April 5, 2003
Dale Petroskey, a former Reagan Administration official (who hates it when you mention that about him, in this context) has decided that Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins will not be allowed to attend a 15th Anniversary commemoration of the film "Bull Durham" at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
If read that carefully, the word is "attend". Sarandon and Robbins were not scheduled to speak. They were simply going to attend. Without polling anybody in baseball, Petroskey decided that because both Robbins and Sarandon had made anti-war statements, they can not be allowed to be seen by baseball fans.
It is entirely predictable that the first words out of Petroskey's mouth in defense of his action will include phrases like "I am in favor of freedom of speech" and "I am against censorship" and so on and so on. Have you ever talked to a racists? The first words out of his mouth, on the topic of race, will be "I am not a racist". Think about, "it is not about oil", and "clear skies act", and "security forces".
Of course he is against free speech. That is exactly what Petroskey is doing: suppressing free speech. He is punishing people with whom he has a political disagreement, and trying to prevent baseball fans from being exposed to any ideas other than his own.
Petroskey is not entirely stupid. He immediately announced that no "pro-war" speeches would be allowed either. This, after allowing Ari Fleischer, the White House chief Butt-kisser, to speak last year about the noble Bush agenda. But Robbins and Sarandon were not scheduled to speak. To be truly consistent, he would have to announce that nobody in favor of the war will be allowed to appear at any ceremony at the Hall of Fame either. However, since everybody is either in favor of the war or against the war, that would limit attendance, don't you think?
In a bizarre twist on an already twisted perspective, Petroskey said that the appearance of Sarandon and Robbins could put U.S. troops "in danger". It would be tempting to make fun of the statement, but it's hard to even imagine a satirical explanation for that comment. Does he seriously think Saddam Hussein has some of his spies monitoring Cooperstown for signs of irresolution on the part of the U.S. Marines?
It's a dark moment for our times. Yes, it's funny and stupid and bizarre, but it's also a dark moment. This is McCarthyism plain and simple. We don't actually lock up dissidents (not yet, at least) but we deprive them of podium, profession, or credibility.
You may recall that Michael Moore's book "Stupid White Men" was suppressed by his publisher, Harper Collins, in the aftermath of the World Trade Centre attacks. I'll bet that among the first words out of the publisher's mouth were the phrases "against censorship" and "believe in freedom of speech" and then he went and did the opposite.
You might have been able to argue that Michael Moore's book might not have been welcomed by an America still reeling from a terrorist attack. However, when the librarians of America finally insisted that the book be published (I'm not kidding), it shot to the top of the best-seller lists and stayed there for 9 months.
That's the real danger, isn't it, Mr. Petroskey? When Americans do get a chance to be exposed to decency and common sense, they might just reject assholes like you. Crawl back into your hole where you belong.