Super Bowl — Super Bad
February 4, 2004
The talk-shows on Monday were all abuzz with women who were offended because Janet Jackson had her costume top ripped off during the spectacle, thus exposing her breast. I agree that the women had a right to be offended, but…. Where were those women’s voices when TV networks and print media were saturating us with “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”? The mere title of that show is enough to make me want to vomit. But, women were largely silent. It was the usual “Rodney King syndrome”: can’t we all just get along? That show survives on TV because enough women in this country have some sort of peculiar fascination with effeminate men; thus, advertisers sponsor the spectacle. Some women just can’t resist that curiosity. (Then, they sit around in break rooms and beauty shops and wonder, “Where have all the real men gone?”)
Now, though, women have something to be offended about, and they are calling talk-shows, and local stations, and the CBS complaint line. The phone lines are jammed. Good for them. Men should call, too, because what happened during that show was the exposure — in prime time — of millions of unsuspecting children to a concept known as the “rape fantasy”. That dangerous seed has been planted, by the use of vivid imagery, and it will take diligent efforts on the parts of parents to neutralize its effect. That was one of the damages caused by this incident.
Believe it or not, I’ve already heard some women wondering aloud if the fuss is unwarranted. They ask, “Couldn’t it have been an accident?” Those women, of course, suffer from an intense dose of the aforementioned Rodney King syndrome. They don’t care if society is falling apart all around them — just so long as the cashier honors their coupons. The thought of standing up to somebody is so “unpleasant” for them; they would rather not be “inconvenienced” by even the thought of doing so much as making a phone call. And, they’ll nag the ears off any husband that tries to take action.
Just for the record, there is no way it was an accident. At one point, there were dozens of people on the stage, moving in vivid fashion. If those movements had not been carefully planned and rehearsed, then someone would have been knocked off the stage — or hit by a flying arm, leg, musical instrument, etc. Nope. They meant to do it. And, as I said on a talk-radio show on Monday morning, I think it was planned for a reason. Why? Well, if the headlines are filled with all the buzz about Janet Jackson’s exhibitionism, then there won’t be any room for discussions of Michael Jackson’s pedophilia. What a coincidence. It appears to me that she “fell on a grenade” for her brother.
By the time this gets published, all of the big-name pundits will have had their say on the topic of Janet Jackson’s costume. But, here is what I think men should be offended by: where is all the fuss about the other serious misdeed that occurred during that same half-time spectacle? (So far, relatively little has been said about it.)
The misdeed to which I refer is that of Kid Rock’s defacing of the American flag. While on-stage, he displayed a flag that had a hole ripped through the center. He took that flag, put his head through the hole, and wore the flag like a Mexican serape. And, just to add a little extra salt to the wound, the flag was backwards. (When hanging over his sweaty body, the blue was to the flag’s own left. Flag etiquette requires that the blue field be displayed with the blue to the flag’s own right. But, that same flag etiquette prohibits any actions like those of Kid Rock.)
There was a time in America when doing such an act at in public place — especially a football stadium in Texas — would have gotten the performer arrested before the song even ended. (And, the arrest would have been a preventive measure to keep hundreds of people in the audience from pummeling the schmuck.) Nowadays, his actions were able to get him cheers of approval. The network TV cameras were not turned off when he insulted the blood of every American soldier (and policeman, and firefighter). If the broadcast field director for CBS had turned off the camera when that “boob” was on the stage, then all of the offended women would never have seen the other boob that has caused such a fuss.
And, I can tell you from personal experience that Kid Rock is just that: a boob. While on assignment for another publication, I covered the Johnny Cash memorial event here in Nashville. In the media room, another writer asked Kid Rock for his opinion of the “Cash legacy”. Before answering the question, Kid Rock had to ask a question of his own: “I’m sorry, what does ‘legacy’ mean?” I’m not kidding! He did not know what the word meant. (This is in show business, where every performer hopes to leave some kind of legacy.)
But, the irony continues. The career of Kid Rock received a major boost by his association with the late Johnny Cash. That man was many things — some of them astoundingly complex — but he was clearly and simply an American patriot. My gut tells me that, if Johnny Cash had been on stage when Kid Rock dishonored the flag, Johnny would’ve turned that Kid over his knee and given him the spanking he deserves. But, so far, Kid Rock has not received much of a spanking.
My hope is that the careers of the sub-moral Janet Jackson, her sub-human brother Michael, and the sub-intellectual Kid Rock will quickly vaporize like the dry ice they use onstage. While various factions argue about the societal effects of Janet Jackson’s assisted disrobing, there should be no argument that Kid Rock has insulted every American citizen. (I hope the act becomes an “assisted suicide” for Janet’s career.) Thus, their careers should go the way of the Dixie Chicks, who managed to implode the sales of their records by bad-mouthing President Bush in a foreign country during time of war. When he shredded the American flag, Kid Rock should be reminded that his act was also done during time of war. And, now, it’s time for America to wage war on him and the people behind him.
The “official biography” on his Web site contains almost no biographical information. Instead, it is a page full of hype about the “quality” of his “music”. But, near the bottom (of course) is this statement. “Kid Rock has been loud and proud in his support of the men and women of the United States Military”. Oh, really? So, he apparently considers defacing the flag a form of support. Perhaps “the original Pimp of the Nation”, as he calls himself, needs to be reminded that the American flag is also draped over military coffins. Would he consider it “art” to rip one of those, too?
I have saluted the flag at various installations — urban and remote, Stateside and overseas — and have participated in honor guards at funerals, parades, and memorials. I remember seeing my first American sunrise in Saint Louis — and shedding a tear when we later flew over the Statue of Liberty — upon return from a year in Korea. There is a military cemetery on the north side of Nashville, where hundreds of American flags stand in neat rows on special days. The people in those graves did not die to support someone like Kid Rock — although they did support his right to be able to become just another boob on TV. But, what a terrible cheapening of their sacrifice.
Speaking of cheapening… I was there when Kid Rock was interviewed at the Johnny Cash memorial. He spoke about what a big influence Johnny had been on his life and music. If he was such a big influence, then why is there not one mention of Johnny Cash on Kid Rock’s “official biography”? There is also not one mention of Cash on the “official timeline”. (Of course, at the memorial, another “friend” of Johnny Cash was too drunk to deliver the words to a song tribute — even though there was a teleprompter right in front of him.) It seems that certain segments of our society, starting with the entertainment “industry”, have misplaced the concept and meaning of honor.
So, what better way to put this guy in his place than to do to his music what he has done to our American flag? Cheapen it! And, my hope is that the Cash family will lead the charge by ostracizing Kid Rock from the Nashville music community. According to his Web site, Kid Rock is signed on with Atlantic Records. They also carry bands with names like: Twista, Payable on Death, Poison, and Kamikaze. (Does anyone else see a pattern there?) OK, so these people are apparently quite proud of their “culture of death”. Fine. I’m calling for a boycott of all Atlantic record sales. And, I’m asking the USO not to book any more shows for him at military bases. (Every military member or veteran that agrees with me should smash any of his records in your possession.) Let’s see what happens when their records stop selling, and Kid Rock’s career dies. As long as this guy is bringing in money for some bunch of “suits” in New York (there are plenty of them running around Nashville, too), they will pretend to be his friend. But, when the money stops, so will the phone calls, the parties, and the rides in the fancy vehicles. And, eventually, so will the groceries. Then, this guy will have to put all those muscles to work actually doing something productive. What a shock. And, what a legacy.
Imagine — a big, strong, fit man having to do real work for a living, instead of providing senseless “entertainment”. And, I guess that brings us back to where we started: the Super Bowl.
