Well that’s a complete lie. They did a promotional video for a city and something about making progress etc. You can say it was bullshit propaganda but it wasn’t them celebrating anything that the Saudis were being criticised for which would be the equivalent of a promotional video for Guantanamo bay.
That’s the issue with the lazy and hypocritical criticisms of WWE doing shows in Saudi Arabia. Because people don’t know much about Saudi Arabia, they’ll pretend everything that has to do with Saudi Arabia is the same thing. A wrestling show in Saudi Arabia must mean they support journalists being killed… sure.
The Tribute To The Troops shows are a lot more problematic. A show specifically for troops invading and killing people in other countries while being a part of the US military, the most murderous group on the planet (that also support Saudi’s war in Yemen). But that’s okay.
Obviously you’ve never listened to John and Wai’s coverage of the Saudi shows. They’ve brought up fantastic discussion points and spoken to guests who have touched upon Image Laundering and Sportswashing.
Bottom line - the WWE is producing shows for Saudi Arabia, and in doing so the company is supporting the regime and the actions of the regime.
As I said, going by that logic why does it mean they’re not somehow supporting and “image laundering” when it comes to Tribute To The Troops? That’s a situation where the show they’re doing is actually related to the issue whereas it isn’t when it comes to the Saudi shows.
As I said, treating everything as if they’re connected when it comes to countries people don’t know much about is lazy. The same standard isn’t applied to western nations. It definitely is hypocritical.
I didn’t say a word about Tribute to the Troops. I think a lot of the pro American military is problematic as well, as is their history of “Evil foreigners” and pro America. I was specifically responding to your comments that insinuated that those disgusted by WWE’s relationship with the Saudi government were feigning their feelings, or ignoring other issues.
I see what you are saying, but its not exactly the same thing.
With tribute to the Troops, the WWE is doing show in an effort to say “thank you” to the Troops themselves, not so much the government.
With the Saudi show, the Saudi government is literally paying them to do the shows, and one of the requirements for the payment was that the WWE produce TV segments specifically talking about how “progressive” the country is.
Now I wont go as far say to say by taking their money is fully supporting them, but its definitely to a degree looking the other way. If I were Vince, I would not have taken that deal.
One is them doing a show specifically for a lot of money, the other is them specifically saying thank you to people that chose to participate in nonsense wars where thousands of innocent people die. I don’t see how the former is a worse reflection of WWE.
I didn’t say they were feigning their feelings. I said they were being lazy and hypocritical by viewing everything in Saudi Arabia as being connected. Even if we are just talking about the government, do you view someone working with one part of a government as someone who’s now also complicit in something bad that another part of the government did? This type of thinking only seems to be applied to non-western countries.
I’ve never been in war before, and I realize that the reason why I haven’t is because people before me lost their lives to make sure I never had to (and I’m not American for the record). Do governments use soldiers for nefarious means? 100%, but I can’t put the level of blame on solders that I may put on a government, its not even in the same stratosphere. I truly believe that a large pertentage of soldiars truly do believe they are fighting for good, so WWE doing a show for the soldiers is not something I am going criticize them for.
Doing a show for a government that openly does the things they do, completely different story and I’m sure you know that.
This whole editing thing really pisses me off. It is part of history. So just leave it alone. I am offended that the 2 world wars happened. That does not mean that all world war history videos should not exist. We can not pretend that Hitler never existed.
If something is offensive than you should not be watching it. Finding moments that would not happen today is part of what makes watching older wrestling interesting.
Why not just pretend that DX never existed because I dont like men telling me to suck it. Or edit out Jerry Lawler doing commentary because he loves talking about how hot the women are. Where exactly will they draw tjhe line on what is offensive and what is not.
Again, I don’t see why people care, especially at this point when we have zero clue on what is actually edited out. It could be like three things, nobody actually knows.
Today it is 3 things but before you know it it will be tons of things. We need to let them know now that it is wrong or it will get worse in the future.
The hypocrisy from western members of the public on Saudi is astounding. Virtually everyone buys products from companies engaging in practices like using sweatshops, avoiding tax and essentially robbing the public purse (hello amazon), voting for regimes that bomb other countries and torture at Guantanamo. Everyone claps like a seal when Snoop appears on wrestling shows, he’s got a charge sheet as long as your arm.
Trying to say the tribute to the troops isnt a pro-america thing is very funny
But sure, taking money from the Saudis needs booing
People can also choose to share their opinions on a forum about sharing opinions. And if differing opinions offend you so much you can choose to ignore them.
FREEDOM!!! (but you’re doing it the wrong way if it’s not my way!!!)
You were suggesting that people could choose to do other things because giving a differing viewpoint on a forum is just a case of pointless complaining and stupid.
It’s the equivalent of me saying “if you feel so strongly about WWE content being bad, you could choose not to watch or you could choose to buy the company and change the content! Commenting on it is pointless”. It’d leave half the forum dead.
I really just don’t understand the how bit airing things that are no longer appropriate or editing it for content is some new issue it has been happening for decades. The history hasn’t been erased it still exists the big difference is your need to look for it rather than it being currently aired. The only change is the information you’re given regarding these changes due to the internet.
As for the history aspect and WW2, having things presented in a historical/educational context and presented as entertainment are wildly different. It is the difference between publishing Nazi propaganda in a text book with explanations, and airing it on TV or radio as entertainment. People going back to watch old WWE episodes aren’t generally doing it to do research on how times have changed and writing a book on the inherent homophobia and racism in the history of wrestling.
Also, the international version is untouched, no?
Like, for people who care one way or another about the edits - could you not just get a VPN and sign up for one of the countless international markets that still have the normal network?