Commentary below is used with the permission of the Blue State Conservative:
‘The Bachelor’ has been a ratings winner for many years until the new “woke” season of 2021. The ratings have tanked this season after the first Black bachelor turned the show into an activist-themed dating show. Instead of focusing on dating, the focus suddenly was on one contestant who was deemed “racist” because of two photos from years ago. After statements from the host, the bachelor, and the contestant who was called “racist,” the fun was sucked out of the show leading to a ratings disaster: ShowBiz411 writes: Cancel Culture Sinks “The Bachelor” to Lowest Ratings of This Season and Second Lowest of All Time After Racism Scandal Explodes.
I have always hated ABC’s The Bachelor and its various spin-offs of The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, and Bachelor Olympics. The latter three are simply retreads of the same premise except for a different backdrop. Every season is full of self-serving narcissists and drama-seeking losers who have lost all sense of purpose in their personal lives. Contestants come and go, and as I have observed in previous articles, they are there to find a lucrative social media following, not their so-called “person,” as they are so often heard saying. If it were up to me, cancel culture would run over the entire series for being so contrived and ridiculous.
Bachelor Nation speaks to a specific segment of society – some women get their jollies by watching beautiful people experience scripted drama. It is what it is. Men obsess over sports and get so absorbed in one collection of jerseys losing to another collection of jerseys ruins their entire Sundays. Each of the sexes, of which there are only two, have their shortcomings. God forbid people to pick up a book or play a game with their family.
Now, though, I really hate The Bachelor and everything in its orbit. More than anything else, I hate what it means for our once-great society. The latest scandal involved the show’s lead (the black Matt James – who was a diversity hire last June after George Floyd happened), the lead’s theorized winner (Rachel Kirkconnel), a former contestant and lead (Rachel Lindsey – who traded on her appearances on the show as the first black Bachelorette to get an undeserved-on-merit talk show), and the aforementioned host (Chris Harrison).
Because human nature is not basically good, some basement dwellers went down the social media rabbit hole to dig up dirt on contestants and eventually found what they were looking for when a photo of Kirkconnel emerged at a sorority ball in which the theme was Antebellum South on a plantation. Although there was plenty of costumery and booze, there were no slaves at this particular sorority party, to the best of my knowledge. Nevertheless, the depiction of anything alluding to the pre-Civil War South must be deemed racist.
Does this mean clothes with cotton will be banned, or are tobacco products racist? They have connotations to slavery, too. Only time will tell.
This has been a long buildup to get to the crux of the issue. In an interview with Rachel Lindsey on her difficult-to-listen-to show, Chris Harrison was asked by the hostess to wade into the burgeoning controversy. A piece from CNN sets up the story and recounts part of the exchange that caused such ire on the left:
Harrison told “Extra” correspondent and former star of “The Bachelorette,” Rachel Lindsay that the pictures were a long time ago and spoke out against cancel culture.
“I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago, and that’s it. Like, boom,” Harrison said, adding, “I’m like, ‘Really?’”
Lindsay replied, “The picture was from 2018 at an Old South antebellum party. That’s not a good look.”
Harrison replied, “Well, Rachel was it a good look in 2018? Or, is it not a good look in 2021? Because there’s a big difference.”
“It’s not a good look ever,” Lindsay said. “If I went to that party, what would I represent at that party?”
“You’re 100% right in 2021,” Harrison then said. “That was not the case in 2018. And again, I’m not defending Rachael. I know that I don’t know; 50 million people did that in 2018. That was the type of party that a lot of people went to. And again, I’m not defending it. I didn’t go to it.”
Later in the interview, he added:
“This judge, jury, executioner thing where people are just tearing this girl’s life apart and diving into her parents, her parents’ voting record…. Until I actually hear this woman have a chance to speak, who am I to say any of this? I saw a picture of her at a sorority party five years ago, and that’s it.”
For making basic observations about the deployment of cancel culture to DEFCON 5 and stating that the alleged offender should have a chance to share her side of the story (as in, remind everyone that she was at a college dress-up party and not a slave auction). Unironically, Harrison became the latest casualty of the cancel culture to which he was referring.
The rest is now history. Harrison apologized – getting nowhere – and Kirkconnel also apologized – only to be accused of being “vapid” by Rachel Lindsey in the process. Newsflash: All leftism is vapid. We live in a world where Rachel Lindsey and Matt James are correct because they are black and where Chris Harrison and Rachel Kirkconnel are wrong because they are white. That’s about as much as needs to be known. As was mentioned, despite apologizing, Harrison’s scalp was a required trophy, and an outspoken, leftist black man replaced him. This is where the Bachelor pushed its chips all-in on woke leftism.
Harrison’s replacement is a former NFLer by the name of Emmanuel Acho. Acho rose to increased fame after writing a book that the New York Times desperately wanted to include on its bestseller list. The book’s title, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, is the same as his YouTube channel. In perhaps the great irony of ironies, though, Acho also currently hosts a show on Fox Sports going by the name – and this is not a joke – Speak For Yourself.
Does it bother him that Harrison and Kirkconnel were not allowed to speak for themselves?
Acho comes from a long line of privileged black men who have earned more in a few professional sports seasons than most Americans (white or any other) will ever earn over their entire lifetime. Indeed, a recent study estimated that the average American would earn under $3 million for a lifetime of service. In his mere four years in the NFL, Acho was able to secure half that amount. Trading on his NFL career to write a book deal, launch a YoutTube channel, land a television studio show, and now most recently become the next host of an established franchise, it is safe to say that Acho will be wealthier than most Americans can only dream. What’s more, many of these accomplishments happened not despite being black but because of being black. What’s that about racism again?
Nevertheless, Acho is in place to double down on the narrative that America is awful and always has been awful. He will pontificate from his privileged platform to remind the middle-class viewers of their systemic racism. When the two-hour show ends each Monday, the latter will prepare to go to their dreary 9-5s the next day, and the former will retire to his abode and feel morally superior about the hard work he is doing to dismantle white supremacy.
In recent years, the Bachelor had been receiving flak for not featuring enough black contestants and, until Lindsey and James were the leads, not featuring a black Bachelor or Bachelorette. In typical fashion, leftism and the lefties that enable it wanted to destroy the Bachelor Nation’s silly institution rather than go out and create their own black dating reality television show. The Bachelor series does not owe anything to anybody. If they want to have an all-white lineup, then fine. If the black community feels so aggrieved, why can’t they produce a new show? The same people that say, Disney, as a private company, can fire Gina Carano are the same people likely saying that ABC needs more racial diversity.
I am beyond hope that Americans will tune out of this show. Too many self-absorbed, ignorant, and apathetic citizens dwell among us. Chris Harrison deserves our support, not Rachel Lindsey, Matt James, and the supposed oppressed racial subclass in America. By all accounts, Rachel Kirkconnel was the winner of Matt James’ heart. She was so decidedly un-racist that she wanted to marry a black man. No one seems to bother with making that connection.
There is a simple message for these fools: Yesterday it was Gina Carano, today it was Chris Harrison, and eventually, it will be you. Enjoy the rose ceremonies while you can.
