This week has felt surreal in the context of the diverse culture of this great republic. Every February, we have the Super Bowl. Like many people in this country, I don’t care much for American football. I emphasize this because “football,” to most Africans, means soccer; in America, to avoid confusion, the emphasis on American football is necessary. But since it’s one large annual event, a great deal happens on that day and during that game.
Nearly half the nation tunes in to watch. It resembles a winter festival more than a sporting event: people eat chicken wings, drink beer, and talk about the ads and the halftime show, which has become a major concert-like spectacle. It features a big-name artist, and the creativity and performance are dissected for days afterward. Last year it was Kendrick Lamar; this year it was Bad Bunny- and that is the main reason for this reflection. I haven’t written anything in a long time, but this one deserved its own space.
One of the defining features of the Super Bowl is the aftermath of the halftime show. People analyze the performance, the symbolism, and its cultural significance for a week or more. This year, almost anyone you speak to about the game- unless they are of Latino/a descent- offers negative feedback. The reactions are openly emotional; some even said they will never watch the Super Bowl again.
Why? When asked, they respond: “This is an English-speaking country, and the artist sang entirely in Spanish. He’s Puerto Rican,” and the list of grievances continues. Fair enough-there is a point there, to an extent. I try to hear people out. But if people are angry simply because of the choice of artist, then the decision-makers at the NFL and beyond achieved exactly what they intended. They did not prioritize the audience’s cultural comfort when selecting him. This was no mistake. If money were the concern, they would have calculated potential losses-yet they still moved forward with the message or agenda they wished to amplify. And, notably, they did not lose money.
Some blamed billionaire Jay-Z as part of the reason this artist was chosen. They knew Bad Bunny primarily speaks Spanish, with limited English, and that his performance would be entirely in that language. And that, to me, is precisely the point. The power structures in this republic benefit from division and outrage among the people. Divide and conquer is as old as humanity; if it did not work, it would not be used. That is why many of us believe even entertainment can function as distraction.
And speaking of distraction- the system thrives on manufactured distraction. We experience sudden spikes of collective outrage: cancel culture one week, a symbolic conflict the next. It is not that these issues lack human significance; they do. But they are amplified and distorted in ways that keep us fighting horizontally instead of looking vertically at concentrations of wealth, power, and control. Try doing almost anything online and frustration quickly follows. Much of this feels engineered.
Keep the bottom 99% fighting over cultural validation, and they will never look upward. Empathy, tribalism, national identity, insecurity-all weaponized as smoke screens. Flood the space with misinformation until people give up trying to see clearly. Give it a week, and many will forget the name of the performer, yet the resentment will linger. That, arguably, is the objective.
We are told “the other side” is the enemy, while those selling the weapons quietly foreclose on our future. Everything is monetized- and among the most profitable commodities are hatred and division.
What we are discouraged from examining is how we are managed. Do not look at their wealth. They operate within their own system-a kind of “wealth defense industry,” sustained by armies of lawyers and accountants constructing elaborate legal labyrinths. In that world, the laws of economics barely seem to apply, while every dollar earned through ordinary labor is meticulously extracted.
This halftime show and the surrounding discourse arrived at a moment when the nation is already agitated about wrongdoing and abuse of power, amplified by renewed attention to the Epstein files. Such spectacles can dull public focus, at least temporarily, while narratives shift and attention fragments. Already, public voices minimize or trivialize matters that would permanently define the lives of ordinary individuals. Accountability appears uneven.
Our ignorance becomes fuel. Our outrage becomes lubricant. Each time we take the bait of a manufactured conflict, we surrender another measure of clarity.
No billionaire visionary or polished politician is coming to dismantle entrenched systems from within. The first step is a radical form of intellectual self-defense: developing a filter fine enough to detect propaganda. I do not claim omniscience, but one principle holds true for me- never accept unquestioningly everything that propagandized media presents.
When you encounter a viral headline, ask:
Who does this want me to hate, and how does that hatred prevent me from questioning power?
You do not fix a parasite. You stop being a host.
I refuse to hate on command. That is my clinical assessment and diagnosis.
I remain,
Pal Ronnie
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