{"id":2941,"date":"2009-10-28T13:34:22","date_gmt":"2009-10-28T13:34:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehogs.net\/blogs\/?p=2941"},"modified":"2025-06-01T21:57:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T01:57:52","slug":"land-of-the-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2009\/10\/28\/land-of-the-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Land of the Free?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As news spreads around the internet, about the propagandist Redskin organization confiscating all forms of ‘Anti-Snyder paraphernalia,’ I wonder to myself again<\/a>, if there is any limit to which this franchise will not sink to.<\/p>\n

For weeks I’ve been blogging and asking for fans to take a long, hard look at not only what the Redskins organization does, but the way in which they do them. The reason I have been doing it is to try to get (more) people to see just how manipulated they have become. Witness the latest debacle…<\/p>\n

It seems that the new mantra of FedEx Field security is to now confiscate any type of anti-Redskin or anti-Snyder merchandise, before it even gets in the door.<\/p>\n

What is this red China? I know that I live in Canada – but I’ve been hearing about the good old U.S of A’s ‘right to free speech’ since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Is this your idea of free speech? And in the nation’s capital? Are you going to take this lying down?<\/p>\n

For years, yes years, I have been telling people about the dangers of the levels of propaganda that the Redskins serve up, and everybody told me that I was making mountains of molehills. It’s not a new thought to me that this level of propaganda serves only to brainwash and desensitize people.<\/p>\n

Is that what you’ve become as a fan? Brainwashed and desensitized? Do you feel manipulated yet? Is this starting to sink in? Have you reached a point of saturation yet?<\/p>\n

This sideshow dog-and-pony act is ONLY to distract you. These things are planned. These things are designed. These things are intended to strip you of your knowledge and rights. You have to stand up and be heard. You have to stand up and let it be known that you’re not being fooled anymore. You have to stand up and realize that you’re being TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF AND EXPLOITED.<\/p>\n

And for your patronage, you receive no respect, thanks, or admiration.<\/p>\n

Not only are Redskin fans no longer allowed to wear any type of ‘anti’ shirts, but the organization also just suddenly decided to enforce a supposed rule that media outlets are not allowed to interview tailgaters. This was first reported by WUSA, and got to me via Dan Steinberg’s D.C. Sports Bog:<\/p>\n

“Tonight the Redskins have seemingly escalated things again; they’ve banned media interviews with tailgating fans on FedEx Field property,” McGinty said. “They told our sports director Brett Haber that this has always been team policy, but when he pointed out that we and other stations, including their very own broadcast partners, have in fact always talked openly to tailgaters, there was, well let’s just say, no further explanation.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The team’s official position is that, your T-shirts are allowed as long as they don’t feature profanity, and much of what reportedly went down Monday night with the confiscating of shirts should not have happened.<\/p>\n

But it did happen.<\/p>\n

Wikipedia’s entry on free speech<\/a> contains the following excerpt<\/p>\n

Based on John Stuart Mill’s arguments, freedom of speech today is understood as a multi-faceted right that includes not only the right to express, or disseminate, information and ideas, but three further distinct aspects:<\/p>\n

* the right to seek information and ideas;
\n* the right to receive information and ideas;
\n* the right to impart information and ideas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All three of those edicts are being cheated, aren’t they? Joe Q. Redskin is being denied ALL of those common decencies.<\/p>\n

Do any of you remember signing up for this crap? Are any of us guilty of anything more than supporting our team?<\/p>\n

I’ve heard and read a lot of garbage lately about how Dan Snyder ‘just wants to win’ and that it’s not necessarily about power and money.<\/p>\n

Wake up.<\/p>\n

If it were about anything else, would you be being expected to give up the right to do as you please? How is that not about power?<\/p>\n

I’ve read things like, ‘This is fascism,” “This is authoritarianism.”<\/p>\n

To me, it’s Machiavellism. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher that opined that, ‘necessary<\/em>, methodical exercise of brute force punishment-and-reward (patronage, clientelism<\/a>, et cetera) to preserve the status quo’ were essential.<\/p>\n

Sound familiar? Ever feel that way as a Redskin fan?<\/p>\n

Lord John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton warned that, ‘Absolute power corrupts absolutely.’<\/p>\n

Especially in Washington.<\/p>\n

I’m reminded of the words of another more modern philosopher, Public Enemy’s Chuck D.:<\/p>\n

Don’t believe the hype – its a sequel
\nAs an equal, can I get this through to you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Chuck D was talking about racism, but the principle is the same…<\/p>\n

Don’t acquiesce to the big power machine and ‘fall in line.’ You have a voice – use it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As news spreads around the internet, about the propagandist Redskin organization confiscating all forms of ‘Anti-Snyder paraphernalia,’ I wonder to myself again, if there is any limit to which this franchise will not sink to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18,622,621,1655],"class_list":["post-2941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-redskins","tag-dan-snyder","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-machiavelli","tag-washington-redskins"],"yoast_head":"\nLand of the Free? | The-Hogs.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2009\/10\/28\/land-of-the-free\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Land of the Free? 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