Major League Baseball has decided to pull the All-Star Game out of Atlanta to punish the city for its new voter laws.
No, this is not The Onion and that statement is not satirical. It’s a cold, hard fact that has left many in awe of how politics and cancel culture can strike at any time.
This time, they have struck Atlanta, The City That Doesn’t Hate. I lived in Atlanta for 14 years and raised my children there. After my son graduated from college, he moved back to what he considered his hometown and loves every day of living in Atlanta. If you’ve never been, it’s a beautiful city with a beautiful mix of cultures. The Black influence is strong in Atlanta, especially so since it became the home of Hip Hop. Tyler Perry is a local celebrity who films all his movies in Atlanta – I have friends who have played extras in those movies and I’m a huge fan of his work.
I mention the Black influence because it’s playing a primary role in the backlash surrounding the new voting procedures put in place by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. As you’ll recall, Georgia was under much scrutiny in the 2021 Presidential election as the notoriously Republican state swung Blue and the popular vote went to President Biden. Georgia went on to elect two new Democrats to the Senate, hugely impacting politics and demonstrating that the state can be quite a powerhouse in a pinch.
After careful consideration of various aspects of the Georgia voting system, Kemp signed new voting laws into place intended to alleviate some of the problems and concerns mostly Republicans had with the previous system. For instance, ballots will now only be sent to voters who request them, versus being automatically sent to everyone. But the biggest change – or at least the one opponents seem to be focused on – is that voting will require a form of ID, where previously it accepted a signature match. The explanation for the change is that the signature match was difficult and time-consuming, leading to exceptionally long lines and waiting times. To compensate, the state is now accepting any of a number of forms of ID, including a Social Security card.
Guess what? This makes Georgia’s voting process MORE inclusive than that of many other states, which require a photo ID, including Delaware, Biden’s home state. His response to Georgia’s new system – “The law amounts to Jim Crow in the 21st century…It’s Un-American…it’s sick.” Yet his own state has stricter voting laws.
Flash forward to last week, when Major League Baseball’s commissioner announced that they are pulling the popular and highly lucrative All-Star Game out of Atlanta in an effort to “boycott” the city for its new voting laws. Black leaders feel the new laws are discriminatory because they restrict voting access of minorities and those of lower socioeconomic groups.
These same leaders and vocal opponents have encouraged everyone to boycott Coca Cola, Delta, and Home Depot, all of whom are based in Atlanta.
So their plan is to financially cripple a city that is half minority and that embraces Black culture and inclusivity? Their plan is to sully the name of private companies whose only sin is having their corporate offices in Atlanta?
Cancel culture rears its ugly head yet again, it seems. Cancel culture says, “Think like us, vote like us, believe as we do, and everything will be okay. Otherwise, look out.”
Remember when varying viewpoints and opinions weren’t only okay, they were celebrated? Remember when sports were just sports? Remember when there were lines between entities when you could vote for whomever you liked and you were respected for doing so?
What is becoming of our Land of the Free? It’s frightening to watch politics and exclusivity permeate every aspect of our lives like an insidious disease. Cancel culture is a cancer, and we have to stop it before it kills our country.
