Paul Joseph Watson of Alex Jones’ infamous Infowars website has today released a response to Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter’s “State of the Union” address from last night’s episode of WWE RAW.
Watson attacks WWE for the character, stating that WWE has “jumped on the bandwagon of demonizing the Tea Party.”
Watson asserts that the gimmick “is part of the divide and conquer tactic of cultural subversion to manufacture racial division and to characterize the Tea Party, conservatives, libertarians, opponents of uncontrolled illegal immigration and constitutionalists as racist, extremist radicals who should be pushed to the fringes of the political discourse.”
Watson also acknowledges Vince and Linda McMahon’s association with the Republican party, stating that Zeb Colter and Jack Swagger represent “how grass roots conservatives and libertarians are viewed by those near the top of the power structure.”
While Watson labels the duo of Swagger and Colter as “racists,” Jack Swagger has already responded to the accusation through Twitter by simply asking “when did freedom of speech become racism?”
While the general consensus amongst fans already seems to be that this gimmick is done in poor taste, to believe that the gimmick is a deliberate attempt to demonize the Tea Party, as opposed to an exploitation of currently accepted exaggerations, is simply foolish. To believe that a wrestling gimmick is meant to be representative of an entire group as opposed to a characterization based on stereotypes is beyond ridiculous.
Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter may be running with an inappropriate gimmick, and they may be treading on some dangerous territory by making the World Heavyweight Championship bout at Wrestlemania into an inappropriate ideological battle, but if one actually believes this gimmick is designed intentionally to harm anything other than Swagger’s long-term career, they’re dead wrong.
Regardless of political affiliation, wrestling fans know that Jack Swagger no more represents the Tea Party than the Nation of Domination represented African Americans. While it may be in poor taste, Swagger’s gimmick is more of a sophomoric characterization than an honest attempt at demonization.
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