In case you are living under a rock (or taking a healthy absence from the internet), independent artist Oliver Anthony released a song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” that’s gone wildly viral, and as usual, fools on Twitter and in the media tried to spin it as a right-wing white supremacist anthem for conspiracy theorists.
thank you for adding some sanity to this. i thought the bad left takes would subside after the weekend, but it's gotten worse. the left has a problem with poor white ppl and the way they think. instead of challenging the thing they disagree with they're dehumanizing and denigrating an artist that has captured the hearts of many. it's not a good look.
What exactly is “the left” according to you? Is it a field, or a hand? And, what about center, or right, or the in.......field?
And, what is the “a problem”? If it feels like I am singling you out, please don’t. You’re not the only one, by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s not your fault. It’s a matter of conditioning.
But, the fact is, for me, that you’ve written a sequence of words that I really can’t decipher. It’s not about “a viral” little song, it’s about how we communicate, or don’t, with each other.
Crocodile Tears are an American tradition, and that red white and blue football field sized flag, and those F-18 jet flyovers, and the marching wounded Uniformed Mercenaries on the field with some big voice singing that song, man, singing that song, all part of the controll, the propaganda.
Here come the Friday nights in high school (TBI) and the Saturday afternoons in college (TBI) and the Sunday night and day gridiron wacked out TBI, so hang onto your Klenex boxes. So, this fellow, Anthony, is now the new who?
PT Barnum, and then the bandwagoners. Whew.
The revolution will not be sung or televised or bullshitted with some "react" video.
The world is about wresting control from those men and women north of Richmond, and west of Richmond and all those guys in Texas and all over, voting to bomb the hell out of Chinese, and, let's not forget south of Richmond where Yankees and Stars and Bars adherents just love forcing real people off their land and into the mines of those Norte Americanos.
And, Mr. Oliver is North of Juarez and Jalisco and Peru and Nicaragua and Venezuela, where all that shedding of big ass tears for our Nickel and Dimed lives does nothing to help their lives, our lives, and those South of Richmond.
Good one from Mickey Z:
On August 18, 2023, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention declared:
“The Artsakh blockade, which has been ongoing since the 12th of December, 2022, is the cause of increasing malnutrition, miscarriages, and medical complications related to people being unable to access proper food and medical care. Now, the blockade has begun to cause the direct death of Armenian citizens of Artsakh through starvation. This blockade is genocidal in its intent, which is to eliminate the Armenian population of Artsakh, either through mass displacement or mass starvation.”
“Armenia became the world’s first Christian state around 300 AD when St. Gregory converted the king at the time to Christianity,” explains Michael Rubin in the Washington Examiner. “A core province of the kingdom was Artsakh, now better known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region home to a millennia-old Armenian Christian community. Almost 1,700 years after Gregory’s death, Artsakh’s Armenian community now faces extinction.”
“There is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed,” said Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, noting that a U.N. convention defines genocide as including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”
What will “free thinkers” and “truth seekers” do when presented with hard evidence for an actual attempted genocide — a crime against humanity that could be stopped if the Home of the Brave™ would step up?
The glorification of the past prevents us from recognizing the truth of the present, leading us to fear the future instead of embracing it with hope. The Christian, particularly, should be recognized by two things: love and hope. A radical gospel-transformational love (John 13:33-34; Acts 2:42-47) and an eternal hope in Jesus because He reigns on the throne right now and will advance His kingdom. Our hope is not in corporations nor politicians but in Christ who reigns supreme. Read more here... https://open.substack.com/pub/kingandcompany/p/diving-into-rich-men-north-of-richmond?r=1b6rbo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
And now it continues with the release of "I Want To Go Home.," albeit with a bit less intensity.
Look at the page views of some of the less well-known "reactors," Matt. I'm sure it hasn't escaped you that the view counts strongly suggest that regular folks from all sides of the political spectrum are intensely curious about Oliver Anthony.
It seems plausible that a lot of people who have experienced a sudden interest in Oliver's ballad or anthem or whatever the best description of it is, are wondering at the intensity of their reaction and are looking to others for a clue to why the video resonates so strongly.
It also seems rather obvious that The Usual Suspects are feeling threatened and defensive by the groundswell of interest, acclaim and support. When even Psychology Today publishes a reactionary hit piece, we can suppose that Oliver Anthony has hit a major nerve center among those who think themselves the arbiters of truth.
Thanks very much for the compilation video; you've done a very neat encapsulation of the general sentiment. I hope you do something around "I Want To Go Home," as well.
Take a bow Orf mon! And poo-poo on those dissecting the song word by word- it is so deeply from the gut that cerebral thoughts shouldn’t even enter the room!
The compilation is great! I just hope the original isn’t astroturf to get you ready for the further privatization of SS and Medicare. That verse about 300 lbs people on welfare is off base. And with it in there, the viral thing seems a little suspicious.
"it’s basically like the news—except instead of rich men and women reacting to a clip out of context, it’s regular people reacting to a full video."
Great reframe of what corporate media represents.
Great work, Matt! I cried and then shared it with family and friends who were also moved.
Saw it on YouTube. Nicely done! Shared.
thank you for adding some sanity to this. i thought the bad left takes would subside after the weekend, but it's gotten worse. the left has a problem with poor white ppl and the way they think. instead of challenging the thing they disagree with they're dehumanizing and denigrating an artist that has captured the hearts of many. it's not a good look.
here's my response from last weekend: https://www.brookhines.com/p/the-imperfect-class-consciousness
What exactly is “the left” according to you? Is it a field, or a hand? And, what about center, or right, or the in.......field?
And, what is the “a problem”? If it feels like I am singling you out, please don’t. You’re not the only one, by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s not your fault. It’s a matter of conditioning.
But, the fact is, for me, that you’ve written a sequence of words that I really can’t decipher. It’s not about “a viral” little song, it’s about how we communicate, or don’t, with each other.
Nice to make your acquaintance.
sorry about your inability to decipher. be well.
Have you ever seen Jonathan Reece’s piece on this issue?
It’s quite interesting.
You do realize that you’re inability/unwillingness to clarify your terms, might relegate your scribbles to the classification of word salad.
Don’t be butt hurt, please.
It’s a thought experiment, not an attack.
I wish you well.
I hate react videos as a genre but I'm grateful you put together this democratic takedown of the elites scripted sneering at this great song.
Crocodile Tears are an American tradition, and that red white and blue football field sized flag, and those F-18 jet flyovers, and the marching wounded Uniformed Mercenaries on the field with some big voice singing that song, man, singing that song, all part of the controll, the propaganda.
Here come the Friday nights in high school (TBI) and the Saturday afternoons in college (TBI) and the Sunday night and day gridiron wacked out TBI, so hang onto your Klenex boxes. So, this fellow, Anthony, is now the new who?
PT Barnum, and then the bandwagoners. Whew.
The revolution will not be sung or televised or bullshitted with some "react" video.
The world is about wresting control from those men and women north of Richmond, and west of Richmond and all those guys in Texas and all over, voting to bomb the hell out of Chinese, and, let's not forget south of Richmond where Yankees and Stars and Bars adherents just love forcing real people off their land and into the mines of those Norte Americanos.
And, Mr. Oliver is North of Juarez and Jalisco and Peru and Nicaragua and Venezuela, where all that shedding of big ass tears for our Nickel and Dimed lives does nothing to help their lives, our lives, and those South of Richmond.
Good one from Mickey Z:
On August 18, 2023, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention declared:
“The Artsakh blockade, which has been ongoing since the 12th of December, 2022, is the cause of increasing malnutrition, miscarriages, and medical complications related to people being unable to access proper food and medical care. Now, the blockade has begun to cause the direct death of Armenian citizens of Artsakh through starvation. This blockade is genocidal in its intent, which is to eliminate the Armenian population of Artsakh, either through mass displacement or mass starvation.”
“Armenia became the world’s first Christian state around 300 AD when St. Gregory converted the king at the time to Christianity,” explains Michael Rubin in the Washington Examiner. “A core province of the kingdom was Artsakh, now better known as Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region home to a millennia-old Armenian Christian community. Almost 1,700 years after Gregory’s death, Artsakh’s Armenian community now faces extinction.”
“There is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed,” said Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, noting that a U.N. convention defines genocide as including “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”
What will “free thinkers” and “truth seekers” do when presented with hard evidence for an actual attempted genocide — a crime against humanity that could be stopped if the Home of the Brave™ would step up?
https://mickeyz.substack.com/p/are-we-gonna-allow-genocide-to-happen
Another timely reminder of what’s what, nice one Matt.
The glorification of the past prevents us from recognizing the truth of the present, leading us to fear the future instead of embracing it with hope. The Christian, particularly, should be recognized by two things: love and hope. A radical gospel-transformational love (John 13:33-34; Acts 2:42-47) and an eternal hope in Jesus because He reigns on the throne right now and will advance His kingdom. Our hope is not in corporations nor politicians but in Christ who reigns supreme. Read more here... https://open.substack.com/pub/kingandcompany/p/diving-into-rich-men-north-of-richmond?r=1b6rbo&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Gosh this is so beautiful. Thank you man.
And now it continues with the release of "I Want To Go Home.," albeit with a bit less intensity.
Look at the page views of some of the less well-known "reactors," Matt. I'm sure it hasn't escaped you that the view counts strongly suggest that regular folks from all sides of the political spectrum are intensely curious about Oliver Anthony.
It seems plausible that a lot of people who have experienced a sudden interest in Oliver's ballad or anthem or whatever the best description of it is, are wondering at the intensity of their reaction and are looking to others for a clue to why the video resonates so strongly.
It also seems rather obvious that The Usual Suspects are feeling threatened and defensive by the groundswell of interest, acclaim and support. When even Psychology Today publishes a reactionary hit piece, we can suppose that Oliver Anthony has hit a major nerve center among those who think themselves the arbiters of truth.
Thanks very much for the compilation video; you've done a very neat encapsulation of the general sentiment. I hope you do something around "I Want To Go Home," as well.
Thank you Matt. You are the best.
Take a bow Orf mon! And poo-poo on those dissecting the song word by word- it is so deeply from the gut that cerebral thoughts shouldn’t even enter the room!
The compilation is great! I just hope the original isn’t astroturf to get you ready for the further privatization of SS and Medicare. That verse about 300 lbs people on welfare is off base. And with it in there, the viral thing seems a little suspicious.
Any chance those Twitter videos can go on Rumble?