July 14, 2021

"'Don’t Fauci My Florida,' read drink koozies and T-shirts that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s campaign team rolled out just as his state sees some of the highest coronavirus hospitalizations..."

"... new infections and deaths per capita in the country. It’s the latest example of Republicans running on their opposition to virus-fueled shutdowns and mask mandates. A pandemic hero to some and villain to others, Fauci has become a high-profile target.... While discussing the Florida budget this summer, DeSantis said his state’s rosy financial outlook would not have been possible 'if we had followed Fauci.' 'Instead we followed freedom,' he said. His campaign’s 'Team DeSantis' Twitter account announced the new merchandise Monday. The Fauci items are listed alongside 'Keep Florida Free' hats and red koozies that take aim at face coverings with a DeSantis quote: 'How the hell am I going to be able to drink a beer with a mask on?'"

From "DeSantis sells ‘Don’t Fauci My Florida’ merch as new coronavirus cases near highest in nation" (WaPo).

This campaign merchandise is viral — viral 2 ways. 1. It's about coronavirus, 2. It gets DeSantis haters to carry his message for him. Those haters may think they're attacking him, but try as they might, they're helping him more than they're hurting him.

As for beer koozies, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've drunk anything straight from a can in my entire life. I'll drink from a bottle, but not a can. I follow freedom, and I choose not to challenge my face with sharp edges of aluminum. I'll put a mask on my face if it's genuinely necessary, but I expect care to be taken in dictating when that is. 

Anyway, I'm not the market for any koozie, let alone a beer-specific koozie with a political slogan. I don't drink from cans, I almost never drink beer, I never wear or wield items emblazoned with politicized writing, and I would never casually expose the general public — which includes children — to aggressive words like "How the hell...?" 

But I did get a little interested in the word "koozie," which to my ear sounds dirty or insulting. Is it some combination of "cool" and "cozy"? I was interested in the etymology! Now, I'm reading Wikipedia. But it doesn't give the origin of the word, so I will maintain my belief — graphically stated at Urban Dictionary (definition #3) — that it started with a vagina metaphor.

6 comments:

Ann Althouse said...

SXD writes:

"I’m under the impression that most koozies work just fine with standard beer bottles. As to the word, yes - sounds like slang for female genitalia."

Ann Althouse said...

vinarce writes:

"AA>>I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've drunk anything straight from a can in my entire life. I'll drink from a bottle, but not a can. I follow freedom, and I choose not to challenge my face with sharp edges of aluminum.<<

"Well , that's fine - to each his own. But had you drunk from a can, oh, maybe five more times you would have discovered that the edges of the can opening are not even close to sharp. Believe it or not, the can manufacturers thought of that and worked that one out a few trillion Cokes ago."

I respond:

The thin metal edge of the drinking hole is not a pleasing thing to have up against my mouth. It's not that I picture it *cutting* me but that it's not as good as a glass! I also dislike the shape of the lip and the annoying drainage canal inside the rim.

Ann Althouse said...

Rt41Rebel writes:

"The slogan seems to be a derivation of the long-popular Don’t New York My Florida. More recently, "DeSantis 2024 - Make America Florida” has become popular on T-Shirts and flags displayed in many SWFL business establishments."

Ann Althouse said...

Temujin writes:

"The press keeps wanting to count cases in Florida. From the very beginning. They have zero interest in actual information about the disease. But they have huge interest in spiking any run by Gov. DeSantis for President. He is a constant target. They love to do counts.

"I am very annoyed by the nonstop counting of cases, not the counting of actual people getting sick from the disease, just that they show up with it in their system. Up until now, this counting cases was an exercise in idiocy. But there are some new stats that bear a watch, as discussed in this article: https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/vaccines-reasons-for-concern-part.

"The earliest vaccinated countries, Israel and the UK, were also the first to show a decline in vaccine effectiveness. The US was next in getting these out to mass population numbers, so it's important to watch the next few weeks here. And Florida, by virtue of being the fastest growing state in the nation, is seeing unprecedented inflow of people from all over- most notably from New York and the Northeast. On top of that we get a steady flow of people from all over the world, because we are a vacation spot, a tourist mecca of sorts. So we're going to see exposures here that many states simply don't have to deal with (anybody flocking to San Francisco these days?).

"So, IF we're seeing a spike, the questions are: who is getting it, vaccinated people or unvaccinated people? What variant of covid is it? And...are they getting sick or are we still just counting? Are hospitalizations going up? And if so, do these people have other issues, comorbidities?

"Many questions to follow up with, but I- for one- refuse to listen to anything coming out of that posturing politicized prima donna of TV over-exposure, Dr. Fauci. There is actual science out there. But don't look for it from the Corporate Press. They have other missions and Fauci is their Head Spokesperson."

Ann Althouse said...

Narr writes:

"Paul Fussell wrote about "legible clothing."

"I share your distaste for such display (if not for beer fresh from the can).

"AFA "koozie". A variant of cu-t, cooter, cooch, with the lubricious zee.

"I come here first every morning, despite the fact that it is the most
difficult blog for me to comment on. I treasure it, and the comments
that get through your filter."

Ann Althouse said...

EDH writes:

"Althouse asked…

"Is it some combination of "cool" and "cozy"?

"Yes. I think it's like the British "cosy" that covers a tea kettle to keep it warm, except to keep the can cold.

"The band Squeeze had a 1985 album called "Cosi Fan Tutti Fruitti".

"The album's title is a play on words, combining the name of the Mozart Italian-language opera Così fan tutte with the name of the Italian confection tutti-frutti (also the name of a Little Richard song). The album's cover art expands this into a visual pun, with a picture of a tea cozy (cosi), a fan, and a tutti-frutti dessert."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosi_Fan_Tutti_Frutti