Culture Wars

For a change of pace, let’s wade into the culture wars. Did you see in the news that Jeremy Clarkson’s two shows on Amazon Prime are being canceled (Clarkson’s Farm, Grand Tour) after his scathing, albeit tongue-in-cheek, dressing down of Meghan and Harry in his weekly column in The Sun? Read the column; it’s classic, politically incorrect Clarkson. He refers to Harry as a “glove puppet” and wishes Meghan to be paraded naked through the streets, having “excrement thrown at her,” invoking the shame scene in Game of Thrones. Vicious? Maybe. Tasteless? Perhaps. Amusing?  Most definitely. Hey, he supports the monarchy and finds Harry and Meghan’s dirt-for-cash scheme distasteful, and he is not alone.  Recall Piers Morgan was receiving similar treatment for his opinion of the dysfunctional Windsors. Why is it so? 64% of Brits had an unfavorable view of the former Ms. Markle, and Harry was not far behind at 59%. Broken down by age, older Britons tended to look upon the couple less favorably than their younger counterparts. Not surprising. So Mr. Clarkson is effectively being canceled for the usual accusations of misogyny, sexism, racism, and other -isms the leftist executives at Amazon can think up.  Once again, corporate America leaning left when they suspect the younger generation, those consumers more attuned to wokeness, will be their cash cow. All this despite the popularity of the monarchy and general distaste for Harry and Meghan’s perpetual victimhood displayed in the Oprah interview and detailed ad nauseum in his whiny treatise entitled “Spare.” Really, Harry, the world would be a better place not knowing the details about your frostbitten penis. Apparently, Mr. Clarkson, nor the aforementioned Mr. Morgan for that matter,  cannot express his opinion, regardless of how popular it may be if it butts up against the woke narrative. And in reality, this may be an example of ageism by the network itself, disregarding the older demographic as a shrinking target audience and less likely to complain about social issues compared to our thoroughly indoctrinated youth. Cater to them and ignore “those people,” says the memo. How inclusive. And after the network was criticized, the left started to hedge by claiming that Clarkson’s programs weren’t very popular with American viewers anyway, and opinions expressed on his shows were not politically correct, and his car reviews were critical of some car manufacturers.  Really. How dare a show that critiques performance cars actually does what it’s supposed to do and criticize vehicles that fail to meet their standards? The fact that the three hosts are critical of the cars they review: the Prius (it’s hideous), pick-up trucks (what do you need one of those for anyway), and the original Tesla Roadster (a scathing review that got him sued, a suit that was dismissed) is rather refreshing as opposed to pandering to the industry and kissing up to your sponsors. Face it, kids, you’re not going to be fed opinions you agree with all the time. Clarkson frequently heckles the French, portrays Americans as rednecks, and despises EVs.  Even his co-hosts rarely escape his wrath. James May is the token nerd and is often ridiculed for his love of all things high-tech, especially electric vehicles. Host Richard Hammond, often the butt of jokes for his short stature and penchant for fiery crashes, was roundly criticized for referring to Argentina as “God’s cesspit.” But this was after the show was chased from the country for having a license plate that ended in FKL, which the touchy Argentinians took as a reference to the Falkland Islands. They were even threatened with three years in prison for the offense. Clarkson responded by saying the next time they appear in Argentina; it will be with a plate that reads: W3 WON. The banter between the three hosts is engaging, if not occasionally juvenile, and always irreverent. And some of us find that amusing. You can’t tell me Amazon renewed both Grand Tour and Clarkson’s Farm last year, and now, after filming has been completed for the new season, they suddenly discovered they aren’t popular. Nonsense. If you don’t like it, don’t tune in. And go ahead, cancel programming if it has lousy ratings, but don’t cancel it because it doesn’t fall in line with your woke agenda. Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan remain outspoken Hollywood darlings, and despite Clarkson issuing an apology of sorts, the professional victims have rebuffed his overtures, continuing to wallow in their victimhood.  And despite public opinion favoring the monarchy, nobody, including the Royals, has leaped to Clarkson’s defense.  The networks have chosen, and apparently, victimhood and appealing to the woke is where the cash is at.