How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
The stature of Chicago on a national scale has taken a massive blow lately.
Editorials in publications like the Wall Street Journal––with a moderate opinion page––expose the failings of policymakers. A “WTF is going on in your city?” question invariably comes up at some point in conversations I have with out-of-town friends (although I haven’t been a Chicago resident in 12 years, the attachment never goes away). The “narrative,” as ubiquitously repeated by pundits on a continuous loop, is one of fractured chaos and bungled leadership.
It’s an earned one. What’s happening in regards to crime, taxes and foolish progressive directives is real.
But what’s more troubling is the behavioral offshoot of reputational damage: entrenched tribalism.
The Bible is the first written expression of the phrase “with us or against us.” Other iterations of the phrase has been attributed to dictators like Mussolini and past president George W. Bush after 9/11. They were said during moments of great conflict and used as a means to stir up nationalistic pride.
We are not at war. But the sentiment is similar.
I’m talking about the refusal by blind loyalists to acknowledge reality, to accept current circumstances as they are. It’s as if admission is a sign of infidelity.
I’ve had endless interactions with The Submissives on social media since I began questioning Covid-related policymaking in this newsletter over three years ago. But even then, at the height of the Hysteria, the sheep acted somewhat civil. They were basically scared little men and women whom misguidedly would source Fauci and the CDC, copy and paste “we should trust the science” and eventually tap out if things got to intellectually challenging.
It seems different now. It’s nastier. The crazies that are left are more emboldened. And defensive.
No better example than what happened recently with personalities on The Score, the all-sports station in Chicago.
Hosts of the “Spiegel and Parkins” afternoon show got in a spat with Dan Proft, morning host at WIND-AM 560.
Things escalated to the point where a producer on the show, a half-wit named Shane Riordan said he wanted to “bone” Proft’s mother. She died about a decade ago.
We can’t ignore the catalyst of the incident: ideological divide. Proft is a well-known conservative radio host and GOP strategist. The Score, at one point a place of rational conversation with thought-provoking hosts, has evolved into a spit-sty of leftist propaganda masquerading as a sport talk station.
At any whiff of oppositional opinion, they pounce. They are aspirant Tony Sopranos hiding behind microphones and keyboards––insular, vile and extreme.
Their daily creed: either bend the knee or get the fuck out.
(What the dopes at The Score don’t get is how it’s OK to criticize your city or hometown and still appreciate it's virtues. We condemn because we care. Discernment, how to parse information and attack the argument, not the person, are basic lessons learned in high school debate class. Those skills must not be a pre-requisite to holding a job at that radio station.)
These tribalistic behaviors are long in the making. It’s a result of decades of gerrymandering and one-party leadership. Candidates pick voters, not the other way around. Throw in smoldering heaps of social media––its structural echo chamber allowing for the consumption of content that confirm biases rather than encourages critical thinking––and we’ve lost the spirit of compromise and any ability to see other’s point of view.
And so we’re left with someone on the radio thinking it’s OK to say he wants to “bone” another man’s dead mom.
We can fix these problems but it requires new forms of civil leadership. That isn’t happening in Illinois or in states with oligarchic diplomacy.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. America’s Surprise Revival: The Suburbs.
For decades, the prevailing belief––backed by data––was how freshly degreed college graduates move to American cities where the white collar jobs are. Once they get hitched to a life partner, they eventually move to the suburbs, settle into a single family home, weekend barbecues and tee-ball games. That’s all still happening, although much sooner, according to census data. From a NY Times article that states how for working-age college graduates, “the pool leaving (cities) grows faster, that educational advantage is eroding. Boston’s pull with college graduates has weakened. Seattle’s edge vanished during the pandemic. And the analysis shows San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Washington all crossing a significant threshold: More college-educated workers left than moved in.” As a long time urban dweller now converted suburbanite, the singular upshot to rural living is bountiful supplies of free parking. I miss my neighborhood pubs but not at the expense of free parking.
2. Florida Teacher Under Investigation For Showing Movie In Class.
Hyper-partisanship rarely allows for concession when ideology overtakes common sense. Politics are a game of public box-checking; if the approved candidate endorses a policy, we must press the like button regardless even if privately, we know it to be silly. The situation with a teacher in Florida encapsulates where we are as a country and our oftentimes embarrassing tribalism (it works both ways). A fifth- grade teacher showed a film to her class titled Strange World. Apparently, the movie has a gay character. She’s now under investigation and by Florida law, could have her teaching license revoked. As Time reports, if bother to review the facts, this situation is more innocent than a case of indoctrination. Hope reason wins the day here and the woman keeps her job.
3. Feet Lost And Found In The Pacific Northwest.
Imagine taking a walk along the beach and spotting a body part covered by a sock and shoe. In the space of 15 months near Vancouver, seven feet clad in socks and sneakers washed ashore. The ingredients for a horror story are all here: the Pacific Northwest has the most serial killers in the US; British Columbia has the most missing persons in Canada. From the creepily compelling read via Outside, "four of the feet match: one pair of women’s feet, one pair of men’s. That’s seven feet that were once attached to five bodies."
4. Give Me Taco Tuesday Or Give Me Death.
The taco wars are alive and well! Here’s the scoop: Taco Bell is suing to cancel two trademarks over the phrase “Taco Tuesday,” which the restaurant argues is a common term and not identified with the brand that owns it and thus no longer a trademark. Four decades ago, a restaurant in New Jersey got a trademark for “Taco Tuesday” and then the owner of Taco John’s got the copyright in the other 49 states soon thereafter. Taco John’s has been aggressive in defending their trademark, sending cease and desists around the country for restaurants that dared consecrate Tuesdays with tacos. Taco Bell, with its 15,638 eateries that sell food that occasionally looks and tastes like tacos, is hoping to free the phrase up from Taco John’s, which has around 400 locations. Got it? Feel free use the hashtags #TacoWars or #FreeTheTaco to advocate on your social media platform of choice.
5. Top 25 Best Comedy Films Of All-Time.
We like our lists on The Six and here’s one of comedy films. Any good list contains cringe-worthy inclusions such as, in this one from Far Out, the generally unfunny “Bridesmaids” and “Paper Moon.” There are noteworthy exclusions from this list like “Wedding Crashers” and the selection of only one John Hughes film (“Ferris Bueller” easily should have made the list but did not). But these opinions are a matter of personal taste and the list author deserves kudos for having “Airplane” and “Spinal Tap” No. 1 and 2.
6. The Village People Vs. Trump.
The chaos cloud that hovers around former President Donald Trump has now annoyed one of our country’s most traditional bastions of expressive freedom: The Village People. The popular 70’s disco group sent their latest cease-and-desist letter to The Donald, demanding he stop using their music at political rallies. If I were advising TVP, I’d be happy with the extra stream boost “YMCA” gets at MAGA events, keep my mouth shut and cash checks. A few years ago, Saturday Night Live hilariously lampooned the whole charade. Trump is back in our lives full throttle and the entertainment sector secretly celebrates.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.