I wish they could bring John Denver back to life just so he could sue Mark Zuckerberg for this.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) July 4, 2021
pic.twitter.com/SDAWsIByOh
Via Instapundit, who says "But since this didn’t happen by accident, why is Zuck suddenly trying to look like a patriotic redneck? Because there’s a reason."
There are depths, presumably, but purely superficially, it's delightful and lovable. It's silly, corny Americana. Perfect for the 4th (the 5th).
And it makes a nice contrast to that NYT article we were all reading yesterday: "A Fourth of July Symbol of Unity That May No Longer Unite/In a Long Island town, neighbors now make assumptions, true and sometimes false, about people who conspicuously display American flags."
Politicians of both parties have long sought to wrap themselves in the flag. But something may be changing: Today, flying the flag from the back of a pickup truck or over a lawn is increasingly seen as a clue, albeit an imperfect one, to a person’s political affiliation in a deeply divided nation.
Supporters of former President Donald J. Trump have embraced the flag so fervently — at his rallies, across conservative media and even during the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol — that many liberals.... worry that the left has all but ceded the national emblem to the right.
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11 comments:
Temujin writes:
"The New York Times is not content with just destroying America (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9755917/New-York-Times-blasted-divisive-story-says-flying-American-flag-shows-GOP-allegiance.html), they have eyes on further borders as well. Nothing says vanity like someone working for the Times. It's not even a news source or a reporting platform any longer. It is a quest to undermine anything that is considered traditional culture and replace it with...? They haven't thought it out that far ahead. They believe they are the culture.
"It's amazing that some still refer to this as the 'paper of record'. I honestly think they've devolved into a souped up modernized version of National Enquirer with the largest budget in the newspaper industry and a hard core subscriber base that thinks of them, not as a newspaper, but as a symbol of intelligence, insight, and correctness. They want to be on that side. They need to be on that side. And it's a hard habit to break. I remember breaking it off with the Times years ago. I felt like I might be missing something.
"I wasn't."
Wince writes:
"'There are depths, presumably, but purely superficially, it's delightful and lovable. It's silly, corny Americana. Perfect for the 4th (the 5th)'
"Even superficially, the optics have Zuck using abstruse technology to raise himself, alone, above above the waterline, holding the flag like a prop, all in the wake of a boatload of sycophants just off camera filming the image like a John Kerry kite surf."
I say:
I thought of that John Kerry video too, but for me it makes a completely different impression.
Louis writes:
"When you're worth almost 130 billion dollars, you can do what you want on the 4th of July. And, it's not like he's firing off illegal fireworks, which is a fire hazard and terrifies pets, What he's doing is harmless and I will never fault someone for flying an American flag on Independence Day.
"Seriously, some jerk decided to fire off loud fireworks in my neighborhood at 9 AM on July 5th. Which made the dog freak out. BTW, it's not my dog. It's my roommate's dog. He's a black Labrador/pit bull mix. He's very smart and affectionate, but he is easily freaked out by the mailman or fireworks. A year and a half ago, he tore his meniscus and was limping very badly. I paid $3000 to the vet to repair him. (Even though he wasn't, technically my dog.) On some level he knows that and now I'm his favorite person in the house. He's almost nine years old now. His muzzle is getting grey but he still has the energy of a puppy. In the social structure of pack animals, I suspect that he feels that it's a sign of pack status to share the bed of the "top dog" in the household. Because we have a new baby girl in the house, Raider has to sleep in my room. He's currently asleep on my bed, right next to me, as I write this."
Call me Amadeus 48 writes:
"Amusing and thrilling corny video featuring the one and only Zuck! It would also be good if it were done by Robbie and James, the two proud hillbillies who take care of our lawn and garden.
"As to how Team Trump grabbed the flag, I think the MAGA slogan is a clue. Team Hillary (remember her?) didn’t seem interested and called a lot of the country deplorable. Then folks like Comey and Brennan and Clapper made you wonder about where their loyalties were (hint: they were loyal to their clique rather than the country).
"I would say that Zuck needs to show something. I can only speculate why."
Assistant Village Idiot writes:
"The left, especially the journalistic left, ceded the flag to the right decades ago. I recall reading True Patriot by a Clinton speechwriter and an Amazon director in 2008 and noticing how often they claimed that the right defined patriotism by wearing flag pins and flying the flag, unlike True Patriots who believed that patriotism was better expressed by doing what internationalist liberals thought best. Even at the time I thought this was old and tired. When I was a wise fool in college in the 1970s, we advanced thinkers sniggered at all those flag-wavers, considering them mindless and worse...unfashionable. They just didn't get it that the flag wasn't cool. Much of the energy put into cataloguing America's sins and how oblivious all those jingoists are to Real History is just cover for needing desperately to be cool."
Leora writes:
"I was out at the end of Long Island a couple of weeks ago and noticed several American flags were accompanied by Pride flags. Not sure if these are gay Republicans, people who don’t want to be thought to be Republicans or just folks who love America and support Gay Pride. It would be good if the NY Times could acknowledge that most Americans are proud of our country."
Lucien writes:
"The Grey Lady stacked the deck with the pickup reference. Flying a flag from the back of your Prius is less divisive — or from the back of your E-bike with a Malti-Poo riding in the basket. (I guess Zuckerberg is a divisive symbol too.)"
Rob writes:
I completely agree with you. There was a time, it seems so very long ago, that our actions weren’t pro or anti Trump. Right, left, liberal, conservative or just flat neutral, we could all get caught up in the spirit of whatever occasion was being celebrated. Glenn thinks something is going on. I don’t. Zuck is young, probably has folks over and has tossed a few back (assuming sunset not sunrise but when I was his age that wouldn’t have mattered) and just out there doing his July 4th thing.
I seriously doubt John Denver would have objected. I kind of feel like he would have celebrated it. I don’t really care about either persons’ politics but Denver seemed to be to be on the left side of the political spectrum. Not really sure where Zuck is; he’s got a huge global platform business to run and his personal politics can’t necessarily interfere with the interests of Facebook and its affiliates.
That said, I got off Facebook right after the election as did many of my conservative friends. I left all social media (I did not opt for any alternatives like Gab or Parlar). A bit was protest over biased deplatforming but my sole motive was privacy, security and an overwhelming desire to reduce my digital footprint.
I hopped over to Instapundit to see what Glenn said. Maybe Zuck sees a trend and is waving the flag to those like me but I think he’s just having some fun. Glad I hopped as I had no idea what the heck he was riding and now I do!
Hope you you had an enjoyable Independence Day!
Tina writes:
Flags are supposed to ripple and fly, aren't they?
Still, I can't help wishing the ghost of John Denver caught Zuckerberg one in the balls.
I know I should be better than that. I'm just not in the mood. Boy, John Denver was so good, so much better than we realized, wasn't he?
The only musicians I miss are John Denver and Freddie Mercury. I have taught my dogs to howl like coyotes to Bohemian Rhapsody.
That has had its pros and cons.
Bob Boyd writes:
"Re: Dat muttafuggin' Zuckabug...
""Stop the nay saying - this is delightful and lovable."
"HD Stock Video Footage - Adolf Hitler's companion Eva Braun enjoys water skiing at Wolfgangsee Lake in Austria. (criticalpast.com)"
Tina wrote:
Flags are supposed to ripple and fly, aren't they?
Still, I can't help wishing the ghost of John Denver caught Zuckerberg one in the balls.
I know I should be better than that. I'm just not in the mood. Boy, John Denver was so good, so much better than we realized, wasn't he?
The only musicians I miss are John Denver and Freddie Mercury. I have taught my dogs to howl like coyotes to Bohemian Rhapsody.
That has had its pros and cons.
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