Not Another Bloody Boycott

This time of left leaning businesses, which is somehow supposed to vindicate Rush Limbaugh.  Where to start . . .

What happened to Rush Limbaugh in the press wasn't fair, but it wasn't the fault of the NFL, or of left-leaning businesses either--you can thank irresponsible reporters for that.  A book titled "Horrible Quotations from Right-Wing People I Hate" or somesuch nonsense is not exactly definitive.  Who single-sources a quote of a public figure praising slavery?

But if Rush Limbaugh had said these things--and it wasn't crazy to believe that he had, given how widely these things were cited--then they would have been perfectly within their rights to block his bid, for the same reason that Marge Schott did not improve the image of MLB.  By the time the errors were corrected, it was too late. 

Moreover, AFAICT, he really did say some things that were creepy--though not as offensive as the fabricated quote--such as that a typical NFL game looks like a match between the Crips and the Bloods without any weapons.  You could sort of understand why some NFL players might not want to play for an owner who had characterized them thusly, and no, I don't find the "context" all that mitigating.

Also, as I think I mentioned before, boycotts don't work.  You may get some small moral satisfaction out of depriving yourself, but unless you think you can muster the angry widespread committment of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, all you're doing is costing yourself a couple of months of consumer surplus.  You're also inviting a counter-boycott by liberals who hate Rush Limbaugh, who may happily buy up all your season tickets.  Do you really want that?

Announcing yet another boycott with the expected active lifespan of one of those rainforest butterflies that breaks out of its cocoon and then spends one happy hour mating and laying eggs before expiring on the soft, mossy floor of the primeval forest . . . well, this does not actually achieve any worthy goals.  It just illustrates how few people care, when no noticeable dent appears in merchandise or ticket sales.

If you want to boycott something, boycott the St. Louis Dispatch.  Being as they are a newspaper, their circulation is guaranteed to go down.  And by happy coincidence, they're actually the ones at fault. 

[Hunkers down.  Prepares for onslaught of people accusing her of being a liberal Rush-hater, rather than, say, someone who really doesn't care for shock jocks of any stripe.  Prays. ]