Editor’s note: as regular readers will know, I’m always absolutely thrilled to welcome a new writer over on NIDC as part of our Friends of the Blog initiative; and that’s precisely what we’ve got on today’s docket.
In a memorable pop culture takedown, Wisconsinite and podcaster extraordinaire Charles Minnich explores the intersection of celebrity, privilege, and responsibility towards the common good in an unlikely place; the National Football League.
Fourth and Wrong
To tell you the truth, I've been fishing around in my social circles for a left wing popular culture writer for a little while; so when my friend and soon-to-be partner in podcasting crime Mr. Minnich volunteered to cover the Aaron Rodgers COVID story, I snapped at the chance to publish that. While an opinion piece about Rodgers' coronavirus lies might seem out of place on ninaillingworth.com, the truth is that this is a tale that exists inside a vortex of fame, obligations, and the politicization of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. Whether Rodgers intended this or not, his decision to blame the fallout from his reactionary behavior on a rampaging "woke mob," has made this entire story inherently political.
Writing from the perspective of both an informed observer on the left, and a Green Bay Packers fan, our guest author tackles the facts, as well as their larger meaning; and in doing so, drops the hammer on Aaron Rodgers.
"Like everything political in the Badger state, feelings about football and the pandemic are very complicated. Masking and vaccination mandates have driven anti-vax fanatics to their local school boards in ginned-up outrage. With Thanksgiving conversations about football and COVID looming large, it is important to consider the facts of the matter. Aaron Rodgers lied to the public and said he was vaccinated, although he added that he wouldn’t judge those teammates who refused. But that was back in August. Fast forward to today and we come to find out through a positive test for COVID, that he was lying all along. A lie complicated by the knowledgeable complicity of everyone involved, from the Packers players and organization, to league officials."
Check it out over on ninaillingworth.com by clicking on the quotation block above, or the title header below:
Aaron Rodgers and Covid: A Thanksgiving Analysis
nina illingworth
Anarcho-syndicalist writer, critic, and analyst.
You can find my work at NIDC, Can’t You Read, Media Madness and my Patreon Blog
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“It’s ok Willie; swing heil, swing heil…”
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