Freedom of speech is a cherished American tradition. That means all of us get to say obnoxious things, create our own facts and tell lies to our neighbors.
Yet, should tax dollars subsidize such hate? No, I’m not talking about a century old statue in Forest Park.
Let’s focus on the St. Louis Cardinals Christian Day, Sunday, July 30th.
Now, back when Christian Family Day was a Saturday afternoon game promoted by a consortium of religious groups. They provided free ball tickets to thousands of kids from struggling families (Circle Of Concern received a nice allocation), Chick-Fil-A sent over free pre-game sandwiches for the children and after the game they had nice music and an uplifting, non-denominational speaker.
Christian Family Day went over so well that they from Cincinnati who actually run the Cardinals kicked-out the local Christians and created their own version. Gone are the thousands of free tickets for kids, the Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and the uplifting speaker.
This year’s featured attraction: former ballplayer Lance Berkman. [ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/st-louis-cardinals-ant-lgbt-speaker_us_593b1277e4b0b13f2c6a8ec7 ]
What’s wrong with an old athlete talking God? Well, when Berkman talks he tends to say bad things about those he doesn’t like, such as gay people. In 2015 he did radio ads against a measure calling for an end to discrimination against the LGBT community in Houston, Texas. “Tolerance is the virtue that’s killing this country…Those are the kind of things that lead you down a slippery slope and you’ll get in trouble in a hurry…Berkman, an outspoken Christian, calls opposition to his views ‘persecution’…”
http://www.outsports.com/2015/11/5/9676062/lance-berkman-gay-hero-christian-bigot
Remember that the St. Louis Baseball Cardinals are a private venture which has received better than $107 million in tax-payer funds from the city, St. Louis County and the state – and they’re getting $16 million in new subsidies before they’ll build Phase II in Ballpark Village. [ https://nextstl.com/2016/10/cardinals-celebrate-ten-years-busch-stadium-iii-whopper-propaganda-video/ ]
To reduce things to numbers, each city resident has contributed around $300 in tax subsidizes to the Cards, each county resident at least $60, and, every Missourian better than $20. That’s a lot of public investment in a place that charges $9.00 for a small beer.
So, why are city residents and county residents and Missouri taxpayers subsidizing hate speech? Because that’s what the Cardinals want, a known anti-gay agitator as family entertainment.
Again, America cherishes free speech. The Cardinals can bring in anyone they want to speak to their patrons – just as soon as they pay back the city, the county and the state. With public dollars comes an obligation to serve and unite the community, not attack it.
Submitted by Glenn Koenen, WCD Member