I have more or less stopped watching Saturday Night Live, but it is intriguing to read that Dave Chappelle, who I find to be very funny, is hosting. What is more intriguing is that a large part of the writing staff has said they will boycott the episode. This is a benefit of youth, and one I'm interested in because I have my own story in this regard.
One of my majors in college (I had 2) was Television Production. I wrote, produced, directed and filled various roles in the studios at the university for both class and the university television network. Top-tier stuff, mind you. The kind of stuff you watch at 1am in the dorm lobby when you're half in the bag or snogging with your latest love interest. Nevertheless, it's what you did to learn the ropes. Back then, I was hoping to make documentaries.
One day I had to prepare a news piece for the 1984 election. It was a talk show with some local luminaries talking about various topics like nuclear war (it was right around the time that ABC ran The Day After, which some of you may remember), feeding the poor/welfare, deficits, etc. Standard fodder for any political news program. One fellow who showed up hung flyers on the set showing elephants dropping nuclear bombs on poor people of the world. I took them down. He put them back up, I took them down. My job was set design and management. The producer that day, a fellow student, came by and asked what I was doing. I told him the set was my responsibility and I felt the flyers would imply a bias of the programming, and that they personally offended my own sensibilities. The producer told me to honor the guests' wishes and put them up. I told him "since this is my set, then I'm asking to be relieved of my responsibility, I'd rather sit this one out."
At this point, the professor was called in, a man I knew well and respected. I had him several times over the years and he was reasonable. He asked what the problem was, and we told him. He looked at me and said "Are you willing to take an "F" for today's class if you leave?" I said no, I didn't think that was fair (a term I believed existed back then) and that these flyers offended not only my sensibilities, but would offend those of viewers, making the program seem partisan. He nodded and said "they may, but the producer is in charge. In the real world, if you don't listen to him, he can fire you. So, if this was the real world, you'd lose your job. I'm only giving you an F for today." I nodded, said I'd accept the "F" and left the set.
Later, he called me to his office and talked with me. He said he admired my stand, and admired my sense of impartiality, but that I had a lot to learn about the real world if I thought I could get away with that kind of behavior. He was every bit teaching me a life lesson. We had a good chat, and I learned a lot from that experience. I wouldn't say I've taken it all to heart - I still stand up, when needed, to make a point. I'm just more careful about the how, why, when or where. I survived an "F" for one class, but replacing a job I lost for cause would be more difficult.
Today, that's not a problem, apparently. At least not if you're of the "proper" political sentiment. That is, not if you're Woke, CRT believing, use the right pronouns, are outspoken about how not trans/bi/homophobic you are or, at very least, a Democrat of some standing. Then you can take a stand of ANY kind, no matter how outlandish and ridiculous, and not expect many consequences and repercussions.
On the other hand, we can all see what Elon Musk is going through - but he owns his company(ies) and can do as he pleases. Within limits of government regulation, of course. But if Elon did anything remotely close to this kind of thing as an employee of a firm, he'd have been tossed aside without a thought. Even with his position, we can see how the politicization of everyday life is slowly creeping up on him. Dr. Zhivago, as a real life experience, is not far...
I don't expect the little whining brats at Saturday Night Live will be shown the door, or threatened with their jobs. They will whimper and complain and tweet and stomp their feet like the petulant little wimps they are. People will agree with them and admire their stand and call them "heroes". But if one of them were to take a stand against a skit promoting abortion rights - well, I'm sure the producers would have no problems saying "don't let the door hit you in the ass...or do let it, we don't care."
It's a serious problem of culture that we face today and it's why I continue to make comparisons between the Democrats and the Jacobins. They aren't that far apart. No, they aren't chopping off heads, YET. I say YET because if they could do that and get away with it, I know they would. For now, destroying reputations, careers, and lives is enough for them. Protecting their own, within limits, is what they do. But go astray even slightly (like Dave Chappelle did, or JK Rowling did, or Ricky Gervais did) and these people will eat their own for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are without a doubt dangerous people.
Identifying who "they" are is difficult. They hide in plain sight. In groups. "The writers of SNL" - yes, we can identify who they are, but we can't identify which are boycotting. They are often careful about how they position themselves. Plausible deniability is strong with them. Moral Superiority is their cloak. Logical Fallacies are their armor. They can do as they please until they cross the ever-changing fine lines that intersectionality creates. They are modern Bolsheviks, wrapped in a cloak of Progressivism, and hiding under the hut of the Democratic Party.
My experience was one which was useful and a life lesson. It is nothing like the experience these childish whiners get to experience. The benefit of youth.
