So, last Monday, on WWE’s Monday Night RAW(World Wrestling Entertainment)– owned and operated by Vince and Linda McMahon– they introduced a couple of new antagonists, or “heels,” into a story line that pits radically anti-immigrant Tea Party-like characters against Alberto Del Rio, who, playing the populist-protagonist, also happens to hail from Mexico.
The two characters, Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter, interrupted what was a pretty normal episode of RAW, with their version of The State Of The Union address, on President’s Day, and it went like this:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Nailed it! But that’s just my opinion. Glenn Beck, on the other hand, was none too pleased with this portrayal of America’s sacred political party of racist xenophobes, and fired back at the WWE and their new heels:
In one of the more bizarre slams on the Tea Party to date, the WWE decided to create a villain who just happens to be a racist Tea Partier. It’s an especially bizarre move because the WWE audience is mainly middle America and thus likely largely made up of conservatives.
Glenn goes on to inquire:
“So may I ask: Did George Soros buy the WWE? Is this a Cass Sunstein presentation? And maybe it’s just us. Maybe ‑‑ you know what? Maybe we’re wrong. Maybe that’s the way WWE people view the TEA Party. And maybe they love to hate the TEA Party. But I have to tell you, I expect that from Hollywood, but I don’t expect ‑‑ if I’m getting my entertainment from somebody that I think is on my side ‑‑ and I’m sorry. I just don’t see a bunch of progressives going and buying their tickets to the WWE. Do you? I mean, and maybe there are. I tend to notice that the progressives are not as popular in the South unless they’ve moved from the North. So I’m just trying to figure out exactly who they’re trying to appeal here, who they’re appealing to.”
“You’re making a villain out of what? Probably 80% of your audience who’s tired as it is of being miscast? They’re tired of this,” Glenn said.
Oh, fuck it all. Always with the Soros connection. Always so victimized and paranoid that there’s one left wing billionaire in a country dominated by right wing billionaires who own most of the radio, television and print publications. But this is just too much for Glenn Beck to reconcile because the Tea Party are not racist! or anti-immigrant! or ignorant bullies! and Vince and Linda McMahon were supposed to be on their side– the side of the Tea Party! After all, according to Glenn Beck– the WWE’s fan base is like, “80% conservative!”
Which is weird, because Glenn Beck also referred to the WWE and its fan base as, “stupid wrestling people.”
So, the WWE responded to Glenn Beck, and actually invited him on tomorrow night’s episode of RAW– offering him five whole minutes of unedited airtime to explain to the 14 million regular viewers of WWE’s Monday Night Raw why this is all wrong and why he’s “tired of being miscast,” and they posted the video invitation to their website, and while breaking character, or kayfabe, they used Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter as messengers reaching out to Glenn Beck:
Click here to view the embedded video.
Official statement from the WWE:
“WWE has extended an invitation to talk show host and political commentator, Glenn Beck to appear live this Monday on Raw,” WWE said in a statement Friday. “Beck references WWE as ‘stupid wrestling people,’ when criticizing a recent WWE storyline involving WWE characters Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio™, Jack Swagger™ and Zeb Colter™. WWE is giving Beck the opportunity to address our 14 million weekly viewers and our global fan base, as he believes we are offending our ‘conservative’ fans with this storyline.”
I’ve been watching WWE Raw for going on two years, now. They’ve never really gotten too political. During the election, they staged a mock presidential debate that ended with The Big Show destroying the cardboard podiums and set. They create characters, like the brilliant Vicki Guerrero, who is so shrill and hilariously annoying when she enters the arena, screeching her catchphrase, “excuse me!” that she can only be mistaken for a heel who ripped off Sarah Palin’s speaking style.
This is different, though. This made me uncomfortable because I don’t like my escapism television to be so political, ugly, and especially so anti-immigrant. But this is a mirror that needs to be held up to the Tea Party’s face. As they continue to influence national politics, and make advances toward the levers of absolute power, this is not only good for them, but for all those kids out there who watch the WWE, ahem, like me, it serves as a sort of guide in determining right from wrong, or what the idiots in society look and sound like. And in this case, as in most cases, Glenn Beck and Tea Party America are represented well. And if Glenn Beck, or any of his Tea Party people try to confront a wrestler and get in his face by calling it all fake and dismissing them as “stupid wrestling people,” using John Stossel as an example, Andrew Kirell, over at Mediate, reminds all would-be antagonists how that might turn out.
Needless to say, Glenn Beck has turned down the WWE’s invitation for five minutes of unedited rebuttal, tweeting: “Unfortunately I am currently booked doing anything else.”
This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW is taping in Glenn Beck’s home town of Dallas, so he’s just being a coward, and probably knows he’d be booed back to Crazyville, USA. But If there’s anyone more deserving of a rhetorical brogue kick to the face, it’s got to be Glenn Beck and the Tea Party. And the fact that their perceived allies in Vince and Linda McMahon are capitalizing on the unpopularity of the Tea Party as heels, only makes this all the more entertaining. Let’s get ready to rumble!