Isms

“Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus. I'd still have to bum rides off people.” -- Ferris Bueller

This is what we do now.

You disagree with something? You will get labeled.

Activist. Facist. Racist. Mysoginost. Sexist. Pacifist. Anarchist. The list goes on.

For the record, I agreed with Gayle King asking Lisa Leslie about Kobe Bryant's sexual assault of 2003. If it was good enough for nearly everyone to condemn Don Imus as a "racist scumbag" or "racist a$$hole" then Kobe's assault charge is fair game also.

I also saw plenty about Kirk Douglas and the rumor that he raped Natalie Wood years ago, with some saying he did it, and no backing out of it. If you disagreed, you would be blocked. This happened literally hours after the report emerged that the actor had died.

Yes. Land of the free. Home of the guilty before proven otherwise.

Many (me) live in near fear of speaking in basically any regard because we'll be marked as...um...something.

If I tell you I'm not in favor of all baseball wearing 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson, then I'm a racist. That's logical? No, it actually isn't. I know what's in my heart.

Now, let me add to that. I actually think baseball can do something great by having each team name one person the honorary number 42 on April 15. Call it "The Spirit of Jackie." It can then be a featured part of the ceremony, and used as a moment to teach more about Jackie and others who blazed the trail.

The same was in play last Sunday. Don't like J. Lo and Shakira? You're sexist, and probably xenophobic -- ESPECIALLY if you were a white male and didn't like their performance somehow.

It's like simple opinions can't be handled.

Oh, right. That's because they can't.

But these "ists" and "isms" can damage people. They can destroy reputations and lives.

They have destroyed reputations and lives.

And thus, here's U.S. Senator Corey Booker immediately calling people misogynist because they questioned Gayle King.

I saw something similar regarding Jessica Mendoza departing the Mets and stepping into what's being called a bigger role at ESPN.

Look, I'm not a fan of either person but I do think Gayle King asked a fair question and was set up to fail by CBS. She'll be fine in the long run, but she actually had Snoop Dog threatening her -- yes, literally threatening her. Is that OK, Sen. Booker? I'll just leave that one open-ended for you to ponder.

As for Mendoza, I stand by my belief that she's fine in the right places but was never right on Sunday Night Baseball. But I'm misogynist if I object to her based on talent?

It's troubling. That's also part of the world we live in today -- both sides of the stupid "aisle."

It's become the low-hanging fruit to immediately drop misogynist or racist charges on people.

And that, friends, is a large -- VERY LARGE -- part of what is wrong with our world in 2020.

Once again, I ask: What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?