Don’t dismiss this. Don’t assume that just because it is petty, ridiculous and bizarre that it won’t go somewhere.
We are in a world where even the most innocuous of things get attacked by the swarming, self-righteous, social justice mob and the mob usually wins.
Now anything even remotely considered to be referencing the American South is considered to be an unforgivable trigger to the world of activist snowflakes who are constantly on the lookout for something to be outraged about.
Sound exaggerated? How about the band “Lady Antebellum?”. They changed their name because folks found the term “Antebellum” to be offensive. “Antebellum” is simply Latin for pre-war but because it is considered a southern term, cancel culture rules came into effect.
The band “Dixie Chicks”? Yep. “Dixie” was too much to bear so it was dropped.
Well, the insane social justice mob is running out of things to cancel and they are starting to set their sights wider.
This genius of a Professor from Indiana has decided to post an article linking the name of the Calgary Flames to American civil war battles and Yahoo “news” happily gave him a platform.
The article refers to the name and speaks to a “wound that still burns“. It speaks to how the team was “named for calamity“.
Inflammatory is indeed an apt term for the crap this fellow wrote.
Nobody is feeling that a wound is still burning here. Nobody cares about the winding and distant path with which the name of the Calgary Flames may have a tiny link to a battle of 160 years ago.
No, this clown doesn’t call for the name of the Flames to be changed. He is simply trying to set the stage for that and is hoping that the social justice mob will take up the torch from him. It is no coincidence that he chose the day before the NHL playoffs in order to drop this story.
It seems unlikely that this will grow legs but as can be seen, the social justice set is hoping it does.
We need to stop cowering to the mob. We can’t let the cancellation spread. It is just an article now, but it could be protests against sponsors and lobbying of cowardly local politicians next. Never underestimate how far these idiotic initiatives can get.
Calgary can set an example by telling Christopher J. Young and any other fool who tries to imply that the name of the Calgary Flames is inappropriate in any way.
If we don’t, rest assured they will get there way in the end and when the team name is lost, we will deserve it.