By Terry Manning
Few things amuse me as much as the homogeneity of self-described “independent thinkers.”
I remember one afternoon in college, waiting for my order of 59-cent burritos and noticing a trio of students who had been in line behind me.
I motioned toward them and told one of my buddies, “Rebels, but they all wear the same uniform: t-shirts with punk band logos, torn jeans and black Chuck Taylors. How can you be a rebel when you’re doing the same thing all the other rebels are doing?”
Many supporters of the former president are recognizable by their uniforms: The wraparound sunglasses; big-block pickups; the trucker hats; the militaristic window decals; and “Don’t tread on me” bumper stickers.
Conservatives have become easy marks for the parade of grifters who try to trigger any and every emotion to get them to spend their hard-earned money to support what they think liberals hate. For folks who love to call everybody else “sheep,” they are quick to adopt ways to showcase their support for the president. Some of them will spend every dime they have to prove they are on his team — and he knows it.
The latest example is the clamor to purchase T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other paraphernalia with the former president’s booking photo from his indictment in Fulton County, Georgia. The Washington Post reports the first merchandise was available for sale a short 90 minutes after the mug shot was taken. The photo is accompanied by the slogan, “Never Surrender,” despite his doing exactly that to prevent a warrant from being issued for his arrest.
But it’s been going on since long before that. The first time I noticed was a radio ad at least a decade ago for a barbecue joint in downtown Montgomery, Ala. After touting the freshly made smoky goodness of his offerings (which he regularly served after reheating frozen meat in a microwave) he ended the commercial, “And folks? God bless America.”
I laughed at the cheap sentiment, but he knew his target demographic.
Conservatives decry “cancel culture” but regularly use their buying power to destroy some careers while making kings of others. They boycotted the Dixie Chicks for protesting the Gulf War but supported country singer Morgan Wallen after he used racial slurs.
They blew up their Yeti coolers because they thought the manufacturer had dissed the NRA and then bought brand-new Yeti coolers after they discovered no slight had taken place.
They targeted Bud Light for reaching out to a transgender influencer, hitting Anheuser-Busch so hard it actually ran ads pleading for the jobs of its employees who produced the beer. That failed, and now Mexican-brand Modelo Especial is America’s top seller.
They stayed away from Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” because it belonged to Disney and because the mermaid was portrayed by a Black actress (“woke” alert!) They are lining up to watch the QAnon-approved thriller “Sound of Freedom,” but can’t stop lying about movie theaters trying to sabotage screenings.
They tried to boycott Chick-fil-A after its owner said he said white American Christians owed a debt to Black Americans for the enduring legacy of slavery. That fizzled out, but then someone found a years-old diversity statement on the franchise’s website and launched a second attempt.
They made “Rich Men North of Richmond” a number-one hit because they thought it was another “blue-collar anthem” attacking liberals. And then singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony posted a video to social media explaining that many of his would-be supporters had missed the song’s point.
After the song was showcased during the recent Republican primary debate, Anthony responded, “I wrote that song about those people.” He took the typical libertarian stance that he was being misunderstood — and exploited — by both big political parties. Even though he gave Fox News permission to use the song and though he previously had given an interview to Fox News about the song.
But Fox News is where the suckers are, right? It’s not news the network’s viewers are the most misinformed of any major news network’s audience.
Now we are seeing studies showing the financial toll of the constant barrage of commercials pushing them to invest in gold, buy pro-conservative digital currencies, purchase reverse mortgages, protect themselves against IRS audits, and, lest we forget, rest their heads on MyPillows while they wait for Mike Lindell to prove how the 2020 election was stolen.
Freedom isn’t free, but conservatives have made their version of “patriotism” cost way too much.
Terry E. Manning is a Clemson graduate and worked for 20 years as a journalist. He can be reached at teemanning@gmail.com.
