If we’re not going to call Apollo Crews’ toss powerbomb the “Crewsin for a Brusin”, what are we even doing here?!
I loved the first hour. I love using the platform to educate using educated, experienced voices. Great job.
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Bullshit.
They could have put out a statement that sounded like a normal human being for one. Secondly, just say “Black Lives Matter”! Just use that phrase. There is no downside to doing it.
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C’mon man, that is bogus and you know it. If WWE put out a statement saying Black Lives Matter, they would still be attacked. From the racists and from those who will say they are being fake and ask them why they don’t treat their black performers better.
They probably deserve it, for the stances thy have taken on things in the past, but let’s not pretend like they could have done anything right here.
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WWE area
also that café support algorithm IS BOGUS
Cafeball
Thanks so much @wai0937, @johnpollock, and most importantly @PodFatherSOH and @ADThompson.
The discussions I hear about the world around us whether it be covid, world politics, and now racial inequality and injustice keep me engaged with this community. This is FAR more than just a wrestling website for me. John’s comments about waiting too long to speak in particular hit home for me.
I really hate that the guys felt compelled to provide a disclaimer at the start of the show about time stamps. As I listened to the four guys and in particular Nate and Andrew’s frank discussion of their life experiences, in the back of my head, I kept thinking of trolls and jerks who may be thinking “why is this on a wrestling podcast?” There is plenty of wrestling material out there but I am a patron here not to “escape” as John mentioned in the raw recap but to feel a part of something larger
than myself.
The events of the past week make it clear we all need to speak up and more importantly LISTEN when it comes to isues of inequality and injustice.
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As for racists, fuck em. I am seeing a lot of places and people scared to speak up for fear of alienating a group of fans. It’s crazy that companies done have the balls to speak up. This isn’t politics, it’s right vs wrong.
I think the other crowd… Well, that’s fair - but I also think the issue is that WWE has become masters of robotic speech that feels fake. Stephanie is the embodiment of it. And this statement feels like the epitome of lots of words, but no conviction. Avoiding the actual BLM phrase proves that.
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John and Wai have done an amazing job at being a socially conscious and socially aware podcast. From breaking down the Saudi issues, to navigating COVID, and now this. They refuse to accept “smiles on faces” and actually do a good job informing and making people aware of issues at hand.
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I agree with this part. They definitely put themselves in this “no-win” situation, but we can’t act like they aren’t in it. Make a statement and it’s insincere BS. Don’t make a statement and “silence is complicit”.
If they want to use this as an actual stepping stone to change (meaning real actions, not words and not putting a fake wrestling belt on a black guy), then I’m all for that. But I’m not hopeful.
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I’d also think it would be a perfect time to acknowledge their own mistakes in terms of racism in the past. Acknowledge that they made mistakes with how people of different ethnicities were portrayed, and presented - and promise to work on changing that.
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I’m sorry man, but there is no way. Maybe you wouldn’t jump down their throats, but fans but other fans would. @Rated_R_Poster is 100% right here.
I feel like my post upset you. I wasn’t trying to offend anyone, I’m basing my opinion on what I see.
There is an element of politics here. Full disclosure, I live in Canada and I do identify as a liberal and if I lived in the States I would identify as a Democrat.
With that said, I have always felt that to fully understand any topic, you need to be exposed to different perspectives on the topic, otherwise I feel a person is just blindly following. For this reason, I do my best on all topics to understand conservative and progressive perspectives. There are a ton of good debates on youtube.
Of course you have some conservatives that are simply racist and don’t hide it, you have some conservatives that hide behind certain belief systems because deep down they are racist, but you also have some that just have a different perspective on racism. Now I want to be crystal clear, I don’t agree with these conservative perspectives, but I am able to acknowledge they exist, and understand that this is a political issue. Now I’m not talking about the murdering of innocent black men during interactions with police, I am more so referring to systemic racism in general.
Vice has done some good stuff on this topic (same channel that does Dark Side of the Ring). I watched this a while back and found it very interesting.
WWE’s problem with addressing this issue is the same issue they have with their programming - they try to be everything to everyone and end up meaning nothing.
Empty and soulless corporate speak. Zero heart - just like the way their wrestlers are scripted.
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Let’s remember that the response the WWE had to Owen Hart dying was to continue like nothing happened. The company has a history of being extremely shitty. Not so much a case of being racist, but being really horrible in general
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Not to detract from the discussion above, but I generally don’t listen to the WWE pods as I don’t watch their programming. I gave this one a listen. Really appreciate the decision to spend the first hour of the episode discussing what is going on in society.
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I’m always behind on listening to the Podcasts as with my job I don’t get a ton of time to listen, but after listening today I want to say that Nate and Andrew did an excellent job to start the show. I didnt realize the four of you discussed the topic as long as you did.
I strongly recommend anyone who didn’t listen to do so. I’m sure its not easy to discuss these types of subjects, so I want to say thank you to all four of you for doing so.
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