All-Star Game Racist Tweets Bug Me

Silliman on Sports
By Stan Silliman

RACISM TWITTERS AT MLB ALL-STAR GAME 

I don’t know if I like Twitter so much. The short pithies attract dumb people and racists and these guys were tweeting their idiocies in reaction to Marc Anthony singing “God Bless America.”

Here’s a sampling of the crazies losing it: Ethan Hutchison tweets “Nothing like having a Mexican sing God Bless America for the ASG what the f**k

Joshua Vardeman tweets “To be selected to sing God Bless America for the MLB All Star Game shouldn’t you at least be FROM America?

Blain Bonnier tweets “How they going to pick a got damn Mexican to sing God Bless AMERICA?”

Ken Fowler, whose email reads Coach Ken Fowler, tweets “C’Mon MLB!! How you gonna pick a Mexican to sing ‘God Bless America’? Was Castro unavailable?”

There were hundreds more, similar stuff, all showing various degrees of ignorance.

First, let’s clarify a few things. Anthony sung GBA during the seventh inning stretch. Secondly, Marc Anthony has children with Jennifer Lopez. I think that pretty much entitles him to do whatever he wants and men throughout the country, American men, should not only hoist him onto their shoulders, they should bow down to him.

Third, Marc Anthony is a damn good singer. MLB was lucky to have him plus he may sell more records than anyone else who could’ve delivered that song.  Fourth, the game was played in New York City, Queens to be precise. Fifth, did anybody take a look at the All-Star roster? If someone did, he’d find no less than 25 Latin surnames on the list. If he looked further he’d find that 30% of all MLB players have Latin surnames. Get used to it, bigots.

Now, let’s back up before we jump to six. The game was played in New York City. Why not feature a singer from the Big Apple? Oh, snap, they did. Marc Anthony, born Marco Antonio Muniz, was born and raised in Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, AMERICA. He is as American as apple pie with jalapenos.

So get over it, bigots. MLB picked a singer from New York City, which is part of America (home of Statue of Liberty and all that stuff) who also happens to connect with the huge Hispanic audience now making up a majority of those watching the All-Star game. Yes, the game is beamed down to Dom Rep and Puerto Rico (where Anthony’s parents hail from… which, by the way, is part of the United States and has been for more than 100 years… so you might say that Anthony’s family is five generations American) and Mexico and South America. That was point number six.

Now seventh and final with regard to the song God Bless America. Bigots and racist who insist this sacred song be sung by an ‘Merican, which it was, of course, but why the fervor? Is it then also important at sporting events, like the All-Star Game, the chosen song should also be written by someone born in America? Sorry, it wasn’t. Irving Berlin, who wrote GBA, was born in Tyumen, Russia. He was an immigrant, folks, the writer of this cherished song, a Jewish one at that.   Ironic, isn’t it?