I was kind of intrigued by last week’s Buzzfeed article, attempting to whip up the internet mob for the purpose of going after Chip and Joanna Gaines, who have a hugely popular home renovation show on the HGTV channel, and cannily have never said a word on the show regarding their more or less mainstream Christian beliefs, or their attendance at a mega-church where the pastor apparently is on the record as having expressed disapproval of the concept of the institution of formal marriage being anything other than that of a man and a woman. (Note: I’ve never watched the show myself, although my daughter has. Blondie avers that Joanna Gaines is a one-note designer; her thing is shabby chic. All to the good, since that is my own preference, well-mixed with Laura Ashley comfortable country antique seasoned with a splash of William Morris/Craftsman. And … well, most people have items of décor and large furniture of which they are fond … who the heck clears the deck and redecorates every year or so, in response to the fashion of the moment? Only the very wealthy and socially insecure, I surmise.)
More power to them – the Gainses and their redecorating business; not the internet lynch mob, always ready to be whipped up to a fine frothing frenzy. Really, this early 21st century is increasingly resembling the 16th, in the ruthless search for the ritual burning at stake by officials or by the annoyingly self-appointed for individuals who refuse to give lip-service to the prevailing social/political orthodoxies.
One would go mad, trying to keep track of them. What was a conventional, blandly conformist stance yesterday or the day before appears as high crime in the eyes of the self-anointed Social Savonarolas. Believing and saying that all lives matter, that actual, official-type marriage is a one man/one woman arrangement, and that one ought to be able to choose a neighborhood to live in according to what one could afford and among a racial/social/economic demographic with which one was comfortable … apparently, all those assumptions are now the worst kind of badthink, egregious hate-crime, the worst-evah! What is an ordinary, conventional-thinking person to do, now?
It is something of a reassurance, seeing that the 21st century Social Savonarolas appear to suffer from having their torches dialed down a bit of late. The scheduled ritual burning-at-stake for the Gainses has been derailed by HGTV recalling which side their bread is buttered upon, and the Gainses themselves going tactfully above the fray by being all high-minded and decently ignoring the ruckus below them. The threatened Chick-Fil-A boycott four years ago – derailed by an outpouring of support for the company and long lines at every Chick-Fil-A outlet in the country – may have been a harbinger, an early warning of how exactly how sick and fed-up ordinary people were of being hectored, lectured, battered and ostentatiously boycotted by the Social Savonarolas. The designated targets may also have gotten a lot less inclined to roll over and apologize for these their offenses, likely having noticed that making any gesture of apology or explanation just encourages the Social Savonarolas – and that the best response is either to ignore as Chip and Joanna Gaines did, or tell them to FOAD.
Is the Social Savonarola’s Heretic-Lynching card now overdrawn? Discuss.
The Target example and now Kelloggs may be more recent examples. We’ll see how that goes. Kellogs is particularly stupid since their sugar laden product is mostly despised on the left. The NFL is similarly dim since the left is opposed to kids playing football and the trial lawyers have them in their sights over concussions and TBI lawsuits,
I learned a very long time ago the Harry Truman aphorism, “His downfall began when he took his friends for granted and tried to bribe his enemies.” He said it about a Roman Senator but I took it as a rule of life in a profession that was largely a matter of referrals. That of course was before HMOs.
How these companies expect to thrive when they alienate customers is a mystery. What is worse, is to alienate those customers who tend to gravitate to your product.
The Dixie Chicks learned who really wanted to pay for country music.
Kelloggs may learn that conservatives have more kids and buy more cereal than the leftists who, presumably, the CEO prefers.
My wife watches this show. They have an entertaining rapport with each other, but your daughter is correct. Her style has been trendy for the past few years. Grey shiplap. Sooner or later it will run its course just like every other designer on that channel. They are good people, however. I hope they carry on in some capacity.
I wonder how long-term some of this is – I hardly ever get fast food at Chick-fil because these many years later in our heavily Baptist community the lines are always long..My more religious friends are remain loyal. I suspect conservatives by their nature have longer and more appreciative memories. (And also many love that station; I’m too unhandy to have any interest but that ship-lap stuff was a revelation – we’re fairly close to Waco.)
My wife is a fan of the show. Largely because of the family oriented business where Chip is the ultimate demo, gut and upgrade hands-on contractor and Jo is the designer and interior decorator. They do real houses and turn them into something one can really appreciate as a marked improvement. I often question how much they do on the limited budgets, but perhaps Chip and Jo’s parts are paid by the network. Jo’s interior decorating style is influenced by her appreciation of her Texas rural roots, but I find it well integrated and contemporary. We both have picked up some nice ideas for our own home challenges.
They come across as two real people with good hearts and a great marriage. Their religious views are never featured, but we were not at all surprised that they are committed Christians. Yes, I do occasionally watch the show with my wife. Happy wife, happy life. It ain’t hard to watch it. Sometimes even a blind hog finds him a’ acorn (`a curn).
A pox on their pitiful detractors. I’ll bet their show’s ratings go up.
By the way, HGTV is not adverse to running shows featuring obviously homosexual couples and designers. Far more often than is representative of their percentage of the population. I have a channel selector and like most folks I know how to operate it if I am offended or just not interested. Frankly, I don’t care as long as the show refrains from pushing such an orientation on their viewers.
Death6
I am upset that Mike Holmes is no longer on HGTV.. I really enjoyed his show and learned from it although I do not live in a very cold climate like Canada.
I really don’t watch HGTV anymore. We are about to move and will have some work to do but I have done this before and pretty much know what I want.\
California just got too weird.
Like the book “SJWs always Lie” says in the “survival guide” section – never apologize. Unlike normal people, SJWs take an apology as weakness, an admission of guilt.
You can also find the guide online for free.
When you get to Arizona, Doctor, be sure to post pictures of yourself walking out of a grocery store holding plastic bags. That would make me so jealous you have no idea. And neither do the people who don’t live in California and have not a clue what I’m talking about.
And neither do the people who don’t live in California and have not a clue what I’m talking about.
Plastic bags were the last straw. I’m also pleased that I don’t have to worry about modifying my AR 15 or buying ammo.
Here are a few photos of the house.
We are waiting for the appraisal to come through. If that is low, which the realtor assures us is impossible, the seller will have to lower his price. The homes all around it are much more expensive and bigger. It is about 1800 sq ft which is about all we want. We made a low offer on another house not far away that was perfect, in that it needed no work, but was a bit big for us and especially Jill who has to keep it in shape. That one was 2600 sq ft and gorgeous but probably too much. We made a low offer and they countered at $50k too high. We moved on. This one needs a bit of work but is $100k less. Both have an acre of land and a private location.
And PLASTIC BAGS in the stores. Orange County was exempt until this last election. The lunatics finally got to Orange County, which also voted for Hillary, so we are about right in our timing.
Social Savonarola is a great term. I’m going to have to steal it and learn how to spell it.
That said, ship lap is the work of the devil.
Steal away, JaimeR – I’ve always wanted to launch an internet meme.
I can endure shiplap – but is popcorn ceilings that really are the work of the devil.
popcorn ceilings that really are the work of the devil
Agree whole-heartedly. I’ve had to strip that crap off a ceiling or two to re-paint.
The popcorn will go before we move in as it is a complete mess to remove. I did it in my California house 20 years ago,
It is also easier with the house empty as plastic is hanging everywhere.
Not to mention all the ceiling pock marks underneath that popcorn. You’d be mudding and sanding all day long. I did that in my current home, never again! I’ll just pay someone to do it next time.