Leaving The Neutral Zone

Wayne Gretzky recently threw his support behind Stephen Harper and the Conservatives in Canada's election.  The endorsement is purely symbolic, since Gretzky - a dual American/Canadian citizen - lives in the U.S., and that means he can't vote, due to recent law changes by...Stephen Harper's Conservatives.

It's a bit of a surprise, because hockey has its own political spectrum, in which Gretzky would be the Bernie Sanders to Don Cherry's Donald Trump.  But I suppose you have to include demographics: men, whites, rich people and Eastern Europeans are more likely to be conservative, so one would assume that the hockey world in general would prefer Harper.

Not surprisingly, there's been sharply divergent reaction to this.  When a public figure suddenly supports a politician, I wonder what motivates it.  Obviously, it could be that the public figure is really passionate about the politician and the issues at stake in the election.  But the other likely explanation is the complete opposite: they don't know or care much about politics, they're taking a stand without realizing how controversial it will be. 

If it's a celebrity that has a history of taking a stand, you know it's the former.  If it's someone new to the public eye, you'll also assume it's the former: it's probably someone with a passion for politics who will be making this a part of their persona for as long as they are famous.  But in a case like Gretzky's, you have to wonder why a guy who's been famous for decades would only take a stand now.  It's entirely possible that he didn't realize many people would turn on him.

I'm not saying you should feel sorry for him or anyone else who wades into politics and suddenly becomes controversial.  While I appreciate people taking a stand, that's because political issues have real consequences.  As such, it's irresponsible to get involved in an important discussion you don't understand. So always get informed before wading into politics.  People will still hate you for it, but at least you'll be sure you're right and they're wrong.