The no so magnanimous PGA Tour Image courtesy of golfandcourse.com
I love golf! Ever since I was introduced to it by a co-worker and a cheap set of golf clubs.
I remember watching Tiger Woods winning the 1997 Masters and Jack Nicklaus’ last stroke at St. Andrews.
Lately, the PGA Tour has chosen to interject themselves into the “social justice” business. From saving tee times for George Floyd while saving none for the fallen heroes of the law enforcement community.
They made the decision to play tournament golf in states that are currently under strict Covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, common folks in those same states can’t go to work, visit family in nursing homes, attend funerals, go out without having to wear a useless mask (by the CDC 2018 study). Meanwhile, the cities have been burned down to the ground by bands of thugs, by the same “social justice” crowd the PGA Tour is pandering to.
While the PGA Tour wants to lecture Americans on so called “injustices”, we still have hundreds, if not thousands, of golf courses in America where a Hispanic like me is not allowed to play.
This week the United States Golf Association is hosting the United States Open at Winged Foot G.C., a private club where a person like me would be confused for a locker room attendant. Playing our national championship in a private golf course is an irony, especially when it is supposed to be a tournament open to everyone, even a Hispanic like me.
I would like to ask the PGA Tour if they are going to fight for me. Are they going to get me some “social justice”, so a Hispanic like me can play in private golf courses like Cypress Point, Oakmont, Winged Foot, Augusta National, or the likes?
Probably not! For the PGA Tour “social justice” means pandering from afar. Giving the appearance of caring, but without getting more involved than required. Enough for them to feel good about themselves and enough to fool you.
In the meantime, this Hispanic who proudly served his country for 29 years, didn’t loot and didn’t burned down businesses, is going to keep playing public and semi-private clubs until private clubs allow a guy like me to play their courses and stop their discriminatory practices endorsed by the PGA Tour.
a: the inherent ability of an organism to resist harmful influences (such as disease, toxic agents, or infection)
b: the capacity of a species or strain of microorganism to survive exposure to a toxic agent (such as a drug) formerly effective against it
3: an opposing or retarding force
4a: the opposition offered by a body or substance to the passage through it of a steady electric current
b: a source of resistance
5: a psychological defense mechanism wherein a patient rejects, denies, or otherwise opposes the therapeutic efforts of a psychotherapist
6 often capitalized: an underground organization of a conquered or nearly conquered country engaging in sabotage and secret operations against occupation forces and collaborators.
For the purpose of my article I am going to use the definition of “an act or instance of resisting: Opposition”.
Since the election of President Donald J. Trump in 2016, the United States has been under the threat of social unrest by Marxist inspired groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa. It took the death of a black citizen, in the hands of bad police officers, to finally give the green light for these groups to release their foot soldiers.
Since then, the United States has witnessed the systematic destruction of towns and cities. Looting and burning has become a “matter of fact” and justified by local governments and politicians. Law abiding citizens have been left unprotected by unresponsive police departments and mobs have seized private property and declaring it autonomous governed zones.
American citizens have become de facto hostages to a small, but well-funded, group of socialist Marxists whose purpose in life is to disrupt and destruct the American way of life. This is not about black lives or social inequality; this is about erasing our American society and history.
From the take down of monuments and statues to revisionist history like the 1619 Project, this is nothing more than an attempt to rewrite American history, with a false history depicting America as a bad country, a country built on slavery and other nonsensical revisionist garbage.
The fact is, no matter how many monuments they tear down, how many buildings get renamed, how many pictures Speaker Pelosi removes from the Capitol, out history cannot and will never be rewritten.
Our public education system has played a big roll on all this hatred towards America. By not teaching real history and using our schools as indoctrination centers, our schools have failed our children and frankly, the country.
When you look and listen to the demonstrators on the streets, they are uninformed and with little knowledge of American history. They cannot even tell you why they are tearing down or defacing a statue or a monument. Sure, they give you the “racial equality” tagline, but let us be serious, that is all it is, a tagline.
Cities like Portland, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C., continue to burn and destroyed by this unruly mob. What is left for law abiding citizens to do? What should we do in the absence of law and order? What should we do in the absence of a functional government?
There is only one way to deal with it, we must resist. We need to take charge of our neighborhoods, we need to take charge of our safety, and we need to take our country back.
We need to start by letting politicians know that we are not going to stand for this. If they fail to understand, then we need to do the next logical thing, vote them out of office. Many of these politicians have been in Washington far too long, and while they get rich, the people continue to suffer.
Next, we need to organize. I mean we need to organize in our neighborhoods, have a plan of action. Establishing relationships with our neighbors so we can develop contingency plans for our communities in the event these unruly mobs decide to show up in our doorsteps.
Law enforcement have been directed by local governments to stand down, and in a few instances some of them have chosen to join the mob. Do not get me wrong, they will arrest you for not wearing a mask, but they will not arrest people for looting, burning private property, or killing people.
We cannot count on government to protect us, our families, and our property. As we have witness on television night after night, it is government who has allowed this mob to operate indiscriminately.
And when they finally get arrested, they are immediately released, most of the time without charge, by district attorneys.
Law abiding citizens have been left to their own devices. When they exercise their rights to protect themselves and their property, which is guaranteed in our Constitution, they are the ones getting arrested and charged under bogus politically motivated circumstances.
This great country of ours has been turned into a third world country by a minority and we must resist. The future of our country is at stake and it is up to us, the law-abiding citizen, to take our country back. We need to oppose, at the ballot box, any politician who subscribes to socialist Marxists ideals. Those are incompatible with our way of life and our constitutional system of government.
We must resist these forces before we lose our country!
PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan. Kneeling instead of Leading. Photo courtesy of golfergalore.com
The PGA Tour returned this week to Colonial Country Club and the Charles Schwab Challenge, after almost 3 months of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of course, no fans were allowed. Massive testing and precautions were taken to ensure players, caddies, and staff were properly taken care of. I guess it was better to err on the side of caution, although I think it was an overkill based on the information available.
Unfortunately, for the tournament, the country has been in a tailspin after the tragic death of a black man named George Floyd in the city of Minneapolis while in police custody.
The PGA Tour and Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan wasted no time to turn that tragedy into a publicity stunt by saving the 8:46 a.m. tee time to honor Mr. Floyd every day with a moment of silence.
The Tour was nowhere to be found when it came to honoring the memory of the many police officers who were injured or killed during the riots. The Tour missed a huge opportunity at been a vehicle for unity.
Let’s talk about the tournament for a moment. For me, it was a big snoozer. I didn’t realize until this week, the importance of those annoying “in the hole” or “baba booey” screams from the galleries. The fans are such an important part of the game, even players acknowledged how “weird” it felt. I agree 100% and I hope the Tour takes a second look at this.
I have to say, the most entertaining part for me was listening to Sir Nick Faldo and his “one liner” analysis. The golf itself was pretty good, but I could not watch for more than twenty minutes. I can only take so much of Jim Nantz and the golf silence was deafening. It was like watching a long televise practice round and it was utterly boring.
Back to the social aspect of the broadcast. I want to give huge kudos to Harold Varner III. Varner III, one of the few black golfers on the professional tour, didn’t fall for the obvious race baiting coming from the media circus. He did not brush away what happened, but he refused to engage in a social tit for tat with the media, instead choosing to talk about his game.
On the other hand, Tony Finau, who’s not Black, but from American Samoa, went on a social tirade on social media. Short of saying all white people were racists, Finau went on to say he was with Black Lives Matter. I am sure Mr. Finau has no clue what Black Lives Matter is all about, but like most athletes, he thought he sounded pretty good propping an organization who calls for white people to be eliminated from the face of the earth.
When it comes to honoring Mr. Floyd, the Tour should have done better research when it decided to honor Mr. Floyd with a moment of silence by leaving the 8:46 a.m. tee time open.
They should have known that on September 11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines, Flight 11, hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center killing all passengers onboard. This time is reserved every year, by every television network, to honor the memory of the victims of that tragic event. How the Tour didn’t know this is beyond me.
In my opinion, this was a mistake of major proportions that went mostly unnoticed by the golf media and golf pundits.
They also missed a big opportunity in promoting unity by not acknowledging the many good police officers who do a great job. Many of these police officers provide security during tour events and are avid golfers and fans of the game. For this, the Tour scored a quadrupled bogey, with an out of bounds.
The PGA Tour decided to kneel instead of lead, and for that they’ll never get a social mulligan.
Defund the Police? Think again! Photo courtesy of dailythruthreport.com
I spent 25 years in Federal Law Enforcement, I have heard and seen many things, but I have never heard a call to defund law enforcement.
I don’t understand it, these calls are mostly coming from people living in communities who need a police presence, otherwise they would be overwhelmed by lawlessness, gangs, drugs, and uncontrollable crime.
I don’t think these voices realize what their cities and towns would look like without law enforcement. Obviously, they haven’t taken the time to think and to analyze such a proposal.
For starters; who’s going to enforce the laws enacted by City Councils? That’s part of community policing. Local police enforce local ordinances and any revenue coming from issued summons, goes back to the community and the department. They use this money to buy new equipment, training, and hiring.
Most City, County, and local police officers are part of the community. They live in the community and have a vested interest in the wellbeing of their neighbors and safety in their neighborhoods.
They respond to burglaries, domestic disputes, execute arrest warrants, medical emergencies, welfare checks, vehicle accidents, among many other things. Who’s going to perform these duties in the absence of a police department?
Defunding police departments is a short-sided call. Instead, they should be calling for meaningful police reform. What I mean by that? After I retired, I worked at several gun ranges, teaching firearms and as a Range Safety Officer, and many police officers would come around to shoot getting ready for their yearly, yes, yearly weapon’s qualification. They were not very good at it; which was a pretty scary thought.
I always extended my help, even giving them free range time and targets because their departments would not give them the tools to train. People need to understand, most local police departments don’t have the money to properly train their force and mostly depend on other government agencies, at the Federal and State level, to attend conferences and obtain specialized training.
Throughout my career I had the opportunity to work with many fine and hardworking local police officers, from providing law enforcement support during special events to G-20 summits. I never encountered an officer who didn’t love his or her job.
In all honesty, law enforcement is thankless job. If you don’t love what you are doing it can be a very frustrating endeavor. One is constantly dealing with bureaucracy, mostly from people who have no clue about law enforcement and what it takes to enforce it in a fair and impartial manner.
Most police departments are undermanned and outgunned. In some jurisdictions, officers must buy their own firearms and body armor in order to be able to do their jobs in a safe manner. Meanwhile Senator Paul and Senator Van Hollen are reintroducing legislation to limit the access police departments have to excess Federal government law enforcement and military equipment.
I don’t know if Senator Paul realizes most police departments are outmanned and outgunned by local gangs, drug dealers, and other criminal elements in their communities. Having access to surplus Federal resources is an invaluable tool and getting rid of it only hurts the community.
We need more police training, not less. By defunding police departments, you strip them of the ability to send officers, especially in leadership positions, to training that they can bring back to their departments. Well-trained police force not only benefits the department, but the community as well.
People in the community has a vested interest in the efficiency of their police department, they should embrace it and help the police officers to understand the needs of their community. Good communication between citizens and law enforcement officers is as important as a properly trained professional force.
The community is also a necessary tool for good policing. People know what’s going on in their backyards and most people are willing to assist the police to keep crime away from their neighborhoods.
There’s no doubt that we have bad apples in the law enforcement community, but they are very far and between. To say that all law enforcement officers are racist is ludicrous. Are there some law enforcement officers with racist tendencies? Absolutely. Throwing a negative blanket like this on all law enforcement is not only wrong but unfair to police officers who put their lives on the line every day.
I don’t know any law enforcement officer who wakes up in the morning wishing for an eventful shift. On the contrary, most police officers want a quiet shift, and above all, the last thing they want to do is discharge their firearm. Any law enforcement officer who thinks differently should relinquish his or her badge immediately and seek some mental health help.
Police officers are human beings doing a job that not everybody can do or wants to do. Remember, when a police officer performs a traffic stop or responds to a domestic dispute, they are doing the job they were told to do, to enforce the laws enacted by State, City, and local governments. If you are upset by this fact, I suggest you take it up with the legislature.
Police officers don’t choose what laws to enforce, but I know, from time to time, they use their discretion. Remember that time you got a break for speeding? Exactly!
Defunding the police is the last thing any law-abiding citizen should be advocating for. They should demand their police department are properly funded, trained, and equipped.
If you don’t have a police department; who are you going to call when someone is breaking into your home? Who are you going to call when getting beat by an abusive spouse? Who are you going to call when your business is getting looted or burglarized? I can tell you; it is not going to be the Ghost Busters.
The Fabulous Fox Theater, St. Louis, Mo. Not so Fabulous! Photo courtesy of explorestlouis.com
This week’s “Business Shaming” honor goes to none other than the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis, Mo.
They were honoring the death of George Floyd on their marquee, along with the death of Police Captain, David Dorn, who was murdered by looters outside of Lee’s Pawn Shop, a local business in St. Louis, MO. Captain Dorn was a friend of the family, and beloved member of the community, who was responding to an alarm when he was murdered outside of the property. They were also honoring law enforcement by displaying the hashtag “Blue Lives Matter”.
After some local backlash, the theater issued an apology for displaying the Blue Lives Matter hashtag on their marquee and proceeded to remove it.
This was their apology:
“We sincerely apologized to the Black community for the hurt we have caused by our recent marquee messaging. While our intention was to display a show of unity and to honor both George Floyd and Officer David Dorn, the delivery of that message failed when we included the blue lives matter hashtag. We are truly sorry for the hurt and anger this mistake has caused.
“The Fabulous Fox is a place for all, and we condemn racism and hate in all forms. We love St. Louis and we want to be a part of the solution. We are listening and we are learning.
Unequivocally, #BlackLivesMattter.”
If the The Fabulous Fox was really a “place for all”, they would have stood firmly behind their decision to honor Captain Dorn, Mr. Floyd, and the police officers, who put their lives on the line every day for their patrons and citizens of St. Louis.
Unequivocally, #BlueLivesMatter.
Instead, they decided to take a knee, and in the process, dishonored the memories of Captain Dorn, George Floyd, and their families.
I, for one, will never patronize the Fox Theater in St. Louis and call on a boycott of this establishment. The Fabulous Fox Theater got this one wrong.
