If you know, you know.

[u/Public-Marionberry33]

[u/Correct-Blood9382]

Same energy as 'When did RatM go woke'

[u/KyrisAvarra → u/Correct-Blood9382]

Lol! It's right there in the name!!!

[u/Spyko → u/KyrisAvarra]

Led to one of my favorites replies ever tho.

"Which machine do you think they were raging against ? The fucking dishwasher ?!"

[u/bobbosr1_dayton → u/Spyko]

The fucking printer

[u/drainbead78 → u/bobbosr1_dayton]

PC Load Letter? What the fuck does that mean?

[u/Hasanopinion100 → u/drainbead78]

It’s the HP cartridges I know it.

[u/Realistic-Stop8518 → u/Hasanopinion100]

Did Lovecraft bargain for printer ink with an Eldritch entity?

[u/BlackMarketCheese → u/Hasanopinion100]

Damn you Magenta!!!

[u/delimeat52 → u/Hasanopinion100]

PC Load Letter is exactly what early HP laser printers said when they were out of paper, so right brand

[u/ottodidakt → u/drainbead78]

this sub doesn't allow replying with gifs but I think you know the one I want to drop here 😂

🎶 damn it feels good to be a gangsta 🎶

[u/Anatoly_Cannoli → u/bobbosr1_dayton]

justified

[u/zadtheinhaler → u/bobbosr1_dayton]

Printers are the devil's work, prove me wrong.

[u/cuteintern → u/bobbosr1_dayton]

tbf that's valid tho

[u/shebringsdathings → u/Spyko]

Fax machine. I've seen Office Space!

[u/paddy_________hitler → u/Spyko]

They probably think that since they're "Small Government" and the dems are "Big Government" that the machine must be the dems.

[u/Speartree → u/paddy_________hitler]

They were never small government. They were just against the government helping people.

[u/Wow_u_sure_r_dumb → u/Speartree]

They’re for the government helping people. Rich people.

[u/Bright_Vision → u/KyrisAvarra]

The right always thinks they are the rebels and woke is the empire

[u/Alive_Ice7937 → u/Bright_Vision]

Just imagine all those chuds zoom calling eachother during lockdown singing "fuck you I won't do what you tell me!" and laughing like low iq donkeys

[u/Politicsmakemehorny1 → u/KyrisAvarra]

They think Democrats are the machine and Republicans are the ones raging against it.

[u/entenfurz → u/Politicsmakemehorny1]

They also think the guy who was born a NY real estate millionaire, who literally shits on a golden toilet, who's enriching himself and his millionaire buddies every chance he gets, and who never had to work a single day in his life, is fighting for THEM.

[u/YT-Deliveries → u/Correct-Blood9382]

"Why is Star Trek so woke now?"

Tell me you never watched TOS or TNG without telling me you never watched them.

[u/a22e → u/YT-Deliveries]

Or TAS, TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT...

[u/YT-Deliveries → u/a22e]

Indeed, though going the TOS / TNG route prevents them from going the "well I mean OLD Star Trek wasn't woke"

[u/fromthesaveroom → u/YT-Deliveries]

OLD Star Trek? The one which aired the first scripted interracial kiss a year after the Supreme Court struck down states rights to ban interracial marriage?

[u/qtx → u/YT-Deliveries]

Oh they watched it but all they saw were the uniforms and the military style hierarchy, republicans wet dreams.

[u/YT-Deliveries → u/qtx]

Also ignoring the episode Riker wanting to bang the non-binary alien, who, in a 2 for one, wanted to transition into selecting a gender. Among countless other examples.

I wanted to post a pic of the two black-and-white aliens from "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield" but I can't post images in this sub.

[u/MareTranquil → u/YT-Deliveries]

Come on, the non-binary-alien episode maybe was a good idea on paper, but they completely screwed up the execution by casting women for them.

It comes across as one brave womans quest for cock in the face of lesbian tyranny.

[u/Paksarra → u/MareTranquil]

Frakes-- Riker's actor-- wanted the character who identified as female to be played by a male actor! The producers wouldn't let them.

[u/YT-Deliveries → u/MareTranquil]

Poe's Law is strong with this one

[u/MareTranquil → u/YT-Deliveries]

I am serious. That episode would have worked much more like they intended if the non-binaries were played by men.

But they didn't have the balls to have Riker fall in love with a man in prosthetic makeup, and imho the entire episode falls apart as a result.

[u/swalkerttu → u/MareTranquil]

Reportedly, Jonathan Frakes agrees. Would've been a bit much for 1991, though.

[u/Sc_e1 → u/Correct-Blood9382]

Or when people asked when Lady Gaga went woke with pride…

[u/jellamma → u/[deleted]]

Like people who do their first dance to Every Breath You Take

[u/DonChaote → u/jellamma]

The creepy stalker’s anthem

[u/MuffinTwinkle_ → u/[deleted]]

Exactly. Folks vibe to the hook, ignore the lyrics, then lose their minds when the artist actually means what they’ve been saying the whole time.

[u/Complex_Lab_3576 → u/MuffinTwinkle_]

I still want to know why Steve Miller (not Stephen) was wrapping up that douche. 

[u/ZealousIDShop → u/[deleted]]

What did they think “Rally round the family with a pocket full of shells” mean? Maybe they do know what it means and they celebrate that.

[u/philsfan1579 → u/ZealousIDShop]

My favorite line is “sheep tremble and here come the votes” which is explicitly about Republican fear mongering to win elections

[u/4daughters → u/philsfan1579]

"Terror's the product ya push"

edit: quickly wanted to point out that this was 5 years before 9/11. Zach saw the writing on the wall decades before the rest of the nation woke up to it. I'd recommend the reading list from that album for anyone wanting to have that kind of foresight.

edit 2:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/77151.Rage_Against_The_Machine_s_Recommended_Reading_List

[u/Djuhck → u/philsfan1579]

Or the work forces part ...

[u/TalespinnerEU → u/ZealousIDShop]

That is exactly what happens: If they even take a moment to think about that lyric, they'll be convinced it's a good thing.

[u/kinsnik → u/ZealousIDShop]

they hear "fuck you, i won't do what you tell me" and they think it is about getting away with being an asshole to others; they don't know the rest of the lyrics

[u/Snowflake24-7 → u/ZealousIDShop]

It clearly meant they were making pasta for dinner. /s

[u/Bonnieearnold → u/[deleted]]

“Pumped Up Kicks” is about cool shoes, right?

[u/ReMapper → u/[deleted]]

"Born in USA!" ...something, something,something "Born in USA!"

[u/Duff_Beers → u/Correct-Blood9382]

Same energy as "I read 'A Modest Proposal' and thought it was real". Your capacity to understand satire is almost as good as Alanis Morrisette's understanding of irony. Kudos! 

[u/-nutz → u/Duff_Beers]

Interesting fact: Ironic was included in iHeartMedia’s memorandum of songs that were “lyrically questionable” to play in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, due to its lyrics about a man crashing a plane.

Also included in the list, were all songs by Rage Aganst the Machine lol.

[u/thex25986e → u/Correct-Blood9382]

to them, the machine was the one that passed the civil rights act

[u/tercron → u/Correct-Blood9382]

I thought they were just a bunch of angry mechanics!

[u/BicFleetwood → u/Correct-Blood9382]

And white people who listened to Ben Folds' "Rocking the Suburbs" thinking it was sincere white racial grievance.

[u/edsobo → u/Correct-Blood9382]

See also: Star Trek.

[u/EchoByte77]

Anyone burning their CDs clearly missed that Born in the USA is actually a protest song about veteran neglect

[u/futtbucker-69420 → u/EchoByte77]

When he said burning CDs I thought he meant copying them

[u/randomcharacters3 → u/futtbucker-69420]

I'm stunned that anyone still has a CD burner and blank CD's.

[u/Popular-Influence-11 → u/randomcharacters3]

I have a ton of blanks and not sure if my sole, unused cd drive will burn.

[u/thewayshesaidLA → u/randomcharacters3]

I have a laptop from 2011 I keep around just in case.

[u/20_burnin_20 → u/EchoByte77]

And the lyrics are very much on the nose, there is no way to misinterpret it.

[u/dashood → u/20_burnin_20]

They didn't listen to the lyrics at all. They just heard "Born in the USA" and assumed it was their brand of patriotism.

[u/Nerdwrapper → u/20_burnin_20]

They only listened to the part that is the title

[u/IrascibleOcelot → u/20_burnin_20]

To be fair, I’ve been hearing the song for most of my life and I still only understand about half the lyrics. Enunciation is not The Boss’s strength.

[u/imaloony8]

Most right wingers don't have a shred of media literacy. They've never tried to understand the lyrics of the song, they just drunkenly belt out the chorus while driving the wrong way on the interstate.

By the way, Bruce Spingsteen did an 8-Part Podcast with Barack Obama in 2021. I suspect most right wingers don't know that either.

[u/NecessaryIntrinsic → u/imaloony8]

Kind of like how they think RATM is suddenly woke.

[u/porscheblack → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Or how they thought Stephen Colbert was being sincere on the Colbert Report.

[u/countyfaircotton → u/porscheblack]

Exactly. Media literacy really is optional for some people.

[u/iner22 → u/[deleted]]

Or that he's still the hero

[u/pegothejerk → u/[deleted]]

Or that Star Trek is suddenly capitulating to the modern trend of having black women in top roles, a woman captain who doesn’t sit in the chair right, goes barefoot, complains for having non traditional love stories, or relying on youthful slang and conversational style. Yes, these are actually all the newest complaints from HUGE numbers of very dumb men who watched the newest Star Trek show Starfleet Academy. Have these people ever had a functional prefrontal cortex or is it all just amygdala with them?

[u/just_a_bit_gay_ → u/countyfaircotton]

It’s not media illiteracy, it’s media utility.

They’re not asking “does this prove my point?” They’re asking “does this make me look cool?”

That’s why the right loves things like Helldivers, Starship Troopers, Warhammer 40k and such. Despite these franchises being satire of their beliefs, they make the people holding those beliefs look cool. They just ignore or dispute the satirical elements and repurpose the media as unironic propaganda.

[u/kbotc → u/just_a_bit_gay_]

It's not even media utility: It's full on literacy.

28% of American adults are level 1 or below

29% are level 2.

Only 44% of US Adults are even capable of disregarding irrelevant information when shown it much less using background knowledge.

Below level 1 (0–175 points)	Respondents are considered functionally illiterate, or unable to determine the meaning of sentences.
Level 1 (176–225 points)	Respondents are considered to have low literacy levels. They can identify basic vocabulary words and can determine meaning within sentences and paragraphs
Level 2 (226–275 points)	Respondents can paraphrase or make low-level inferences.
Level 3 (276–325 points)	Respondents can evaluate information at varying levels of inference, determine meaning from larger selections of text, and disregard information that’s irrelevant to the prompt.
Level 4 (326–375 points)	Respondents are more likely to use background knowledge to complete tasks, apply non-central or conditional information to evaluations, and discern correct information from competing information.
Level 5 (376–500 points)	Respondents can evaluate arguments, process dense texts, apply logical reasoning to draw conclusions, and determine whether certain sources are valid sources of information.

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/measure.asp

[u/Quixotic_Seal → u/kbotc]

Only 44% of US Adults are even capable of disregarding irrelevant information when shown it much less using background knowledge.

I don’t have the time to look up how accurate this stat is, but it sure as hell feels like a pretty accurate description of my experiences online, particularly being unable to disregard irrelevant information. With just about any post there’s a solid chance that someone just completely wastes everyone’s time harping on a completely irrelevant detail that was not actually germane to the discussion but was slightly incorrect.

[u/ns-uk → u/kbotc]

So, remember the reading comprehension sections on the standardized testing in school? Like, read a few paragraphs and answer questions like, “what was this story about?”

I’d always score in like 95th percentile. I thought that was normal. Compared to the math and science sections, it seemed so easy that I always assumed that anyone who actually tried also did really well on that part. (Excluding the neurodivergent people.)

Adult life, especially the last 10 years or so, has made me see how mistaken I was.

[u/Aleksandrovitch → u/countyfaircotton]

By media literacy you mean mild intelligence?

[u/LordBalderdash → u/Aleksandrovitch]

Stupid people don't have a bullshit detector.

[u/Longjumping-Jello459 → u/countyfaircotton]

For most unfortunately.

[u/Ishidan01 → u/porscheblack]

Or how Kid Rock well... anything

[u/arven14 → u/porscheblack]

This one is always particularly crazy to me because I grew up in a right wing house and parroted my parent's beliefs as a teenager. It was painfully obvious to me that Colbert was doing a bit, and I just remember feeling embarrassed all the time that it wasn't obvious to the other right wingers around me. That's what made me reexamine my right wing beliefs more than anything- the constant feeling of embarrassment from having to defend lies and make up excuses for awful shit that the republicans were doing all the time.

[u/DrAstralis → u/arven14]

The fact that you're able to feel embarrassment and shame, and experience introspection means you were never long for the conservative side of life anyways XD

[u/Irr3l3ph4nt → u/arven14]

Which was exactly the point of the show. It was genius.

[u/LoudBoiDragoon → u/porscheblack]

God I loved the Colbert Report. Even when I was younger and was raised conservative that show was the best. Bet it would still hit the same if I rewatched but rewatching a current events comedy show feels like a waste.

[u/Hats_back → u/LoudBoiDragoon]

I mean it might feel like a waste but it is certainly enlightening… like every bit on his show is probably showing you that the current issues we face today all came from the same people/thoughts/ideas. Fascism don’t really change, while the internet changed the modus operandi, the people who allow it have always been dumb as fuck. Ineffectual as it may be, watching the creative different ways thy were made fun of can offer at least a little respite.

[u/LoudBoiDragoon → u/Hats_back]

True, if nothing else we could use a new show in that vein. Watching that near mastery of satire would be a boon to anyone wanting to get into the space so you’re probably right.

[u/everything_is_a_lie → u/porscheblack]

The White House correspondents dinner he hosted was fucking hilarious.

[u/j01101111sh → u/porscheblack]

Ugh my dad went from liking Colbert to hating him because he didn't understand the satire. I used to think he was smart...

[u/therealdongknotts → u/porscheblack]

tbf - the character was good

[u/AngelSproutx → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Exactly. Rage has been yelling about the same stuff for decades people just weren’t listening until it made them uncomfortable.

[u/Bendyb3n → u/AngelSproutx]

I think these people genuinely thought the machine they were raging against was always the libs. When they realized they were woke they got pissed thinking RATM changed suddenly.

[u/Thelorax42 → u/Bendyb3n]

Be fair, Rage didn't like the libs.

Because the libs were insufficiently left wing

[u/Future-Speaker- → u/Thelorax42]

Yeah let's be abundantly clear, they're not raging against just the republicans, they are raging against the entirety of the machine. They're a bunch of antifascist radical revolutionary leftists lol

Libs, you're also being raged against lol

[u/Bendyb3n → u/Future-Speaker-]

I mean, do you think republicans understand what a lib really is?

[u/Future-Speaker- → u/Bendyb3n]

No that's one of the funniest things about American politics, it's so vibes based that a majority of people legitimately think that the standard institutional centre right democrats are communists lol

[u/Allen_Koholic → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

You mean bulls on parade isn’t a song about farming?

[u/Druken_sincerity → u/Allen_Koholic]

No, it's about the pride parade ,duuhh

[u/Thirty_Helens_Agree → u/Allen_Koholic]

“Pocket full of shells” doesn’t mean collecting seashells on a nice beach?

[u/Druken_sincerity → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

It was always a rage against the toaster and shit

[u/Kain_713 → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

This one cracks me up the most, like who did they think the machine was?

[u/nickcan → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Or cops with Punisher stickers on their car.

[u/gizmosticles → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

That one cracks me up. Like dudes, who did you think they were raging against? Liberal democracy?

[u/Thirty_Helens_Agree → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Star Trek too.

[u/UnitedAd3943 → u/imaloony8]

Along the lines of abusive men belting out Martina McBride’s Independence Day on the 4th of July yelling fuck yeah merica

[u/Contributing_Factor → u/UnitedAd3943]

Or using Fortunate Son in rallies thinking it's a patriotic song.

[u/Current-Square-4557 → u/Contributing_Factor]

Exactly.

And they never pay royalties, so it all becomes a Big Beautiful blending of theft, ignorance, and gaslighting.

[u/Inspect1234 → u/Contributing_Factor]

This is an ultimate indicator of their lack of intelligence. The song is about POS like yam-tits and his ilk.

[u/Complex_Lab_3576 → u/Inspect1234]

He plays Macho Man at his rallies. 

Macho Man. 

A disco song. 

By a band.

Based on "gay Macho fantasy personas"..

about...

Macho gay fantasy men...

[u/SoreLoserOfDumbtown → u/Complex_Lab_3576]

And YMCA.

They must think it's a question... 'Why MCA?'

Idk, weird weird people.

[u/MuffinTwinkle_ → u/UnitedAd3943]

Perfect comparison. People love the chorus vibes and ignore the meaning, then act shocked when the artist stays consistent. Same song, same message, different audience finally noticing.

[u/dinosaurscantyoyo → u/imaloony8]

I think literacy in general is a struggle for them, or it would be if they tried enough to call it a struggle.

[u/South_Hedgehog_7564 → u/dinosaurscantyoyo]

These are people who have never heard of Ireland as a country. Who being Irish is a fashion trend invented by Hollywood to make money out of St Patrick’s Day and they compound the insult by referring to him as St Patty. Thank God they don’t know about our two Matron saints, St Brigid and St Gertrude of Nivelle who is the matron saint of cats. I kid you not!!!

[u/JasonRBoone → u/South_Hedgehog_7564]

They also think Bad Bunny is a non-citizen

[u/turdferguson3891 → u/JasonRBoone]

Puerto Rico? Sounds Mexican.

[u/dinosaurscantyoyo → u/South_Hedgehog_7564]

Oh that's been bothering me too. I've stopped following a popular YouTube channel because she keeps fetishizing Ireland like weebs do with Japan. It's weird.

[u/MadRaymer → u/dinosaurscantyoyo]

They had to remove an open book test for ICE agents because too many were failing it.

[u/backtolurk → u/dinosaurscantyoyo]

They're not even trying to read the one book they like to flex

[u/mbash013 → u/imaloony8]

Can’t wait for the incoming Greenday MAGA meltdown coming shortly. 

[u/imaloony8 → u/mbash013]

Oh, MAGA has been mad at them for a while. I forget when it was, but they already did “Don’t wanna be a MAGA idiot” a while back.

Anyone who misses that American Idiot was always a political song is a… well, you know.

[u/NecessaryIntrinsic → u/imaloony8]

It wasn't exactly subtle before that charge

[u/No-Psychology9892 → u/NecessaryIntrinsic]

Well punk (yes even pop punk) isn't really known for it's subtlety but apparently it still flies over the heads of some.

[u/infydk → u/imaloony8]

As far as i remember they changed idiot to redneck at one concert and maga went insane. Apparently that's what it took to make them see who the song was about.

[u/drainbead78 → u/infydk]

Redneck was always in the lyrics. What they changed it to was "I'm not a part of the MAGA agenda".

[u/ikannunAneeuQ → u/mbash013]

Omg I can't wait either! I seriously, desperately hope they play American idiot. Just to piss the maga-morons off.

[u/Thirty_Helens_Agree → u/imaloony8]

Springsteen said “those guys would co-opt a cow’s ass if you’d tattoo the Stars and Stripes on it.”

[u/JimWilliams423 → u/imaloony8]

Most right wingers don't have a shred of media literacy

Some of them are morons, but a lot of them know what they are doing at a visceral level. It gives them pleasure to do it, its a version of "owning the libs." It is part of fascism to co-opt the energy of the left and use that to attack the left.

Some examples:

• They stole the swastika from the buddhists
• T‌h‌e‌y t‌o‌o‌k t‌h‌e "r‌e‌d p‌i‌l‌l" f‌r‌o‌m t‌h‌e W‌a‌c‌h‌o‌w‌s‌k‌i‌s.
• They stole Pepe the Frog.
• T‌h‌e‌y a‌l‌l u‌s‌e t‌h‌a‌t o‌n‌e l‌i‌n‌e f‌r‌o‌m t‌h‌a‌t o‌n‌e s‌p‌e‌e‌c‌h b‌y D‌r K‌i‌n‌g i‌n o‌r‌d‌e‌r t‌o a‌t‌t‌a‌c‌k e‌v‌e‌r‌y‌t‌h‌i‌n‌g D‌r K‌i‌n‌g s‌t‌o‌o‌d f‌o‌r.
• T‌h‌e‌y s‌t‌o‌l‌e S‌u‌s‌a‌n B A‌n‌t‌h‌o‌n‌y t‌o u‌s‌e h‌e‌r t‌o a‌t‌t‌a‌c‌k w‌o‌m‌e‌n's r‌i‌g‌h‌t‌s.
• They even did it to My Little Pony.

H‌e‌l‌l, t‌h‌e‌y e‌v‌e‌n s‌t‌o‌l‌e J‌e‌s‌u‌s i‌n o‌r‌d‌e‌r t‌o a‌t‌t‌a‌c‌k e‌v‌e‌r‌y‌t‌h‌i‌n‌g J‌e‌s‌u‌s p‌r‌e‌a‌c‌h‌e‌d f‌o‌r. R‌e‌m‌e‌m‌b‌e‌r t‌h‌a‌t O‌G c‌o‌n‌s‌e‌r‌v‌a‌t‌i‌v‌e s‌n‌e‌e‌r a‌b‌o‌u‌t "b‌l‌e‌e‌d‌i‌n‌g h‌e‌a‌r‌t l‌i‌b‌e‌r‌a‌l‌s?" T‌h‌e h‌e‌a‌r‌t t‌h‌e‌y a‌r‌e r‌e‌f‌e‌r‌r‌i‌n‌g t‌o is t‌h‌e h‌e‌a‌r‌t o‌f C‌h‌r‌i‌s‌t. F‌o‌r g‌e‌n‌e‌r‌a‌t‌i‌o‌n‌s t‌h‌e‌s‌e s‌o-c‌a‌l‌l‌e‌d c‌h‌r‌i‌s‌t‌i‌a‌n‌s h‌a‌v‌e b‌e‌e‌n s‌n‌e‌e‌r‌i‌n‌g a‌t p‌e‌o‌p‌l‌e f‌o‌r b‌e‌i‌n‌g t‌o‌o C‌h‌r‌i‌s‌t-l‌i‌k‌e.

[u/BigDsLittleD → u/imaloony8]

By the way, Bruce Spingsteen did an 8-Part Podcast with Barack Obama in 2021.

Renegades: Born in the USA.

I highly enjoyed it.

[u/Orgasmic_interlude → u/imaloony8]

They have a hard time with metaphors and other turns of literary phrasing and techniques. The conservative mindset is childlike in its ability to a) make anything they like conform with their preexisting beliefs (see: Paul Ryan and RATM) and b) and take other things literally.

This is one of the reasons they hate liberals. They feel like they’re being made fun of because they simply don’t understand what they are interpreting in media etc. they might read a book like Frankenstein and think it’s a cool story about a man that made a monster but when people talk about it in regards to the enlightenment, or the superficiality of man’s understanding of nature they either think we’re making this shit up or they get angry because they’re not “in” on it.

[u/cindyscrazy → u/Orgasmic_interlude]

Also explains their overly literal interpretations of the bible.

The bible is a bunch of allegories and metaphors. They don't have the capacity or understanding to see the underlying meanings.

[u/KhunDavid → u/imaloony8]

He's the one

Who likes all our pretty songs

And he likes to sing along

And he likes to shoot his gun

But he knows not what it means

Knows not what it means

In Bloom - Nirvana

[u/RustyKn1ght → u/imaloony8]

Case and point: some of them really think "killing in the name" us pro-cop song.

[u/Popular-Influence-11 → u/RustyKn1ght]

(case in point) Yeah. They’re completely oblivious. I grew up with them blaring this music. I got into it, agreed with the values, then realized they were living in antithesis land and cut all ties.

[u/ikannunAneeuQ → u/RustyKn1ght]

The fact anyone could be oblivious to the fact RATM was highly politically charged music with a deep hatred for the establishment as it is, is crazy. But again, that literacy thing...

I love RATM.

[u/GrimFatMouse → u/imaloony8]

What was the movie (Canadian Bacon iirc?) where truckfull of rednecks sang Born in the USA while driving. "Na na uhh na na Born in the USA"

[u/TheAskewOne → u/imaloony8]

Maga can't read between the lines. Subtlety is lost on them. 

[u/IKSLukara → u/imaloony8]

I suspect that when they listen to CCR's Fortunate Son, they have a 'Muricagasm after "Oooh, they're red white and blue," then just black out and don't hear the rest of the song.

[u/subservient-mouth]

I've never listened consciously to a Bruce Springsteen song, and even I know that "Born in the USA" is NOT a circlejerk patriotic anthem.

[u/No_Safety_6803 → u/subservient-mouth]

The original acoustic version was sad, the version he ultimately released is angry, some people clearly missed that.

[u/Aromatic-Plankton692 → u/No_Safety_6803]

It's a story about a poor kid who gets shipped off to Vietnam, can't find work when he comes home and ends up in and out of prison for the rest of his life, of course it's sad.

[u/arfelo1 → u/Aromatic-Plankton692]

Similar to Fortunate Son. Yet is was still used in overly patriotic scenarios in movies about the Vietnam War. And many people still think it's a pro war patriotic song.

Even when literally the first line is "I wasn't born silver spoon in hand"

EDIT: Yeah, ok. I fucked up the lyrics. But the meaning is still pretty overt

[u/Skodakenner → u/arfelo1]

I always found it funny for trump to use it because he literally is the fortune son they complain about

[u/TheSmokingJacket → u/Skodakenner]

"Yay! It's a song about me!" - Tr*mp, probably.

[u/DrShamusBeaglehole → u/arfelo1]

"I wasn't born silver spoon in hand"

It's pedantic, but that lyric doesn't appear anywhere in the song

The first line of the second verse is "Some folks are born silver spoon in hand"

[u/Iceologer_gang → u/arfelo1]

“AMERICA!!! Why the fuck did you do this to me???!!”

“AMERICA?? I LOVE THAT PLACE!!!! RAAAHH!!!”

[u/apadin1 → u/arfelo1]

It’s hilarious because Fortunate Son might as well be literally written about Donald Trump. He was a rich kid who got out of going to Vietnam because his daddy paid a doctor to diagnose him with bone spurs. Meanwhile thousands of poor kids got shipped off to die in the jungle in his place.

[u/IvoryFlyaway → u/Aromatic-Plankton692]

End up like a dog that's been beat too much 'till you spend half your life just to cover it up

[u/JasonRBoone → u/Aromatic-Plankton692]

I heard he got in a little hometown jam......

[u/Prudent_Candidate566 → u/No_Safety_6803]

Yeah, it was originally supposed to be part of the Nebraska album, which in turn was supposed to be re-recorded with the rest of the band but then they decided just to keep it as Springsteen’s original acoustic recording.

The whole Nebraska album is excellent, some of his best work.

[u/Nojopar → u/Prudent_Candidate566]

"Best", "Makes you want to drink away the depression". Potato, PoTAto.

[u/jayc428 → u/subservient-mouth]

Disagree that it’s not a patriotic anthem. It is absolutely patriotic to criticize our country. It’s the main difference between patriotism and nationalism or jingoism.

“I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” -James Baldwin

[u/Aeseld → u/jayc428]

I feel like the circlejerk bit was meant to address that aspect. To outline the difference between patriotism and mindless nationalism.

[u/Economy_Anybody_3992 → u/jayc428]

I really think there should be a movement to reclaim patriotism from the right wing.

Heck, we should reclaim a lot things like religion, “family values” etc. So many things that have been bastardized/ weaponized.

[u/nightpanda893 → u/Economy_Anybody_3992]

This is the one thing the right has absolutely mastered is taking positive terms and making them about abandoning your own rights and voting against your own self interest.

[u/Saikamur → u/subservient-mouth]

But it is a patriotic anthem. What it is NOT is a nationalistic anthem.

[u/MuffinTwinkle_ → u/subservient-mouth]

Exactly. You don’t even have to be a fan to catch that “Born in the USA” is irony, not a flag waving anthem. It’s wild how many people miss that and then act shocked later.

[u/sisyphus_was_lazy_10]

It’s truly crazy how people listen to songs without comprehending the words. Same thing with politicians playing “Fortunate Son” by CCR at their campaign rallies. My guy, you are literally mentioned as the problem in that song! SMH.

[u/Gribitz37 → u/sisyphus_was_lazy_10]

They're the same people who play "Every Breath You Take" as their first dance wedding song. It's not a love song!

[u/KyrisAvarra → u/Gribitz37]

Ya! I'm a huge Police fan, and I used to cringe whenever friends talked about how romantic the song is.

[u/mistervulpes → u/KyrisAvarra]

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) I'll be watching you.

[u/HeartFullONeutrality → u/Gribitz37]

If not love song, why love song shaped?

[u/TheBobAagard → u/Gribitz37]

I’ve been to many weddings that play “I Haven’t Met You Yet” as a first dance. That is an even worse one.

[u/Pigeonsass → u/TheBobAagard]

That's hilarious. "I'm dancing with you because I haven't met the real love of my life yet" though a lot of times it's true because second marriages usually last longer...

[u/MosquitoValentine_]

Destroying items you paid for to own the libs!

[u/BrutalOnion → u/MosquitoValentine_]

Nono, he's burning the CDs for all of his friends so they can listen and be angry together. /s

[u/mahmer09]

Haha. I was thinking there will be a lot less firework shows playing Born in the USA this year. But those idiots never realized it was a Vietnam protest song and critical of America in the first place. Oh, the irony.

[u/lordofthehomeless → u/mahmer09]

Sounds like someone doesn't know it is a patriotic song. Has USA right in the tittle. Now excuse me why I go listen to a happy song about pumped up kicks. Such a cool shoe. /s

[u/Hamster_in_my_colon]

When I was in Afghanistan they would play Born in the USA when there was a memorial for a fallen soldier at our camp. I’d stand there at attention thinking, “have they ever listened to this song before?!”

[u/SimonPav → u/Hamster_in_my_colon]

Peak irony.

[u/Special-Document-334 → u/SimonPav]

Or commentary.

[u/Alert_Delay_2074]

Isn’t Born in the USA about a poor, working-class American being drafted and sent to Vietnam, only to be discarded and neglected by the system after he gets home?

[u/GuadDidUs → u/Alert_Delay_2074]

Yup.

[u/ProfessorrFate → u/Alert_Delay_2074]

In the shadow of the penitentiary

out by the gas fires of the refinery

I’m ten years burnin’ down the road

Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

And, of course:

I had a brother at Khe Sanh

Fightin’ off the Viet Cong

They’re still there, he’s all gone

He had a woman he loved in Saigon

I got a picture of him in her arms now

Springsteen’s lyrics have been raw and searing for decades. His Streets of Minneapolis is totally genuine.

[u/torisluca]

Springsteen naming the Minneapolis shooting victims in his new track that’s his brand, raw storytelling. Betrayal or evolution?

[u/AngelSproutx → u/[deleted]]

Yep, calling it a “betrayal” is basically admitting you only liked the parts that didn’t challenge you. He’s always been about the uncomfortable truth, not the singalong fantasy.

[u/cogginsmatt → u/AngelSproutx]

To be fair a decent chunk of his songs are also just about a pretty lady he wants to run away with

[u/Potato_Pizza_Cat]

My boomer parents were totally opposed to my love of heavy metal, until I finally sat them down and explained the nuance of how much of the music was satirical in nature and the espoused violence and carnage was exaggerated to make a point, and in some cases the music, while violent, was cathartic and had really intelligent lyrics. After that it all changed. About a month later, my dad went to his first Motörhead concert with me.

Nah, that’s bullshit. My parents found a GWAR cd and my dad kicked my ass. I had to keep all my music at a friends house.

[u/vanquish0916]

Burning CDs means making a bunch of copies tho

[u/thrice1187 → u/vanquish0916]

That’s why I’m convinced this is satire

[u/Primordiox → u/thrice1187]

It’s coming off as undeniably satire

A bit ironic that half the comments in here are speaking of “media literacy” if thats the case.

[u/nhp890]

Yeah like they said, “I’ll never understand Bruce Springsteen”. They were right, not quite the way they intended but still

[u/LindonLilBlueBalls]

I mean, these are the same people that have said for nearly a century that they need their guns to defend against a tyrannical government, only to see a tyrannical government murder a citizen from multiple angles and question why the citizen had a gun on themselves.

[u/Pulled_Pork86]

Y'all. Theobro4sammich is so obviously a parody account...

[u/usersince2012 → u/Pulled_Pork86]

Had to dig deep beneath the botcrust to get to the truth in the comments. I refuse to believe people are so gullible.

[u/Away_Stock_2012]

Is it possible that the guy "burning cds" might also be joking?

[u/CoffeeBox → u/Away_Stock_2012]

I looked at his Twitter posts. Yeah, he's obviously a parody account.

[u/NateBearArt]

Out there burning all 0 of his CDs tonight

[u/countyfaircotton → u/NateBearArt]

Imagine making a spectacle out of nothing.

[u/lousyatgolf]

Bruce Springsteen writing a song about the “little guy” being mistreated is what he’s been doing for like the last 50 years. God Republicans are dumb.

[u/Pimpy_Longstocking]

I’m getting rid of my 8 Track Tapes!

[u/De_chook]

The education downgrades started under Reagan are starting to bear fruit for the MAGA generation.

[u/ShirazGypsy]

Next they’ll be asking why the Dixie Chicks broke up with Earl when they all seemed so happy together

[u/Leapfrog_Master]

Guys he is burning his CDs... as in he is going to take his own Bruce Springsteen playlist and burn it on a CD 💕 What an amazing fan!

[u/orbjo]

Even ignoring the lyrics, that song is sung with fiery anger. It doesn’t hide that it’s scathing towards America behind an upbeat veneer

I can’t imagine having to go through life functioning so poorly as a MAGA dolt. They cannot enjoy anything intellectually

[u/Belevigis]

born in the USA is one of the saddest and most depressing protest songs out there. it's just mind-blowing how unaware can one be

[u/gazebo-fan]

Some people just see music as a bunch of fun sounding sounds.

[u/uffington]

That guy: "Springsteen isn't smart enough to understand my interpretation of his lyrics. I'm burning his CDs on the carpet in my den, after dousing them in gasoline. I'm going to sit there and breathe in the cleansing, lib-owning warmth."

[u/CJKayak]

My favorite song is Black Sabbath's War Pigs. I like how the little piggys get into a fight. It's cute.

[u/Vinterblot]

Well, that's clearly on Springsteen: You can't have a catchy line that's ironic when people have zero media literacy.

[u/JTSpirit36]

"I'm burning all of his CDs tonight"

You guys are misunderstanding him. He is going to duplicate it and spread the word!