The announcement that Trump will be in attendance at this Sunday’s Super Bowl was followed by the NFL’s announcement that it will remove the stenciled words “END RACISM” from the end zones of Caesar’s Superdome, where the game will be played. In doing this, the NFL joins the long list of organizations and individuals who have acted with what has become known as anticipatory obedience. Of course, the NFL will say that they have chosen to replace the “End Racism” stencil with one that says “Choose Love” because that is a more positive message. However, it seems to be more than coincidental that Sunday’s game will be the first Super Bowl since February 2021 at which “End Racism” will not be in an end zone stencil.
Once again, the question begs to be answered: why do so many powerful people continue to behave in such an obsequious manner towards Trump and his minions? What do they think will happen to them if they stand their ground and act in a principled and respectable way? Don’t they understand that they are abdicating both their power and self-respect when they obey, even before being asked? Don’t they understand that their actions make them collaborators in this new “regime”? Or even worse, do they actually agree with Trump’s overtly racist, self-serving, callous, and illegal actions?
These collaborators and their organizations will be remembered for what they did and did not do when the times called upon them to use their positions of power to stand up for what is right. And how many of us will ignore the NFL’s action and let this slide because it will get in the way of our national love of football, sports betting, and Super Bowl parties, if we become upset?
As for the idea of choosing one’s battles, there is a Native American story that involves an elder explaining to his grandson that there are two wolves that live inside each of us and these wolves constantly battle with each other. One is pure goodness and the other is evil. When the grandson asks which one wins, the elder replies, “the one you feed.”
Perhaps this is a good time to ask ourselves, as Americans, which one are we feeding?
Margot Weiss McClellan
Easton
Write a Letter to the Editor on this Article
We encourage readers to offer their point of view on this article by submitting the following form. Editing is sometimes necessary and is done at the discretion of the editorial staff.