It’s no secret that Americans are very divided on politics. I wish I knew how to fix that, but I don’t. I don’t think anyone does.
But now politics are showing up in all kinds of places that politics don’t belong. Conspiracies and other kinds of crazy talk are popping up in the silliest places imaginable.
Some of the dumber ones I’ve seen/ heard lately:
The Dilbert comic strip has been cancelled because of some woke thing (actual reasons unclear). While it IS true that around 80 newspapers will no longer be carrying Dilbert, anywhere from 8 to 12 others were also eliminated as a cost saving measure. Dilbert is still available in many daily papers as well as on its own website and other places. i.e. , it still exists.
The recent hurricanes show why electric cars are bad and Biden is stupid. First, using a natural disaster to promote a political agenda is pretty awful to begin with. People have died. Many more have lost everything. But sure, make it about your freedom of expression to say stupid things online. Second, this one doesn’t track at all. Gas stations can’t pump gas without electricity. The few people I know who have Teslas have solar powered home charging stations. And yes, I’m sure some of those solar panels got damaged in the storm, but given the photos of damage, you’re a pretty shitty person if you saw those and thought it was a good time to mock Biden.
Lizzo playing James Madison’s crystal flute. Lizzo is a hugely successful singer and rapper. She is also a classically trained, exceptional flautist who took private lessons from renowned experts and at one time considered classical music performance as a career. She frequently plays flute in her music. The Library of Congress invited her to come play the crystal flute – along with several others in their collection- and arranged for her to use it during her Washington DC concert the following after hearing her play and being sure she could handle it correctly. People claimed she was “desecrating” history. I honestly don’t know any anyone is flipping out over this. I can’t find any logical explanation other than racism wrapped up in political speak. If you have an issue with a black women performing a former slave owner’s antique flute you have the issue, not her.
Politics have their place. But just like pineapple doesn’t belong on a pizza, political conspiracy theories don’t belong a lot of places. In the words of Freud, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.