The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

David Zirin, Marxist Sports Blogger

Posted on | January 20, 2014 | 23 Comments

Professor Donald Douglas has been trying to get me to pay attention to this, and I’ve struggled mightily to resist. It makes my head hurt to think of it, but The Nation — a publication that spent 74 years cheerleading for the Bolsheviks — now has a sports blogger named David Zirin, whose output is about as zany as you’d expect:

Get ready for two weeks of stories that pit the polished Peyton Manning against his supposed antithesis, Richard Sherman. Get ready for two weeks of interesting coverage about how the best quarterback in the game and probable 2013 MVP takes on the best cornerback in the game and the probable Defensive Player of the Year at the Super Bowl. Also get ready for two weeks of utterly uninteresting coverage that paints Peyton as a Southern gentleman in shining armor who will hopefully slay Richard Sherman, Compton’s “loudmouth” dread-locked dragon. There will be more articles, tweets and commentaries from the media bemoaning Richard Sherman’s lack of “class”. There will be even more tweets from so-called fans that sound like press releases from a White Citizen’s Council. There will be a running loop of Sherman’s already “insta-classic”WWE-infused “promo” rant after Sunday’s victory over their rival the 49ers.

There is a word for such writing. That word is . . . bad.

UPDATE: Zirin is a comrade of the International Socialist Organization, and a contributor to its Socialist Worker site. The ISO is one of those Marxist splinter groups that you used to see at anti-Iraq war protests, handing out their grubby little tabloid newspapers and trying to sign up members. They were pathetic during the Bush era and are even more pathetic in the Obama era, where the the extreme Left is so completely co-opted by the Democrat Party (and vice-versa) that revolutionary Marxism is irrelevant.

 UPDATE II: To get a sense of the fringe nature of the ISO, you need to read this (long) manifesto by former ISO member Donna Chidi, who makes the point that leadership of the ISO, an organization whose members claim to see racism everywhere, is overwhelmingly controlled by whites. In 2010, there was a de facto purge of members from the Washington, D.C., branch of ISO, resulting in a group that is 90% white in a 54% black city:

[T]he leaders of the branch called an “Emergency Meeting” . . . in which we would discuss some important issues in our branch and which Ahmed Shawki of the national steering committee would attend and convene.
At this Emergency meeting, Shawki described reasons why the national steering committee had voted to expel Zach Mason and indefinitely suspend David Thurston of the DC branch. . . [Mason and Thurston] were not welcome to this “members only” meeting where the issue of their expulsions would be discussed by everyone else. . . . I commented on how sad it was to see socialists stand up and slander and crucify people they had worked with for 14 years and 7 years respectively without even allowing them to attend and defend themselves.
Among several other hostile comments made in my direction because of this, Shawki closed the discussion by inviting me to leave the ISO, although he has never spoken to me before, “If you think these guys are being crucified, then maybe this organization is not the right organization for you.”

In a 2010 e-mail to the DC-ISO’s (white) leader, Michelle Bollinger, Chidi mentioned David Zirin among her antagonists:

I believe it was made undeniably clear in the last meeting that I attended that I am not welcome in the DC ISO branch — especially in the comments made by comrades Dave Zirin, Mike Stark, and Ahmed Shawki.

Fighting racism by expelling black people? As a strategy, it makes about as much sense as anything else these kooks advocate.

 

Category: Sports

Comments

23 Responses to “David Zirin, Marxist Sports Blogger”

  1. Federale
    January 20th, 2014 @ 11:55 pm

    LOL, the Seachickens only won with the help of the refs. They will go down in the Bowl.

  2. robertstacymccain
    January 20th, 2014 @ 11:56 pm

    Eh, the 49ers weren’t the same after their left offensive guard went out.

  3. richard mcenroe
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:02 am

    Escaping from “sports-talk” radio experts as part of my flight from LA (on the office radio All. Day. Long.) was just a bonus. Most sports writers have a horrific sense of the gaping meaninglessness at the bottom of their existence and are desperate to find some higher significance in grown men playing children’s games for exaggerated amounts of money. Explains Olbermann, Costas and now this guy.

  4. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:20 am

    Off topic, but consistent with your theme. You know Evan Cohen on Sirius Mad Dog Radio? While his resume has some…gaps, I suspect it is the same Evan Cohen who was one of the disgraced founders of Air America. Air America used to be affiliated with Sirius.

    I suspect they may be fuzzing up his trail. Maybe Brian Mulroney knows what is up.

  5. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:26 am

    Nonsense, even Proof (who is bitter about the refs) admits that is not why the Seahawks won. The calls were bad (I say that even though I do not like the 49ers) but ultimately Kaepernick interceptions did the team in.

    That said, yesterday’s play by the Seahawks will not cut it with the Broncos, unless the Seahawks can use their defense to curtail Peyton’s attack (and Russell steps up his offensive game). Because I doubt Russell will win any shoot out with Peyton right now. Sherman has a big challenge in front of him on February 2.

  6. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:28 am

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DJy-eo06QSU/Ut20WIwQ7II/AAAAAAAAezk/O87k6_gtY_Y/s1600/ShermanTIp.gif

  7. M. Thompson
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:55 am

    The politicization of everything, just as the Reds did, I’m not surprised.

    I’d like to be able to go to a game and not have to worry about it being some kind of statement about life, just be entertainment.

  8. robertstacymccain
    January 21st, 2014 @ 1:11 am

    A friend of mine, the reactionary novelist Tito Perdue, uses “sports fans” as an epithet.

  9. robertstacymccain
    January 21st, 2014 @ 1:30 am

    Look, what happened was this: SF’s left offensive guard, Mike Iupati — a two-time Pro Bowl pick — went down with an injury on the play where the Niners scored a touchdwon to go ahead 10-0 in the second quarter. Iupati’s excellent blocking was crucial to the success of SF’s powerhouse running game, and after he left the game, the Niners were outscored 23-7.

    Still, SF had a chance to win in the 4th quarter, but got cheated on a play where Niners linebacker Navorro Bowman recovered a fumble, but (a) the fucking refs blew the call, and Bowman suffered a devastating injury.

    So, SF lost two of their best players to injury and got screwed by the refs.

  10. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:57 am

    The call was BS (I have to give Bowman credit, is fumble recovery was epic–broken knee and all). But the Hawks gave up the ball a play later. So the 49ers got the ball despite being screwed by the refs.

    The injuries were the result of legitimate plays (no dirty hits). It is bad luck for those players. But that sort of thing happens in the NFL.

  11. Evi L. Bloggerlady
    January 21st, 2014 @ 3:00 am

    Say what you will, that was an epic tip off for interception. Talk about payback. I am sure Crabtree is wishing he didn’t dis Sherman in the off season.

  12. Wombat_socho
    January 21st, 2014 @ 3:07 am

    This is why, on the rare occasions I watch baseball on TV these days, I leave the sound off.

  13. scarymatt
    January 21st, 2014 @ 6:32 am

    If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that the communists will continue to purge their intra-party rivals over apparently ever more trivial things.

  14. rmnixondeceased
    January 21st, 2014 @ 9:03 am

    Rightly so …

  15. DaveO
    January 21st, 2014 @ 10:30 am

    I recall the NAACP was founded whites who saw financial and political opportunities in pitting blacks against non-blacks. The NAACP’s first board did hire W.E.B. DuBois to give them street cred. ISO is just another such group in which whites enrich themselves off of black misery.
    As for football, it’s been a mixed season. The Sooners won, as usual, and the Cowboys lost, as usual. Time for Professional Bull-riding!

  16. M. Thompson
    January 21st, 2014 @ 10:39 am

    Three and a half weeks until Pitcher and Catchers start reporting.

  17. Quartermaster
    January 21st, 2014 @ 12:13 pm

    I don’t bother anymore. TV in general is hateful these days as well.

  18. Federale
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:16 pm

    Which doesn’t say much for the Seachickens. They need both injuries and bad refing to win.

    http://vdare.com/articles/diversity-bowl-nfc-championship-game-has-two-black-quarterbacks-afc-two-white-one-which-is-

  19. DaveO
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:28 pm

    Apparently they’ve already reported in to HS in Florida.

  20. M. Thompson
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:36 pm

    I’m talking baseball! Get your mind out of the gutter.

  21. richard mcenroe
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:52 pm

    Except of course, concerning the Tide. That’s more like a secondary religion.

  22. richard mcenroe
    January 21st, 2014 @ 2:53 pm

    But enough about Florida porn videos.

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