Social progressivism is predicated on the notion that there are people who hold the correct opinions and are therefore good, then there are people who are evil by virtue of having the wrong opinions. From there, it should be unsurprising that woke movements tend to attract extremely self-righteous people of less-than-stellar personal moral standing. In an increasingly secular world, social liberalism offers, in the eyes of its adherents, a viable path to religious deliverance from the worldly vices of others.
Unfortunately, rather than amending their behavior to fit the humanistic ideals they claim to hold dear, many use progressivism as a veneer to disguise their own nastiness. Their so-called advocacy becomes a vehicle to bully, disparage, and ostracize those they dislike.
Megan Rapinoe, the gay soccer player who propelled herself into the limelight through vocal opposition to former President Donald Trump, is emblematic of this.
That the leftist firebrand Rapinoe has a history of internet racism should not be surprising. She is a bully who uses the public’s perception of her to generate justifications for her clearly obnoxious behavior. Strip away the facade of feel-good social liberalism, and what do you have? A really mean person.
Take Rapinoe’s signature goal celebrations, for instance. Lefty commentators have hailed them as stunning instances of a strong female athlete defying gender norms. In reality, such a practice often amounts to nothing more than bad sportsmanship. The most egregious example of this occurred during her team’s 13-0 victory over Thailand during the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Thailand was very obviously the inferior squad — Team USA controlled the ball for 75% of the game and had 39 shots on goal, compared to Thailand’s two. Yet, after every single goal, from one to 13, Rapinoe and her teammates engaged in flamboyant celebrations, jumping around and flailing their arms as the opposing team sulked. Activists defended, and even lauded, this unconscionable behavior. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand even managed to turn it into a gender pay issue.
Now, imagine if the University of Alabama football team faced off against a random high school junior varsity team, utterly trounced them, and performed theatrical victory dances after every touchdown. This would be rightly seen as excessively narcissistic, rude, and unbecoming of professionals. Simply detach the cloak of wokeness from the behavior of Rapinoe and company, and it becomes apparent that their conduct was exactly the same.
Progressivism is like bigotry in that it creates unimpeachable in-groups and detestable out-groups. Naturally, it’s going to attract questionable individuals who wish to attach themselves to what they view as a moral authority. Once they establish themselves as belonging to the right group, they can attack those they dislike, all while enveloping themselves in a shared sense of righteousness.
Worst of all, nobody within the liberal crowd will dare criticize you, even when doing so is imperative. For example, a BLM-affiliated school board official in Denver has been credibly accused of sexual assault dozens of times. His liberal allies have done disgustingly little to hold him accountable, leaving efforts largely to students. Rapinoe, likewise, isn’t being punished for her prejudice. Instead, she’s being rewarded with a role among the new cadre of woke models for Victoria’s Secret.
In years past, the allegation of racism was the most obvious tool for putting people down permanently in public life. Recently, however, militant progressivism has supplanted its role as the chief weapon of bullies. It has to be, as so many liberal celebrities’ past racism is being unearthed.
Rapinoe and leftists like her have not changed. They’re the same bullies they were a couple of years ago, only now, their methods are different.
