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visibility is power.
that most athletes are personally nimrods whose footbal playing skills (for example) in no way connect to the endorsement of cheerios in any meaningful way means nothing.
and of course their opinions are in themselves no more or less important than anyone else's
but once you have visibility, in a debased capitalist culture, it is assumed you are famous---it is assumed that fame is reflected in cash money----and that cash is a reflection of virtue---it makes the stupid intelligent, the ugly beautiful and the aged young. like marx said over 100 years ago.
even so, a corporate shill is more than a corporate shill--they retain the right of free speech--conversely, it makes no sense to equate the personal opinions of somone who takes a particular gig with the politics of the firm that hires them.
if you take an endorsement gig, you do not sell your soul, and do not give up your rights as a citizen.
and frankly the example of whoopi goldberg's remarks about bush and linda ronstadt's tepid comments about thinking fraenheit 911 is a decent film are not extraoridinary in any way.
it is cowardice--the flip of a desire to censor free speech---pure and simple, that drives this kind of stuff.
from which follows that the argument that the idea that the corporate sector should be understood by anyone, anywhere, as a model for virtue at any level is beyond me.
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a gramophone its corrugated trumpet silver handle
spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear
it make you sick.
-kamau brathwaite
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