn’t. Next is a clip of Bannon in friendly debate with Lanny Davis, longtime buddy and Yale Law School Classmate of Bill and Hillary going back to before they were married. I don’t think you’ll see a dangerous demagogue there.
CONCLUSION
Bannon was recently disinvited from a New Yorker Magazine Festival of Ideas. A number of Hollywood types said they wouldn’t appear if Bannon was going to be there. Aren’t they precious?
They should have let him speak. The guy is a force. He will be heard. And that is a good thing.
Hang in there Steve Bannon.
Comments are welcome at tomc[at]wednesdayswars[dot]com. Comments will be addressed in subsequent posts.